Art and Art History Collection (Saskia)
The Art and Art History Collection from Saskia Ltd., Cultural Documentation features a wide range of digital images with an emphasis on the history of Western art. There are 3,645 images in this collection. Image sets include: The Dresden Collection, Brueghel and Rubens, Ancient Greek Art (Architecture and Sculpture), Ancient Art (Minoan and Roman), Roman Art, Michelangelo, Italian Renaissance, Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Contemporary Architecture. Images from art history textbooks include: Gardner, Expanded Gardner, Stokstad, Gilbert, Hartt, Cunningham, and Reich.
Access note: Only thumbnail images and descriptive information are available to non-USF users. Full access to this collection is available only to authorized users on the USF network on campus or via VPN. For more information or to report technical issues please contact us.
-
The Birth of Venus (detail)
Unknown
Botticelli took liberties with nature in order to achieve a graceful outline add to the beauty and harmony of the design because they enhance the impression of an infinitely gender and delicate being, wafted to our shores as a gift from Heaven.
-
The Birth of Venus (detail)
Unknown
The picture was probably realized on behalf of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici or otherwise commissioned to be presented to him. In his villa at Castello, near Florence, the painting is documented at the half of the 16th century, as well as two other masterworks by Botticelli, the Primavera and Pallas and the Centaur (both at the Uffizi). The scene represents Venus, born of the sea, being sped by Zephir towards land, where an Hour is ready to cover her with a beautiful cloak.
-
The Birth of Venus (detail)
Unknown
The scene represents Venus, born of the sea, being sped by Zephir towards land, where Pomona is ready to cover her with a beautiful cloak.
-
The Birth of Venus (detail)
Unknown
The scene represents Venus, born of the sea, being sped by Zephir towards land, where an Hour is ready to cover her with a beautiful cloack. This mythological subject was very important in Renaissance literature and philosopy, so the scene can hint different allegorical means. The canvas certainly reflects the presence of Botticelli among the Florentine humanistic circle and his study on classical sculpture, since this celebrated Venus recalls many ancient statues of the goddess.
-
The Birth of Venus
Unknown
The action of the picture is quickly understood. Venus has emerged from the sea on a shell which is driven to the shore by flying wind-gods amidst a shower of roses. As she is about to step on to the land, one of the Hours or Nymphs receives her with a purple cloak. Botticelli's Venus is so beautiful that we do not notice the unnatural length of her neck, the steep fall of her shoulders and the queer way her left arm is hinged to the body. Or, rather, we should say that these liberties which Botticelli took with nature in order to achieve a graceful outline add to the beauty and harmony of the design because they enhance the impression of an infinitely gender and delicate being, wafted to our shores as a gift from Heaven.
-
The Birth of Venus (detail)
Unknown
The painting was executed for the villa of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici at Castello. The patron who commissioned the Botticelli painting for his country villa was a member of the rich and powerful family of the Medici. Either he himself, or one of his learned friends, probably explained to the painter what was known of the way the ancients had represented Venus rising from the sea. To these scholars the story of her birth was the symbol of mystery through which the divine message of beauty came into the world.
-
The Annunciation (detail)
Unknown
The picture, commissioned in 1489, was painted for the church of the florentine convent of Cestello (today Santa Maria Maddalena de'Pazzi) in borgo Pinti. The scene is notable for dramatic force suggested by the pose of the Virgin; the figures are placed inside a perspective space, open in the background on a beautiful landscape.
-
The Annunciation (detail)
Unknown
The picture, commissioned in 1489, was painted for the church of the florentine convent of Cestello (today Santa Maria Maddalena de'Pazzi) in borgo Pinti. The scene is notable for dramatic force suggested by the pose of the Virgin; the figures are placed inside a perspective space, open in the background on a beautiful landscape.
-
The Annunciation (detail)
Unknown
The picture, commissioned in 1489, was painted for the church of the florentine convent of Cestello (today Santa Maria Maddalena de'Pazzi) in borgo Pinti. The scene is notable for dramatic force suggested by the pose of the Virgin; the figures are placed inside a perspective space, open in the background on a beautiful landscape. Restored in 1987 .
-
Sacred Allegory (detail)
Unknown
The scheme used by Bellini was still the traditional one, planned according to a rational and controlled construction of the whole composition, although signs of the imminent new landscapist vision of the 16th ventury can be discerned.The picture is, however, justly one of the most famous of the master's paintings, inspired, in the already complete tonal unity of the colour, by a spirit of profound and visionary contemplation.
