Adriaen Brouwer, Oudenaarde? 1605/06 - Antwerpen 1638
Wirtshausszene / Tavern Scene (1635)
National Gallery, London

Brouwer specialised in rowdy scenes of peasant life. This work, which is signed on the top step below the woman's skirt, is one of his largest and liveliest peasant pictures. He was greatly admired by contemporary artists for his skill as a painter, and both Rembrandt and Rubens collected his work.

Source: National Gallery, London

Tags:   Adriaen Brouwer Wirtshausszene Tavern Scene National Gallery London Genremalerei Genre Painting genre scene Petit genre

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Bronzino (Florenz 1503 – 1572)
Allegorie mit Venus und Amor - Allegory with Venus Cupid - L'Allegoria del trionfo di Venere (1544 - 45)
National Gallery, London

The picture is likely to be that mentioned in Vasari's 'Life of Bronzino' of 1568: He made a picture of singular beauty, which was sent to King Francis in France; in which was a nude Venus with Cupid kissing her, and on one side Pleasure and Play with other Loves; and on the other, Fraud, Jealousy, and other passions of love. Venus and Cupid are identifiable by their attributes, as is the old man with wings and an hourglass who must be Time (not mentioned by Vasari). The identity of the other figures, and the meaning of the picture remain uncertain.

The howling figure on the left has been variously interpreted as Jealousy, Despair and the effects of syphilis; the boy scattering roses and stepping on a thorn as Jest, Folly and Pleasure; the hybrid creature with the face of a girl, as Pleasure and Fraud; and the figure in the top left corner as Fraud and Oblivion. The erotic yet erudite subject matter of the painting was well suited to the tastes of King Francis I of France. It was probably sent to him as a gift from Cosimo I de' Medici, ruler of Florence, by whom Bronzino was employed as court painter. Bronzino was also an accomplished poet. The picture reflects his interest in conventional Petrarchan love lyrics as well as more bawdy poetic genres.

Tags:   Bronzino Agnolo di Cosimo Agnolo Bronzino Allegory mit Venus und Amor Allegory with Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time A Triumph of Venus National Gallery London Manierismus Mannerism L'Allegoria del trionfo di Venere

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Agnolo Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo di Maiano), Monticelli bei Florenz 1503 - Florenz 1572
Madonna mit dem Kind und der hl. Elisabeth und Johannes dem Täufer - Madonna and Child with Saint Elizabeth and Saint John the Baptist - Madonna col Bambino, santa Elisabetta e san Giovannino (ca. 1540)
National Gallery London

The Christ Child removes a garland of flowers from his head and grasps the reed cross from the infant Saint John the Baptist who wears his camel skin cloak and carries a baptismal bowl. The elderly female saint looking down fondly at the Baptist is his mother Saint Elizabeth. The reed cross foreshadows Christ's Passion, while the wild strawberries offered to Christ by Saint John may be interpreted as referring to the fruitful and righteous life of Christ.

The picture was painted around 1540, perhaps for an aquaintance of Bronzino's at the court of Cosimo De' Medici in Florence. It is close in style to the frescoes Bronzino painted in the Chapel of Eleonora of Toledo in the Palazzo Vecchio in around 1541–2.

Source: National Gallery London
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Agnolo Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo di Maiano), wurde in Monticelli bei Florenz 1503 geboren und starb in Florenz 1572. Bronzino, ein sehr gebildeter und belesener Mann, gilt als einer der berühmtesten Vertreter des Florentiner Manierismus und als hervorragender Porträtmaler. Er war Schüler von Raffaellino del Garbo und Jacopo Pontormo und während einer Rom-Reise lernt er die Werke Michelangelos kennen und schätzen. Ab 1540 war er Hofmaler der Medici. Seinen Gemälden ist durch die eigenwillige Verwendung der Farben ein kühler Charakter eigen, aber zugleich auch eine körperlich-plastische Darstellung.

