OBJECTS OF AFFECTION

Pre-Raphaelite Portraits by John Brett John Brett is best known for his early Pre-Raphaelite paintings, The Stonebreaker and Val d’Aosta and his late seascapes of the coast of Scotland, Wales and the West Country. This exhibition concentrates on a little-known aspect of his art – his portraiture. The great Victorian art critic John Ruskin, for a period his mentor, … Read more

PRINT POWER

The Religious, the Social & the Body In the 20th century, a number of artists rejuvenated the centuries-old art of printmaking to respond powerfully to modern issues. Visual motifs sourced from Christianity, society and the body were used to express the pain of contemporary life and to call for drastic change. The dynamic power of … Read more

A RAGE FOR THE LAKES

Lake District Views from Abbott Hall Art Gallery From the 1770s onwards, tourists travelled to the Lake District in ever increasing numbers, creating what one writer called a ‘Rage for the Lakes’. Many painted and drew their own response to the glorious scenery, while others bought works from the professional artists who followed in their … Read more

COURT ON CANVAS

Tennis in Art The first game of lawn tennis was played in 1859 by Major Harry Gem and his friend, Jean Batista Augurio Perera, on a court at the latter’s home, 8 Ampton Road, Edgbaston. This unique show at the Barber – less than half a mile away – is the first ever to explore … Read more

Giuseppe Maria Crespi (1665-1747)

Giuseppe Maria Crespi A Woman Looking for Fleas Bologna, about 1715/20 Oil on canvas 49.5 x 38 cm It is night, and a partially undressed woman surrounded by her stays, skirt hoops and stockings, searches for fleas. She has placed a pot of water in front of her in which to drown them.  At the … Read more

Gustave Courbet (1819 – 1877)

Gustave Courbet The Sea-Arch at Etretat Etretat, Normandy, 1869 Oil on canvas 76.2 x 123.1 cm The spectacular cliffs at Etretat culminate in a dramatic sea-arch with a needle of rock beyond. Courbet visited in the summer of 1869 and in a month completed five views of the cliffs and numerous seascapes.  He worked quickly, … Read more

Attributed to Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796 – 1875)

Attributed to Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Wooded Landscape with a Pond Paris, the mid-1830s Oil on canvas 46.4 x 74.1 cm This landscape possibly shows a scene at Le Martinet, near Montpellier in South France. Corot sketched there in 1836 and this studio work resembles a pencil drawing dated to that year.  The painting is signed and … Read more

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796 – 1875)

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Landscape with Distant Mountains Central France, the early 1840s Oil on canvas 18 x 29.8 cm This is one of numerous small informal studies that Corot painted on the spot throughout his life. One such as this would have taken no more than a single session to complete.  He made them as private … Read more

An Imitator of John Constable (1776-1837)

An Imitator of John Constable  The Glebe Farm England, the mid-19th century Oil on canvas 99 x 124.5 cm This was bought as a major work by Constable, one of a number of views of the glebe farm near Langham church, Essex. However, the colouring and brushwork do not match any of Constable’s works and … Read more

Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld (1758-1846)

Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld A Cascade on the River Liri Isola del Liri, Italy, 1787 Oil on paper, laid down on canvas 25.4 x 39.4 cm Bidauld’s oil sketch was painted on the spot during the French artist’s stay in Italy (1785-90). The artist made numerous such studies from which he later painted large historical landscapes in … Read more

Bicci di Lorenzo (1373 – 1452)

Bicci di Lorenzo Saint Romuald Florence, about 1425-50 Tempera on wood 34.3 x 22.8 cm Following on from his father Lorenzo di Bicci (1350-1427), Bicci ran an important art workshop in Florence selling religious objects like this one. His own son, Neri di Bicci (1419-1492), continued the business and his Saint John the Baptist Entering … Read more

Giovanni Bellini (about 1430 – 1516)

Giovanni Bellini Portrait of Giovanni Andrea Probi Venice, 1474 Oil and tempera on wood 38 x 23 cm Giovanni Andrea was the son of Angelo Probi (d. 1474), the Venetian ambassador for the King of Naples. This portrait formed the lid of an inheritance chest. In archived documents from the Probi property in Atri, Abruzzo … Read more

Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto (1687-1768)

Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto The Loggetta, Venice Venice, the 1730s Oil on canvas 45.5 x 75.4 cm The Loggetta (1537-40), at the base of the campanile, or bell tower, in Saint Mark’s Square in Venice, was built as a small assembly room. Canaletto’s painting was cut down at an unknown date, perhaps so … Read more

Jan van de Cappelle (about 1625 – 1679)

Jan van de Cappelle Boats on the River Waal Amsterdam, the 1650s Oil on canvas 71 x 63.5 cm This landscape shows a ferry, as well as fishing and trading vessels, on the choppy waters of the River Waal in southern Holland.  The church tower of Gorinchem is to the left, with Loevestein Castle on … Read more

John Brett (1831 – 1902)

John Brett Kennack Sands Cornwall, 1876 Oil on board 18 x 36 cm This work is typical of Brett’s small ‘on the spot’ oil sketches. He was in Cornwall in the summer of 1876, finding inspiration on the Lizard peninsula. This sketch was taken from the western end of Kennack Sands, looking east towards the distant … Read more

Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564 – 1637/38)