-
Sacred Allegory (detail)
Unknown
Figures at leftThis picture is thought to be commissioned by Isabella d'Este to Giambellino around 1485 or 1504, but dating is uncertain as well as the iconography. The subject is a sacred allegory, as pointed out by the Cross on the right and by figures: among them are probably the Virgin, seated on the left, and some Saints. Many interpretations of this scene have been proposed: a symbolic representing of the Garden of Paradise, an allegory of Mercy or Justice, a 'sacra conversazione'. The perfect armony of the composition, with tonal values and light effects, overcomes anyway the peculiar iconography of this famous Bellini's masterwork.
-
Sacred Allegory
Unknown
The meaning of the representation of the painting is an unresolved question. According to the various interpretations the painting would be seen respectively as: (1) the pictorial representation of a French allegorical poem of the 14th century; (2) a Sacred Conversation; (3) a complex allegorical representation of God's four daughters (Mercy, Justice, Peace, Charity); (4) the vision of Paradise; (5) a meditation on incarnation.In the past the painting was for long attributed to Giorgione owing to the warm diffusion of the light, the subtle but total naturalism, and the air drenched with golden color.
-
Coronation of the Virgin (detail) The Coronation of the Virgin with Saints
Unknown
The altarpiece comes from the Camaldolese monastery (now destroyed) of San Benedetto fuori della Porta a Pinti, Florence. It is a smaller version of one painted in 1414 for the main church of the order in Florence, where Lorenzo Monaco was a monk.
-
Coronation of the Virgin (detail) The Coronation of the Virgin with Saints
Unknown
The altarpiece was executed in 1414 for the church of the Florentine monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli where the artist lived, being a Camaldolite monk. The Coronation is surrounded by two saints's groups, over the circles of the seven sky; the rich coloring of the polypthyc and the sacred atmosphere the painter realized are still involved with the tradition of international Gothic painting, wich was to give way to the new Renaissance art. On the spires are represented the Blessing Christ in the middle of the Annunciation, while the predella is decorated with scenes from the lifes of Mary, Christ and Saint Benedict, patron of the Camaldolite Order.
-
Coronation of the Virgin (detail) The Coronation of the Virgin with Saints
Unknown
Among the saints on the right wing are Romuald (in white), Peter holding keys, John the Evangelist with a book inscribed with words from his Gospel (1: 1), Lawrence and Dominic.
-
Coronation of the Virgin (detail) The Coronation of the Virgin with Saints
Unknown
The saints on the left wing include Benedict (in white) with a book inscribed with the words from his Rule, Matthew with a book inscribed with words from his Gospel (2: 1), Miniato, Stephen, and Francis.
-
Coronation of the Virgin (detail) The Coronation of the Virgin with Saints
Unknown
The 'Coronation of the Virgin', the centre panel of the altarpiece, shows Mary being crowned Queen of Heaven by her son Jesus Christ, in the presence of saints and choirs of angels with musical instruments
-
The Tempest (The Storm)(detail)
Unknown
This painting, the meaning of which has been greatly debated, marks a moment of capital importance in the renovation of the Venetian style painting, and perhaps is the most representative of the very few genuine surviving works of Giorgione.The vigour of cultural life at the beginning of the sixteenth century provided exactly the right fertile ground for the personality of Giorgione. With Giovanni Bellini and Vittore Carpaccio as examples in his early training and with his attentive interest in Northern European painting of Belgium he soon decided to attempt a naturalistic language. Colour attains to new all-important powers of expression of the poetic equivalence of man and nature in a single, fearful apprehension o,f the cosmos.
-
Madonna and Child with Saints Mary Magdalen and Catherine Sacred Conversation
Unknown
The light, in fact, softly progressing over the faces and garments, strikes from the side of the assorted figures of the Virgin and Saints Catherine and Magdalene, silent companions of the former in sacred contemplation. Also in the characteristic symmetrical composition of all Bellini's sacred conversations, the spreading of a crepuscular and intimate light that tinges the figures is a demonstration of how far ahead Bellini was proceeding in these years in developing the concepts of space and color. The indistinct background, completely lacking any kind of connotation, is just "opened" in depth by the two diagonal wings of the saints which close at the sides the perfect pyramid formed by the group of the Madonna and Child.
-
The Tempest (The Storm)
Unknown
This painting marks a moment of capital importance in the renovation of the Venetian style painting.The fascination of the painting arises from the pictorial realization of the illustrative elements. In the vibrant brightness which immediately precedes the breaking of the storm the chromatic values follow one another in fluid gradations achieved by the modulation of the tones in the fused dialectic of light and shadow in an airy perspective of atmospheric value within a definite space. Completely liberated from any subjection to drawing or perspective, colour is the dominant value in a new spacial-atmospheric synthesis which is fundamental to the art of painting in its modern sense.
