The Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows by John Constable

Painted in 1831, one of Constable’s grandest compositions is largely made up of humble items lie a little river, some bits of a broken fence, undergrowth, cumulus clouds and a willow. In the distance one sees the spire of Salisbury Cathedral rising to the heavens, a rainbow arching above it. Critics say the feel the [...]

Claude Monet’s water lily paintings

Monet’s grand late paintings are not just a set of pictures but a universe that envelops the observer. Perhaps Monet’s most well known is being the “father of Impressionism” is best exemplified here with this series (in the Orangerie, Paris). In one sense, they show almost nothing; a bit of water at the end of [...]

“I pressed the fire control…”

Many late 20th century artists have been associated with Pop art, but few as closely as Roy Lichtenstein. And his classic WHAAM! at London’s Tate Gallery is perhaps his most well-known piece. Using imagery and styles from mass media to make art of a monumental scale and formal power, few have done more than Lichtenstein [...]

An abstract expressionist explosion in the heart of New York City

Of the many proud possessions New York’s Museum of Modern Art can claim, one is undoubtedly Jackson Pollock’s No. 31. A marvelous example of how art can make something out of nothing much, it is an orgy of dribbles, splashes, specks and flickers which my not do much for the observer at first, but if [...]

The mysterious murals at Pompeii’s Villa of the Mysteries

Being some of the most complete and best preserved set of mural paintings to have come down from classical antiquity, the murals at Pompeii’s Villa of Mysteries are really breathtaking. All life-sized figures set against a deep red background, the subject matter depicted here includes nudity, pagan rites and even torture and offer a fascinating [...]

Bernini’s The Ecstasy of St Teresa

A master of metamorphosis, Bernini’s hewed stone truly appears to become cloth in this masterpiece. The Ecstasy of St Teresa at the Cornaro Chapel of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome has been called a metaphor for quivering emotion. Using marble, metal, stucco and even light, Bernini’s masterpiece is also a type of baroque mixed-media [...]

The Isenheim Alterpiece by Matthias Grünewald

Not much is known about this mysterious contemporary of Dürer, but the folding panels of his astounding, multi-layered early 16th-century work in Colmar, France amaze admirers to this day. Grünewald’s depiction of the extremes of physical anguish and mystic joy, combined with images at once ecstatic, scarifying and quite eerie, makes this one of the [...]

Caravaggio’s scenes from the life of St Matthew

Caravaggio’s works are known for bringing an almost cinematic quality of drama to the art of painting. In an almost bizarre baroque form of cinema noir, his world of deep shadows, sharp highlights and squalid details are meant to shock with their directness and violence. And at the Contarelli Chapel San Luigi dei Francesi in [...]

Tintoretto’s vast and gripping crucifixion panorama

Many an art expert has said that Jacopo Tintoretto’s Crucifixion at the Venetian Scuola Grande die San Rocco constitutes one of the greatest oil paintings in existence. El Greco himself called it “The greatest painting that exists today in the world”. Famous for his colossal cycle of oil paintings, more than 50 major works in [...]

Is the Ardabil Carpet the most beautiful carpet on earth?

Believed by many to be the grandest, best-preserved and most exquisite oriental carpet in existence, the Persian Ardabil Carpet in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum is certainly colossal. Measuring eleven by five meters, this flawlessly ordered work of essentially abstract art nevertheless contains a number of clearly identifiable motifs like flowers and lamps.

Completed in 1539-40 [...]