To celebrate Mother’s Day, a Leonardo, The Virgin and Child, with Saint Anne. So here we have two mothers: the Blessed Virgin, of course, and her own mother, Saint Anne. You may admire the masterpiece at Le Louvre. At Leonardo’s death, the painting (oil on wood) was purchased by his last and most devoted patron, [...]
Or at least this beautiful portrait of her. The Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon purchased it at auction a few days ago for the equivalent of $140,000. The royal favorite is represented here at the age of 26 by Court painter François-Hubert Drouais. She is dressed as Flora, goddess of flowers. [...]
To celebrate the occasion, Virgin and Child, by Jan Gossaert, alias Jan Mabuse, or Jean de Maubeuge. It belongs to the collections of the Prado, in Madrid, but you can now admire it at The National Gallery of London, in the context of the magnificent exhibition dedicated to the painter. Gossaert stays away from traditional, static [...]
I discussed Queen Victoria’s in a prior post. Not that Victoria was the first bride to wear white, far from it, but she was a trend-setter in that regard. White fabrics, since the invention of chlorine bleach by Berthollet in the 1770s, had become affordable and consequently very popular with regular ladies, for both wedding [...]
Yes, springtime is here at long last. To present my best wishes for the season, I am posting one of Monsieur Monet’s many celebrations of the glories of nature. Now, if you will excuse me, I will go for a stroll in the park…
The circumstances surrounding Victoria’s birth are hardly romantic: the beloved Princess Charlotte of Wales, who was to inherit the British throne, died in childbirth in 1817. Her father, the Prince Regent, later George IV, had no other legitimate offspring, and neither had his brothers. A rather unseemly race to the craddle ensued among the princes, [...]
I could think of no better way to convey my new year wishes than to post another of the extraordinary miniatures of the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, the prayer book of this most worldly of medieval princes, Jean de France. Here we see the Duc himself, ever the bon vivant, receiving his [...]
Dear friends and readers, All my best wishes of a spiritual, peaceful and joyful holiday. As for me, I will brave the snows of this unusually harsh winter (yes, Paris and its region are still blanketed in white) to join my family for the occasion. I wish to share with you this beautiful Nativity by [...]
This year we did not even wait until December to find Paris and much of Northern France under a thick coat of snow. Traffic is totally gridlocked in and around the capital. This promises us a harsh winter, and a white Christmas! I love this very evocative painting by French artist Luigi Loir (late 19th-early [...]
Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, born in the year 270 into a wealthy Greek family of modern-day Turkey. The veneration for his memory was such that his bones were stolen by adventurous sailors from his original tomb in the Church of Myra in 1087 and brought to Bari, in Italy, [...]
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