-
Madonna of the Little Trees Madonna and Child
Unknown
Among Venetian artists, Bellini led the way in fostering the style of "tonalism," which gave less importance to design and graphics while highlighting the tones of light and color. By the time Titian was starting his career, the elderly Bellini was breaking new ground again by adding mythological and allegorical scenes to the religious ones that had dominated the art of the fifteenth century.
-
Esther before Ahasver Estherand Ahasver
Unknown
This picture illustrates the Old Testament story of the Jewish Queen Esther who appeared, unbidden, before King Ahasuerus, risking his disfavor to plead for her people. To prepare herself, Esther fasted for three days, and artists usually showed her in a swoon to underscore her emotional state of mind. Paolo Veronese was one of the great masters of the Venetian school. Originally named Paolo Caliari, he was called Veronese from his native city of Verona. Although highly successful, he had little immediate influence, the Flemish baroque master Peter Paul Rubens and the 18th-century Venetian painters, especially Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, however, Veronese's handling of color and perspective supplied an indispensable point of departure.
-
Christ Crowned with Thorns (detail)
Unknown
Here Titian aims at balancing the agitated gestures of the executioners with the patient immobility of Christ accepting the sacrifice.
-
Ecce Homo (detail)
Unknown
The main figure of Christ is found not in the centre as was customary but at the outermost edge of the canvas. Additional Mannerist devices may be seen here in the vigorous movement motifs and the uneven use of colour, sometimes dull and then again aggressive. The painting was conceived for the city palace (on the Grand Canal) of the Flemish businessman Giovanni dAnna (actually, van Haanen). This explains the pictures theme, rarely found in Italy but highly regarded in the North. Depicted is the dramatic and portentous scene (John 19:4-16) in which Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator of Jerusalem, leads Christ, after his questioning and scourging, before the masses and says, "Ecce homo! (Behold the man!) and offers his release.
-
Ecce Homo (detail)
Unknown
Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator of Jerusalem, leads Christ, after his questioning and scourging, before the masses and says, "Ecce homo! (Behold the man!) and offers his release. The masses, however, demand his crucifixion. Within the pictorial setting of the ancient Roman Empire, Titian mixes time periods together by introducing the current Habsburg imperial house into the scene. (He had been their titled court painter since 1533.) The double eagle on the shield and next to it the addition to the signature of eques ces(aris) imperial knight were signs of homage paid by Titian to his Habsburg sovereigns.
-
Ecce Homo
Unknown
During the 1540s, the compositional principles of Mannerism can be found in Titians work. The painting "Ecce Homo (dated 1543) comes from this brief period. Influenced by Michelangelo and his circle in Florence and Rome, Titian assumes their predilection for asymmetric composition. The treatment advances rapidly from lower right to upper left, and the main figure of Christ is found, amazingly enough, not in the centre as was customary but at the outermost edge of the canvas. Additional Mannerist devices may be seen here in the vigorous movement motifs and the uneven use of colour, sometimes dull and then again aggressive.
-
Bacchanal at Andros Bacchanal
Unknown
The colouring and movement of the figures are magnificent; and, of course, the splendid reclining female nude.
-
Danae
Unknown
Between 1553 and 1554 Titian executed for the Habsburgs two "mythological fables" of clearly erotic intent, the Danae and the Venus and Adonis, both now in the Prado, Madrid. The Danae is really a variation on a canvas painted ten years earlier for the Farnese family. With greater fidelity to Ovid's text, the Cupid has now been replaced by the elderly nurse who attempts to use her apron to gather the shower of gold into which Jupiter had transformed himself in order to possess the young woman.
-
Danae (detail)
Unknown
Between 1553 and 1554 Titian executed for the Habsburgs two "mythological fables" of clearly erotic intent, the Danae and the Venus and Adonis, both now in the Prado, Madrid. The Danae is really a variation on a canvas painted ten years earlier for the Farnese family. With greater fidelity to Ovid's text, the Cupid has now been replaced by the elderly nurse who attempts to use her apron to gather the shower of gold into which Jupiter had transformed himself in order to possess the young woman.
-
Christ and the Adulteress (detail) Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery
Unknown
Painted of the adulteress at the moment when Our Lord writes the letters in the dirt with his hand, and the Scribes and Pharisees depart, one after the other, concealing themselves among the columns of a portico that is represented with the most rare perspectival skill; and it is a picture filled with much erudition. The pictorial erudition that so struck Ridolfi is demonstrated in the perspective structure, yet Tintoretto did not achieve this effortlessly: x-rays have revealed errors and redrawings in the lines of the architecture, above all in the patterning of the pavement.
