Monday, January 15, 2018

The Old Masters

I had some time in the world section of the National Gallery of Canada before its closing for the day, but not a lot, so this time out we have less of the world art than I've shown you of Canadian art.

Portrait Of A Young Lady is an oil painting circa 1520-30 by the Italian artist Bartolomeo Veneto.


This altarpiece is titled The Virgin And Child With Saints, done around 1476-77 by Benozzo Gozzoli, commissioned for a church in Pisa.


The Abduction Of Europa is an oil canvas by the Dutch painter Caesar Boethus van Everdingen, done around 1650. He depicts the Greek myth of Zeus changing into a bull and carrying away the maiden Europa when she caught his eye- something that happened a lot with the overly frisky king of the gods.


A Sermon In The Old Church In Delft is by Emanuel de Witte, a Dutch painter, circa 1650-51. The artist focuses both on the architecture and the people in his use of light.


Rembrandt van Rijn is the painter at work here. A Woman At Her Toilet is the title of this, done around 1632-33. She may be a Biblical subject- Judith, Esther, or Bathsheba. 


This is an upper view of the reflecting pool I showed you earlier.


A Waterfall comes from the Dutch artist Jacob van Ruisdael, done between 1660-70. It places humanity as a fleeting presence among nature.


Young Woman With A Fan is an oil painting by the Italian artist Pietro Rotari, done between 1754-56.

39 comments:

  1. You had me with Zeus carrying off Europa and that Sermon in the Old Church ... But they are all fantastic paintings and worthy of such a fine museum!

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  2. My goodness! What a world class collection of art!

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  3. Beautiful oil painting which we don't get to see often.

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  4. The Dutch painters are well represented I see!

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  5. The impressions of light always fascinate me. Thank you for sharing.

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  6. These are the days to visit something indoors, even virtually!

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  7. @Lowell: there are wonderful works in here.

    @Kay: definitely!

    @Nancy: I enjoy seeing them.

    @Tom: certainly!

    @Francisco: thanks!

    @Marianne: there is a lot of Dutch art in the Gallery's collection.

    @Marie: you're welcome.

    @Jennifer: indeed!

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  8. So easy to get lost in the old paintings. So much diversity in one glance.

    Janis
    GDP

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  9. Hello, lovely exhibit and paintings. Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!

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  10. Incroyable to think they were painted so long ago William. Thank heavens they are so beautifully restored and looked after. My mind still goes back to imagine the artists actually painting these masterpieces ✨

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  11. Thanks for the personal tour, William

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  12. I like to look at old masters like these and wonder what life was like when they were painted.

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  13. these are incredible...love the waterfall!

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  14. Not my favorite type of art but it is important . I would definitely take a good look at it.

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  15. @Janis: that's true.

    @Eileen: thank you!

    @Grace: they were amazing artists.

    @Cloudia: you're welcome.

    @Sharon: their lives endure in their work.

    @Tanya: so do I.

    @Red: for me, that reaction would be to a Rothko or a Warhol.

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  16. Masterpieces! The last draws me most.

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  17. All the cold weather leaves me feeling like the "Woman with a Fan."
    Great photos

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  18. Wonderful masterpieces, William !

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  19. Wonderful that it is OK to take photos -- very nice for those of us not fortunate enough to live close enough to a real art museum and other Big city amenities. (It is sunny and warm here though.) The Virgin and Child with Saints is one I used to see (bad) reproductions of on the Holy cards we were given as rewards in my long-ago Catholic childhood (the painting was probably new then ;>)!!)

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  20. These are all wonderful, William!

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  21. @Christine: her gaze is mesmerizing.

    @Maywyn: I can see that!

    @Karl: I agree!

    @Lady Fi: thanks!

    @Sallie: yes, it's mostly photos allowed, with the odd work marked as off limits.

    @RedPat: I certainly thought so.

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  22. Nice contrast--Zeus & the Preacher. :-)

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  23. gorgeous pieces of art. neat styles. have a great week. ( ;

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  24. The Dutch had many wonderful artists.

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  25. Beautiful shots of the old world artists ~ favorite is the waterfall photo ~

    Happy Week to you,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  26. All wonderful and beautiful paintings. It's amazing that they were painted so long ago and still look fantastic. Thanks for the tour, William.

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  27. Truly wonderful to see.
    I would love to walk around in person, but your photographs have given a great tour.
    Thank you.

    All the best Jan

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  28. @Revrunner: a big contrast!

    @Beth: thank you!

    @Janey: they did indeed.

    @Carol: it's one that always draws me to it when I visit.

    @Bill: they're well taken care of.

    @Jan: you're welcome!

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  29. Lovely! Have you ready about the Google app that will compare your face to see if you resemble a portraits in a gallery somewhere? It's not available here yet but could be interesting!

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  30. I shall add my thanks. Wonderful art!

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  31. I have always liked 'Young Woman with a Fan' and those old gods were a frisky lot
    MB

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  32. Wonderful, I'm not really surprised to see a lot af Dutch masters in the collection.

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  33. @Jenn: I've heard of that at some point.

    @Mari: thank you!

    @Whisk: wow indeed.

    @MB: they were!

    @Jan: we have quite a number of Dutch masters in this collection.

    @Klara: indeed!

    @Norma: quite so.

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