Anthony Van Dyck Lucas Vorsterman Antwerp, about 1630 Etching 24.8 x 16 cm Lucas Vorsterman (1595-1675) was a talented engraver who was employed by Rubens to create reproductions of the master’s work until a violent dispute ended their relationship. This engraving is one of 80 prints that appeared in Van Dyck’s series ‘portraits of famous … Read more
Charles Le Brun Louis XIV Paris, about 1663 Black, red and white chalk 43.5 X 35.2 cm This study of Louis XIV (1638-1715) was drawn from life when the king was aged 25 and had been suffering from scarlet fever. Le Brun was particularly interested in how a person’s face could reveal their personality. Here … Read more
Indian, Deccani School Portrait of Sultan Ali Adil Shah II India, 17th century Coloured ink on paper and fabric 38.9 x 23.7 cm Painted in Bijapur by an unknown master, this jewel-like miniature depicts Sultan Ali Adil Shah II, who reigned between 1656 and 1672. Clad in a magnificent gold jama, which is decorated with emerald-green … Read more
Schelte Adamsz Bolswert after Peter Paul Rubens The Lion Hunt Flanders, late 1620s Engraving with etching 428 x 596 mm This violent and dramatic hunting scene, after a painting by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), shows horses, men and wild beasts masterfully entwined, the range of facial expressions and contorted poses portraying the fury and fierce determination … Read more
Mattie Preti The Martyrdom of Saint Peter Naples, the late 1650s Oil on canvas 194.5 x 194.3 cm According to tradition, Saint Peter, Christ’s closest disciple and the first pope, chose to be crucified upside down to avoid comparison with his master. Here, the two executioners, shown with brutal realism, heave the cross upwards. One … Read more
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