-
Christ and the Adulteress Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery
Unknown
Painted of the adulteress at the moment when Christ writes the letters in the dirt with his hand, and the Scribes and Pharisees depart, or, concealing themselves among the columns of a portico that is represented with the most rare perspectival skill; and it is a picture filled with much erudition. The pictorial erudition that so struck Ridolfi is demonstrated in the perspective structure, yet Tintoretto did not achieve this effortlessly: x-rays have revealed errors and redrawings in the lines of the architecture, above all in the patterning of the pavement. There is a strong centrifugal movement to the scene, and its quality of space extended by light seems to prefigure the artist's trilogy of paintings of the life of St Mark.
-
Madonna of the Victory (painting commemorates the League of Venice's victory over King Charles VIII of France on July 6, 1495)
Unknown
Detail with St. John and St. Elizabeth
-
Madonna of the Victory (painting commemorates the League of Venice's victory over King Charles VIII of France on July 6, 1495)
Unknown
Center with Virgin and Child and Francesco Gonzaga (Margrave of Mantua (1466-1519)
-
La Giaconda Mona Lisa
Unknown
If Vasari is correct, the portrait which Leonardo took to France, that was acquired by Fran
-
La Giaconda Mona Lisa
Unknown
Painted on a thin backing of poplar wood, the modeling of the face is astonishingly realistic. After preparing the wooden panel with several layers of coating, he first of all drew his motif directly onto the picture, before painting it in oil, adding very weak turpentine, which enabled him to paint on inumerable layers of transparent colour, known as glaze, and to endlessly remodel the face. The glaze, skilfully worked, heightens the effects of light and shade on the face, constituting what Leonardo himself called "sfumato". This technique enables the perfect imitation of flesh, due to refined treatment of the human figure plunged into half-obscurity or chiaroscurro, and enabled Leonardo to satisfy his preoccupation with realism.
-
The Visitation
Unknown
A contemporary of Botticelli, Ghirlandaio was head of the main Florentine workshop of the late 15th century. Some of his major works were executed for the Tornabuoni family; the cycle of the Life of the Virgin in the choir of Santa Maria Novella, and soon after, the Louvre pala which was commissioned by Lorenzo Tornabuoni for the chapel of the church of Cestello in Florence (Santa Maria Maddelena dei Pazzi) and completed, according to Vasari, by the two brothers of the artist. The figures, which combine linear grace with monumentality, stand out against a classical arch which opens onto a view of Rome.
-
Abduction of Ganymede (detail)
Unknown
The picture of the shepherd boy Ganymede, abducted and taken to Olympus by the father of the gods (in the guise of an eagle), was intended for the same setting as the painting of the nymph Io. Correggio makes skilful use of the narrow format, employing both movement and foreshortening with
-
Madonna with St. Peter and Saint Sabastion La Vierge et l'Enfant entre saint Pierre et saint S
Unknown
The painting is signed as "IOANNES BELLINVS". Earlier it was attributed to Basaiti, presently the attribution to Bellini is universally accepted.
-
Adoration of the Magi
Unknown
Bassano executed this painting on Verona marble, masterfully integrating the patterning of the marble into his composition. In the tradition of Venetian painters, Bassano was highly regarded for his brilliant manipulation of light and color. For example, in the D'Arcy octagonal marbles, Bassano has harmonized vibrant blues and yellows with the sublime roses and whites of the background surface. The preciousness of material and the treatment of the figures represent a courtly style of painting often called Mannerism. The figures are highly elegant, graceful, and peculiarly elongated. The sophistication of Italian Mannerism, as well as the sumptuous marble and ebony used by Bassano, appealed especially to aristocratic patrons.
-
Madonna and Child with Saints Catherine and James the Greater
Unknown
Virgin and Child with Saint Catherine
-
The Three Philosophers
Unknown
The reason for this enigma for this painting is that the theme was made to order for an exclusive patron and known only to him, and the painter. The, landscape attains the same importance as the human figure. Also unprecedented was the way his painting methods concentrated on colour effect. Giorgione created an illusion of airiness and atmosphere in his landscapes by using warm, delicately shaded colours over relatively large areas and by letting one hue flow into another similar one. Instead of the geometrically constructed central perspective, he employed the visual experience of an aerial perspective and its sfumato (smoky effect of light and shade), suggesting the spatial depths by colours and contours that melt into the distance.
-
Pallas and the Centaur (detail)
Unknown
According to Humanist symbolism: wisdom (Pallas) overcomes instinct (the centaur), concluding the conceptual definition of Humanitas present in the other two allegories. A Roman sarcophagus inspired the face of the centaur.