Tags:   Manierismus Mannerism Manierismo National Gallery London Madonna mit dem Kind und der hl. Elisabeth und Johannes dem Täufer Madonna and Child with Saint Elizabeth and Saint John the Baptist Madonna col Bambino santa Elisabetta e san Giovannino

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Agnolo Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo di Maiano), Monticelli bei Florenz 1503 - Florenz 1572
Piero de'Medici, der Gichtige - Piero de'Medici, the Gouty - Piero de'Medici, il Gottoso (1550 - 1570)
National Gallery, London

Piero de'Medici, auch der Gichtige genannt, wurde 1416 in Florenz geboren und starb dort 1469. Er war der älteste Sohn von Cosimo de’ Medici und herrschte von 1464 - 1469 über Florenz. Er war mit Lucrezia Tornabuoni verheiratet und Vater von Lorenzo il Magnifico und Giuliano di Piero de'Medici.

Agnolo Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo di Maiano), wurde in Monticelli bei Florenz 1503 geboren und starb in Florenz 1572. Bronzino, ein sehr gebildeter und belesener Mann, gilt als einer der berühmtesten Vertreter des Florentiner Manierismus und als hervorragender Porträtmaler. Er war Schüler von Raffaellino del Garbo und Jacopo Pontormo und während einer Rom-Reise lernt er die Werke Michelangelos kennen und schätzen. Ab 1540 war er Hofmaler der Medici. Seinen Gemälden ist durch die eigenwillige Verwendung der Farben ein kühler Charakter eigen, aber zugleich auch eine körperlich-plastische Darstellung.

Tags:   Agnolo Bronzino Piero de'Medici Manierismus Mannerism Mannierismo National Gallery London Piero de'Medici der Gichtige Piero de'Medici the Gouty Piero de'Medici il Gottoso

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Albrecht Dürer, Nürnberg 1471 - 1528
Selbstbildnis – Selfportrait (1498)
Museo del Prado

In the same year that he published the Apocalipsis cum figuris, Dürer painted himself as a gentleman, dressed in light toned clothes and looking his best. He wears an open black and white doublet with a striped cap in the same colours, an undershirt trimmed with gold and a silk cord of blue and white threads holding up a grey-brown cloak that falls over his right shoulder. Dürer has sheathed the hands that he uses to paint in grey kidskin gloves indicative of high rank with the aim of elevating his social status from that of craftsman to artist and of locating painting among the liberal arts, as in Italy.

The artist chose a half-length, three-quarter format with two focuses of attention: the face and hands. He located himself in a room that opens onto the outside through a window in the back wall, following Dieric Bouts’ Portrait of a Man of 1462 (London, National Gallery), a format that was subsequently widely adopted in Flanders and Italy. Basing himself on this Flemish format, Dürer added an Italian monumentality in the verticals and horizontals that create the window surround, also evident in the arrangement of his body which repeats the ‘L’ shape of the window in the bust, firmly supported by the arm leaning on the foreground ledge.Also present in this work is a characteristic of all Dürer’s exquisitely detailed portraits, namely his powers of psychological analysis, evident in the contrast between the sensual features and the cold, penetrating gaze.

A painter, printmaker and art theoretician, Albrecht Dürer was born in Nuremberg, gaining fame in his own lifetime through his prints. Dürer trained under the influence of Flemish painting while his two trips to Venice (1494–5 and 1505–7) allowed him to discover the secrets of Renaissance art. A successful portraitist and printmaker, he worked for the Emperor Maximilian I who granted him a pension in 1515, which was renewed by Charles V in 1520. In 1636 the City Council of Nuremberg gave this Self-portrait to Charles I of England. Following Charles’ overthrow and execution, it was sold at his posthumous sale in 1651. The Spanish ambassador Alonso de Cárdenas acquired it for Don Luis de Haro, who gave it to Philip IV in 1654. It remained in the Spanish royal collection until it entered the Museo del Prado in 1827.

Source: Prado

Tags:   Albrecht Dürer Museo del Prado Madrid Spanien Spain Selbstbildnis Selfportrait

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