BELLINI’S ST FRANCIS IN THE DESERT
September 27th 2025
“St Francis in the Desert”, c.1480, Giovanni Bellini, Frick Collection, New York. The use of the word “desert” in the title of this painting belies the landscape it depicts. St Francis is positioned in a landscape which includes a
CARAVAGGIO’S ST MATTHEW AND THE ANGEL
September 17th 2025
Caravaggio had already completed the call of St Matthew and his martyrdom for the lateral walls of the the Contarelli Chapel in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, when in 1602 he was commissioned to paint the altarpiece for
TINTORETTO’S CRUCIFIXION AT SAN CASSIANO
September 13th 2025
“Crucifixion”, Tintoretto, 1568, Church of San Cassiano, Venice. Tintoretto shows Christ crucified on waste ground, where only weeds and brambles grow. It seems to be on a ridge or high ground, beyond which Roman soldiers stand with their spears
Murillo’s Birth of the Virgin
September 6th 2025
“The Birth of the Virgin”, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1661, Louvre, Paris. This painting shows those moments just after the birth of the Virgin. Murillo based the scene on daily life as he knew it in Andalusia. The child is surrounded
