Автопортрет, 1878, музей Метрополитен Работы на Викискладе

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Самые извращенные демонические символы в изображениях Ада на его полотнах так или иначе ассоциируются со «знаком Зверя». Впрочем, никаких тому письменных свидетельств Босх нам не оставил. Каждый, кто всматривается в густонаселенные огромным количеством сюрреалистических образов миры Иеронима Босха, волен видеть в них то, что ему больше нравится. Или не нравится.   ( Read more... )         

A plump, naked boy, made of bronze. His curly hair is bound in a knot on his forehead and drapes onto his neck. The winged infant is the god of love Cupid. He is standing on his toes, stretching his arms as if about to loose an arrow: the right arm bent back, the left full out in front.

This shallow dish - a tazza - was designed as a drinking vessel. The object is a combination of various parts: a hollow, trumpet-shaped foot, a solid stem and a shallow bowl with a broad, flat rim. The glassblower varied the thickness of the stem. This gave the opportunity for additional decorative elements on the glass, such as the glass edges and the ribbed knop. Parts of the drinking vessel are superbly decorated with painted ornamentation in different colours.   rijksmuseum.nl

Like its predecessor, the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665-1667) was essentially a dispute about trade fought on water. The end of the war was hastened in June 1667 when the Dutch launched a spectacular raid on the English naval base at Chatham on the river Medway, east of London. It came as a complete surprise to the British. The Dutch smashed the chain that defended the river from enemy attack. As a result, they were able to capture two English ships and burn a further six. One of the prizes was the flagship, 'Royal Charles', brought back to Holland as a trophy of war. Admiral Michiel de Ruyter received this gold cup picturing the encounter in enamel to mark the successful raid.   rijksmuseum.nl

Forty flowers could be arranged in this tower of Delft blue faience called a tulip or pyramid vase. In fact it was not only used for tulips; all sorts of cut flowers could be arranged in it. This example was made in Delft, between 1690 and 1720 and it is more than a metre high. The construction comprises a stack of 6 loose, watertight vases. Vases with spouts for individual flowers were made in all sorts of shapes in the last quarter of the seventeenth century. The pyramid vase was the ultimate achievement in this field.   rijksmuseum. nl

This bust depicts Queen Mary II of England, the wife of the Dutch Stadholder-KingWilliam III. It was made between 1680 and 1685, of blue painted Delft faience, of which Mary was particularly fond. Mary was a enthusiastic collector and owned the largest collection of faience in existence at that time. The couple's Dutch palaces, Het Loo and Honselaersdijk,were full of these pieces. Thanks to Mary's enthusiasm for the blue and white earthenware it became popular in court circles of the Stadholder-King - both in the Republic and in England. This provided an important stimulus for the Delft faience industry.       rijksmuseum.nl

This charming lady is Hortense de Beauharnais. Her father, a member of an old aristocratic family, had been decapitated during the French Revolution. Her mother's second husband was Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1802, Hortense, then 19, married her step-father's brother, Louis. In 1806, Louis Bonaparte was placed on the Dutch throne and Hortense became Holland's first queen. Yet she rarely came to the Netherlands and the marriage was far from happy. This portrait was painted in Paris. It was intended for the Royal Palace on Amsterdam's Dam Square, which Louis made his residence. In fact the King never took delivery of the painting. It remained in the painter's possession and was later sold with the rest of his estate.     rijksmuseum.nl

That's odd ... it's a glass, a wine glass in fact, but it is upside down - the glass has no foot. Instead, it has a decorative silver sphere containing a silver die. This type of glass is known as a wager cup. When filled with wine it can only be put down once the contents have been drunk: the glass cannot stand upright. This particular wager cup is known as a dice glass. It is a product of seventeenth-century Dutch workmanship in the Venetian style.    rijksmuseum.nl

Two ships in high seas. The larger ship is clearly in trouble: high waves are breaking against the hull, the square foresail has broken loose and one of the masts has been broken in this sudden squall. The sails are hauled in and the crew is hard at work. A few men are still up in the rigging - one has been left behind in the crow's nest. The small fishing boat on the left is also having trouble keeping course. The seething sea and threatening sky portend more bad weather. This dramatically lit sea scene was painted by Willem van de Velde the Younger. He has signed it below on the left.   rijksmuseum.nl