Artscape

The Fighting Temeraire by the English artist Joseph Mallord William Turner, painted in 1838

90.7 × 121.6 cm

The painting depicts the 98-gun HMS Temeraire, one of the last second-rate ships of the line to have played a role in the Battle of Trafalgar, being towed up the Thames by a paddle-wheel steam tug in 1838, towards its final berth in Rotherhithe to be broken up for scrap

Sunflowers, fourth version by Vincent van Gogh

92.1 × 73 cm

The fourth version of the painting was attacked on October 14, 2022 by environmental activists from the Just Stop Oil campaign, who threw tinned tomato soup at it, while it was on display at National Gallery in London, before gluing their hands to the wall.

The Arnolfini Portrait

82.2 × 60 cm

An oil painting on oak panel by the Early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck, dated 1434. It is a full-length double portrait, believed to depict the Italian merchant Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife, presumably in their residence at the Flemish city of Bruges.

Saint Michael triumphant over the Devil with the Donor Antoni Joan Bartolomé Bermejo about 1440 – about 1501

179.7 × 81.9 cm

A saint clad in shining armour raises his sword to strike a hideous demon beneath his feet. This is the Archangel Michael fighting the devil, as described in the Book of Revelation.

(1522–1523)  is an oil painting by Titian

176.5 × 191 cm

Bacchus, god of wine, emerges with his followers from the landscape to the right. Falling in love with Ariadne on first sight, he leaps from his chariot, drawn by two cheetahs, towards her.

The Water Lily Pond, Claude Monet 1840 – 1926

88.3 × 93.1 cm

In 1893 Monet bought a plot of land next to his house in Giverny. He had already planted a colourful flower garden, but now he wanted to create a water garden ‘both for the pleasure of the eye and for the purpose of having subjects to paint’

Self Portrait at the Age of 34 by Rembrandt

91 × 75 cm

This is one of dozens of self portraits by Rembrandt. We see the artist in confident pose – self-assured, dressed in expensive-looking fur and velvet, his hat laced with jewels.

After the Bath, Woman drying herself Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas 1834 – 1917

103.5 × 98.5 cm

The ungainly but authentic-looking pose makes it easy to believe that Degas was present in the woman’s room, catching her before she could straighten herself.

Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

1571 – 1610

91.5 × 106.7 cm

This is a late work by Caravaggio, probably painted towards the end of his life. He has reduced the story to its essentials, focusing on the human tragedy and conveying the scene’s emotional power through a restricted range of colour, pronounced chiaroscuro and dramatic gesture.

Mr and Mrs Andrews Thomas Gainsborough

1727 – 1788

69.8 × 119.4 cm

This portrait of Mr Robert (1725–1806) and Mrs Frances Andrews (about 1732–1780) is the masterpiece of Gainsborough’s early career. It has been described as a ‘triple portrait’ – of Robert Andrews, his wife and his land.

Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan Hans Holbein the Younger

1497/8 – 1543

179.1 × 82.6 cm

This elegant young woman is Christina of Denmark, the youngest daughter of King Christian of Denmark. In 1538, King Henry VIII of England was looking for a fourth wife, after the death of Jane Seymour the previous year. As Henry’s official court artist, Holbein was sent to Brussels to capture the 16-year-old Christina’s likeness.

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal Johannes Vermeer 1632 – 1675

51.7 × 45.2 cm

The young woman at the keyboard holds our eye with a direct gaze. The empty chair suggests she is expecting someone and the large painting of a naked Cupid, the god of erotic love, on the wall behind her may be a signal that she is waiting for her lover.

Venus and Mars Sandro Botticelli about 1445 – 1510

69.2 × 173.4 cm

Venus, the goddess of love, looks over at her lover Mars. She is alert and dignified, while he – the god of war – is utterly lost in sleep. He doesn‘t even notice the chubby satyr (half child, half goat) blowing a conch shell in his ear.

The Entombment (or Christ being carried to his Tomb) Michelangelo 1475 – 1564

161.7 × 149.9 cm

This is one of perhaps only three surviving panel paintings by the great Florentine artist Michelangelo.

An Allegory with Venus and Cupid Bronzino 1503 – 1572

146.1 × 116.2 cm

Venus, goddess of love, steals an arrow from her son Cupid’s quiver as she kisses him on the lips.

The picture was probably sent to King Francis I of France as a gift from Cosimo I de’ Medici, ruler of Florence, who employed Bronzino as a court painter.

Seaport with the Embarkation of Saint Ursula Claude 1604/5? – 1682

112.9 × 149 cm

According to the legend, Saint Ursula, a Christian princess from Britain or Brittany, made a holy pilgrimage to Rome with 11,000 virgins. Dressed in yellow and holding a flag with a red cross, Ursula watches her companions embark on their return voyage. They carry bows and arrows, weapons that represent their death later in the story.

A Wheatfield, with Cypresses Vincent van Gogh 1853 – 1890

72.1 × 90.9 cm

Van Gogh painted several versions of A Wheatfield, with Cypresses during the summer of 1889, while he was a patient in the psychiatric hospital of Saint-Paul de Mausole, in the village of St-Rémy in the south of France.