-
Pallas and the Centaur (detail)
Unknown
The strong and vigorous figure of Pallas can be traced back to classical sculpture and the Roman sarcophagus which inspired the face of the centaur has been identified.
-
Pastoral Concert (F Concert champ
Unknown
The scenery is characterized by a duality. Between the elegant, slim trees on the left, we see a multi-levelled villa, while on the right, in a lush grove, we see a shepherd playing a bagpipe. Yet the effect is completely unified. The very presence of the beautiful, mature Muses provides inspiration; the harmony of scenery and figures, colours and forms proclaims the close interrelationship between man and nature, poetry and music.
-
Pastoral Concert (F Concert champ
Unknown
The female figures in the foreground are the Muses of poetry, their nakedness reveals their divine being. The standing figure pouring water from a glass jar represents the superior tragic poetry, while the seated one holding a flute is the Muse of the less prestigious comedy or pastoral poetry. The well-dressed youth who is playing a lute is the poet of exalted lyricism, while the bareheaded one is an ordinary lyricist. The painter based this differentiation on Aristotle's "Poetica".
-
Pastoral Concert (F Concert champ
Unknown
The painting has been interpreted as an allegory of Nature, similar to Giorgione's Storm, which was undeniably painted by him; it was even viewed as the first example of the modern herdsman genre. Its message must be more complex than this. It is likely that the master consciously unified several themes in this painting, and the deciphering of symbols required a degree of erudition even at the time of its creation. During the eighteenth century the painting was known by the simple name of "Pastorale" and only subsequently was it given the title "F
-
Summer: Shearing of Sheep, with Abraham and Isaac
Unknown
Francesco Bassano the Younger (originally Francesco Giambattista da Ponte), Italian painter, eldest son, pupil and employee of Jacopo Bassano. His first independent work is from 1574. He ran the Venetian branch of the workshop until committing suicide a few months after his father's death. Then Leandro took over the workshop.
-
Madonna and Child Enthroned (detail) Madonna and Child Enthroned with Donor
Unknown
Crivelli's painting originally constituted the central section of a polyptych in the parish church at Porto San Giorgio, near Fermi. The crisp, sculptural forms reflect Crivelli's probable training in the humanist center of Padua. Yet the manner in which Crivelli's figures are modeled in light and shade also expresses a broader Renaissance concern with direct observation of nature. The artist's fascination with the use of chiaroscuro to create an illusion of space and tangible substance has created an overall impression of sculptured marble. Note the diminutive donor kneeling in the lower left corner and the crown which, in the order to heighten the illusion of form, has been partly modeled in low relief.
-
Madonna and Child Enthroned (detail) Madonna and Child Enthroned with Donor
Unknown
Crivelli's painting originally constituted the central section of a polyptych in the parish church at Porto San Giorgio, near Fermi. The crisp, sculptural forms reflect Crivelli's probable training in the humanist center of Padua. Yet the manner in which Crivelli's figures are modeled in light and shade also expresses a broader Renaissance concern with direct observation of nature. The artist's fascination with the use of chiaroscuro to create an illusion of space and tangible substance has created an overall impression of sculptured marble. Note the diminutive donor kneeling in the lower left corner and the crown which, in the order to heighten the illusion of form, has been partly modeled in low relief.
-
The Transfiguration (detail)
Unknown
This is the second and final version of the subject by Bellini. The first version was executed in c. 1455.
-
The Transfiguration (detail)
Unknown
This is the second and final version of the subject by Bellini. The first version was executed in c. 1455.
-
Dana
Unknown
The maiden is reclining on a bed of classical design ornamented with knobs. Nearby Eros, as an intercessor between Zeus and the maiden, and representing divine desire, helps her to hold the sheet, so as not to loose the seed. At their feet two cupids, one wingless and the other winged, and intended as a contrast between "sacred love and profane love", are busy engraving a tablet with an arrow. It is a perfectly handled and balanced scene, that, while reminiscent of Titian's paintings, is not free of influence of Giulio Romano.
-
The Last Supper (detail)
Unknown
Jacopo Bassano's Last Supper, painted in 1542, is one of the masterpieces of 16th century Italian painting. Instead of the elegant grouping of figures in Leonardos' painting, which inspired it, this dramatic scene features barefoot fishermen at the crucial moment when Christ asks who will betray him, and the light passing through a glass of wine stains the clean tablecoth red. Recent restoration has only now revealed the extraordinary original colours, which had been heavily painted over in the 19th century, when the emerald green and iridescent pinks and oranges were not in fashion.