Pieter Brueghel the Younger Two Peasants Binding Firewood Antwerp, about 1604-16 Oil on panel 36.2 x 27.3 cm A woodland clearing during winter or early spring, perhaps February or March. Two men tie a bundle of firewood, while in the background a third man chops branches from a tree. Are these innocent, hardworking woodsmen, or … Read more

Abraham van Calraet (1642 – 1722)

Abraham van Calraet Horses and Cattle in a Landscape Dordrecht, the later 1600s Oil on wood 36 x 53.3 cm A carefully-posed group of horses, cattle and a sleeping dog occupy a river landscape. A passing peasant talks with a herdsman.  Calraet’s animal scenes, often with subtle evening effects, are closely based on the work … Read more

Eugène Boudin (1824 – 1898)

Eugène Boudin A Beach near Trouville Trouville, Normandy, 1895 Oil on canvas 54.3 x 81.2 cm This scene was painted on the spot and it is dated the 11th October, 1895.  Boudin was born nearby on the Normandy coast and he painted its beaches and harbours throughout his career. This is a more solitary scene … Read more

PIERRE BONNARD (1867 – 1947)

PIERRE BONNARD The Evening Meal Paris, about 1903 Oil on canvas 37.4 x 45.5 cm The scene shows Bonnard’s sister Andrée Terrasse and two of her children, Robert, and, silhouetted against the lamp, Vivette. They are seated for an evening meal in the Terrasse’s home at Le Grand-Lemps in the rural south of France.  Bonnard … Read more

Rembrandt Harmensz Van Rijn (1606-1669)

Rembrandt Harmensz Van Rijn A Sheet of Studies Netherlands, mid-1630s Pen, brown wash and red chalk 220 X 233 mm This sheet contains nine studies of five different figures and is the most important and complete set of studies by Rembrandt to survive intact. Many others appear to have been cut up at a later … Read more

Bartholomeus Breenbergh (1598-1657)

Bartholomeus Breenbergh Joseph Distributing Corn in Egypt Amsterdam, 1655 Oil on canvas 110.5 x 90 cm Joseph, at the top right, oversees the sale of corn during a time of famine. According to the Old Testament, Joseph had stored the fruits of seven bountiful years and the people of Egypt, watched by the Pharoah, to … Read more

Studio of Sandro Botticelli (about 1445 – 1510)

Studio of Sandro Botticelli The Virgin Mary, Infant Christ, and Saint John the Baptist Florence, about 1500 Tempera on canvas 130.7 x 91.4 cm Mary arches to the left as she lowers her son, Jesus, towards his cousin, John the Baptist. The elaborate garments that wrap around Mary’s head, neck and shoulders restrict her movement … Read more

François Bonvin (1817 – 1887)

François Bonvin The Attributes of Painting Paris, about 1879 Oil on canvas 49.4 x 60.5 cm This still life depicts the materials used in its making – including palette and brushes, tubes of paint, a portfolio of drawings, an inkwell and a paintbox. The French artist Bonvin painted the objects in the direct and uncompromisingly … Read more

Edgar Degas (1834-1917)

Edgar Degas Miss Lala at the Cirque Fernando France, 1879 Black chalk with touches of pastel 470 x 320 mm In 1879 Degas made this preparatory drawing of Miss LaLa, an acrobat of mixed European and African parentage. Renowned for her agility, she performed throughout Europe. This daring perspective shows LaLa suspended from the rafters … Read more

Giovanni Bellini (about 1430 – 1516)

Giovanni Bellini Saint Jerome in the Wilderness Venice, about 1455-60 Tempera on wood 44.2 x 30 cm This painting is one of the earliest known paintings by Giovanni Bellini and one of the first Venetian landscapes. The simple combination of beautifully crafted elements reflects Bellini’s youth at the start of his 60-year career. The sunny … Read more

Hippolyte Bellange (1800-1866)

Hippolyte Bellange The Entry of Bonaparte into Milan Paris, about 1822/4 Oil on canvas 44.4 x 60.3 cm Napoleon Bonaparte’s triumphal entry into Milan in May 1796 occurred during a military campaign which saw the rapid conquest of much of the Italian peninsular. Bellangé was commissioned to provide an illustration of the event for a … Read more

Domenico Beccafumi (1484 – 1551)

Domenico Beccafumi (1484 – 1551) Venus and Cupid Siena, 1519 Oil on wood 71.7 x 13.8 cm Beccafumi was inspired by classical sculptures of strong male bodies. In this androgynous interpretation of Venus (the Goddess of Love), he has softened the masculine shoulders with round breasts and a feminine head. The acidic yellow and pink … Read more

Jacopo Bassano (1510-1592)

Jacopo Bassano (1510-1592) The Adoration of the Magi Venice, about 1550 Oil on canvas 94.3 x 130 cm A crowd gather in the rolling countryside of the artist’s hometown of Bassano, Veneto. On the left, Joseph and Mary gaze lovingly at their son, Jesus. On the right, two of the magi (wise men) are surrounded … Read more

Edouard Manet (1832 – 1883)

Edouard Manet A Portrait of Carolus-Duran Montgeron, near Paris, 1876 Oil on canvas 191.8 x 172.7 cm Manet painted this study of the portraitist Emile-Auguste Carolus-Duran (1838 – 1917) when staying at a patron’s country estate near Paris. The two artists were old friends and they agreed to paint each other.  Carolus-Duran is shown in … Read more