Rubens | Portrait of Susanna Lunden, 1622

This painting is one of the most famous by Peter Paul Rubens🎨 (Flemish Baroque Era painter, 1577-1640) in the Collection of the National Gallery, London.

The title 'Le Chapeau de Paille' (meaning The Straw Hat) was first used in the 18th century. In fact the hat is not straw; 'paille' may be an error for 'poil', which is the French word for felt.

The hat, which shades the face of the sitter, is the most prominent feature of the painting.

The portrait is probably of Susanna Lunden, born Susanna Fourment, third daughter of Daniel Fourment, an Antwerp tapestry and silk merchant. Her younger sister Helena became Rubens's second wife in 1630.

Michelangelo Buonarroti | Drawings

Michelangelo, with Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael, is one of the three giants of the Florentine High Renaissance.

Although their names are often cited together, Michelangelo was younger than Leonardo by 23 years, and older than Raphael by eight.

Michelangelo | Arms and Hands Study

Michelangelo Buonarroti (6 March 1475 - 18 February 1564) was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet of the High Renaissance born in the Republic of Florence, who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art.

Considered by many the greatest artist of his lifetime, and by some the greatest artist of all time, his artistic versatility was of such a high order that he is often considered a contender for the title of the archetypal Renaissance man, along with his rival, the fellow Florentine and client of the Medici, Leonardo da Vinci.

Michelangelo Buonarroti: "The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection"

"The promises of this world are, for the most part, vain phantoms; and to confide in one's self, and become something of worth and value is the best and safest course".

"The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection".

Michelangelo Buonarroti: "In every block of marble I see a statue"

• "My soul can find no staircase to Heaven unless it be through Earth's loveliness".

• "The best artist has that thought alone which is contained within the marble shell; The sculptor's hand can only break the spell To free the figures slumbering in the stone".

Felice Casorati | Ritratto di Hena Rigotti, 1924

L'assorta figura di Hena Rigotti appare studiatamente decentrata sul lato destro della tavola.

Le fanno da contrappunto i frutti perfetti del piatto posato sulla tovaglia singolarmente "stropicciata".

L'opera rappresenta uno dei culmini della ritrattistica di Casorati per la prima metà degli anni Venti, nel suo concentrato rigore compositivo, nella sua nettezza di segno e di superfici: accanto ai ritratti di Riccardo Gualino, di Alfredo Casella (entrambi a Firenze, coll. privata), dai richiami scelti alla ritrattistica fiamminga ed italiana, ecc.

Il dipinto appare nella sala personale dedicata all'artista alla XIV Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte di Venezia, nel 1924; a presentare è Lionello Venturi. | Fonte: Riccardo Passoni, GAM - Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Torino

Michelangelo Buonarroti | 267 Drawings | Part.¹

A towering genius in the history of Western art, Michelangelo (Italian, Caprese 1475-1564 Rome) was celebrated during his long life for the excellence of his disegno, the power of drawing and invention that provided the foundation for all of the arts.

For his mastery of drawing, design, sculpture, painting, and architecture, he was called Il divino ("the divine one") by his contemporaries.

His powerful imagery and dazzling technical virtuosity transported viewers and imbued all of his works with a staggering force that continues to enthrall us today. | © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Giuseppe De Nittis | How cold! / Che freddo! 1874

Having begun to adapt the motif of the road to the local urban setting in 1871, in 1873-1874 Giuseppe De Nittis (February 25, 1846 - August 21, 1884) painted many views of Paris.

In these he captured the spectacle of a modern city, often indulging in images of elegant women walking or riding or promenading children and dogs.

Adopting a Naturalistic approach, he used complex and bold compositional structures, as in How Cold it Is! (1874; Milan, Eredi Jucker priv. col., see 1990 exh. cat., p. 101).

The vivid sense of movement created by the figures in this work reflects De Nittis’s habit of sketching and painting them in motion; here they are modelled, as usual, by his wife, Leontine Gruvelle.

Rembrandt e l'ispirazione Indiana

Alla fine della sua carriera, Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (1606-1669) creò una serie di disegni insolitamente meticolosi raffiguranti imperatori e cortigiani di Mughal India.

Questa mostra esplora gli studi accurati del maestro olandese sulla ritrattistica imperiale di Mughal e li colloca all'interno di un più ampio circuito di scambi interculturali.

Accostando i disegni di Rembrandt con dipinti indiani di composizioni simili e abbinando opere d'arte di Mughal a stampe europee che li hanno ispirati, affascinanti storie si sviluppano sul flusso di arte e idee attraverso il tempo e gli oceani.

Alfred Boucher (1850-1934)

Mentore di Camille Claudel ed amico di Auguste Rodin, Alfred Boucher, (23 settembre 1850 -18 agosto 1934), è stato uno scultore Francese.

Nato a Bouy-sur-Ovin (Nogent-sur-Seine), era il figlio di un bracciante che divenne il giardiniere dello scultore Joseph-Marius Ramus, che, dopo aver riconosciuto il talento di Boucher, aprì il suo studio a lui.