Angel Musicians Pisa c. 1350 |
Madonna & Child Antoniazzo Romano c. 1480 |
By accident I came across a group of artifacts from one among the large number of American tycoon-museums created during the glory days of this nation's international dominance. From about 1890 to about 1990 American collectors had far more money than anybody else. Old Master works of art from Europe could be and were hoovered up by the shipload and transported to the New World, there to be displayed in purpose-built museums with the tycoons' names over the doors.
Saint Cecilia Guido Reni 1606 |
Liberation of Saint Peter Hendrick van Steenwyck 1618 |
Flower Bouquet Jan Brueghel the Elder c. 1620 |
Saint Ignatius of Loyola Peter Paul Rubens c. 1620 |
Anne of Austria Peter Paul Rubens c. 1622 |
Louis XIII Peter Paul Rubens c. 1622 |
David & Goliath Peter Paul Rubens c. 1630 |
Portrait of a Young Man Jan Lievens c. 1640 |
What I picked for posting here was determined, as usual, by the irresponsible promptings of personal taste, and not by any wish for balance or a fairly distributed representation. That explains why fully half my choices are from the 17th century (the place where I intend to move permanently after I retire from my job at the library). Work from other centuries is equally worthwhile, no doubt, but less resonant.
Interior of Saint Peter's, Rome Giovanni Paolo Pannini 1735 |
Triumph of Virtue & Nobility over Ignorance Giovanni Battista Tiepolo c. 1740 |
Mouth of the Seine at Honfleur Claude Monet 1865 |
Bouquet of Lilacs Pierre August Renoir 1875 |
Mulberry Tree Vincent van Gogh 1889 |
Tahitians Paul Gauguin 1899 |