Gebelein Man – a 5,500 year old murder mystery
One of the oldest pieces in the museum is not stone or porcelain or metal, but an actual human being – someone who walked around […]
museums
The Lewis Chess Pieces in the British Museum
One of the most famous of the early medieval exhibits from the museum is the Lewis chessmen. 93 separate pieces, in a variety of sizes, […]
Tang Grave Figures
The Tang dynasty – 618AD to 907AD – was one of the golden ages of China. We’re often a bit unspecific about the dates of […]
Monet – The Gare St Lazare
PREVIOUS: CONSTABLE – STRATFORD MILL Claude Monet: The Gare St Lazare: 1877 This picture is an urban Parisian scene rather than a rural view, but […]
Constable – Stratford Mill
PREVIOUS: TURNER – THE FIGHTING TEMERAIRE John Constable: Stratford Mill: 1820 We think of Constable’s landscapes as classic images of the English countryside, almost ‘chocolate […]
Drouais – Madame de Pompadour at her tambour frame
PREVIOUS: CARAVAGGIO – THE SUPPER AT EMMAUS Francois-Hubert Drouais: Madame de Pompadour at her Tambour Frame: 1763-4 This is Madame de Pompadour. Erstwhile mistress to […]
Van Dyck – Equestrian Portrait of Charles I
PREVIOUS: VELAZQUEZ – PHILIP IV IN BROWN AND SILVER Anthony van Dyck: Equestrian Portrait of Charles I: 1637-8 The first thing that strikes you about this […]
Rembrandt – the Woman taken in Adultery
PREVIOUS: TITIAN – BACCHUS AND ARIADNE Rembrandt: The Woman Taken in Adultery: 1644 This is a religious painting by the Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmenzoon van […]
Turner – the Fighting Temeraire
PREVIOUS: DROUAIS – MADAME DE POMPADOUR J M W Turner: The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last Berth to be broken up: 1838 We see […]
Holbein – The Ambassadors
PREVIOUS: RAPHAEL – POPE JULIUS II Hans Holbein: The Ambassadors: 1533 This is a picture full of meanings – some obvious, some hidden. We can […]