Browse Items (1267 total)

Across a field we see two small buildings next to a larger one mostly obscurred by trees at left. Given their size and delapidation, it can be inferred that the lives within the homes are humble ones—perhaps agricultural workers, given the pile of…

This painting takes its name from Le Spectre de la rose, a short ballet created in 1911 by Jean-Louis Vaudoyer. In it, a young girl dreams of dancing with the spirit of a rose worn to her first ball. It was famous for the performance of legendary…

Although it owes something to Cézanne’s post-impressionist fields of color, Rites’ painting often de-emphasizes formal shapes that would hold together such a composition. It takes a second look to discern a house, outbuilding, and dock upon a pond or…

This painting depicts a naval battle of consequence, during the War of 1812, between the USS Constitution and HMS Guerriere some 400 miles southeast of Nova Scotia. The latter ship was only part of a Royal Navy with large numerical advantage,…

The vividness of this still life is the result of its muted brown background, combined with Rollo’s free use of white paint to highlight the tips of flowers in a vase. Shadows from light at the left side of his painting are minimized, creating an…

In subject matter if not in style, there are resemblances between this painting and Georges Seurat’s famous A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884, but even more so William Blake’s “The Echoing Green.” Here the spirit seems exuberant as the painting's…

Golden light from low in the sky, at right, evokes a moment of gratitude for a year’s harvest—seemingly of corn shocks drying in the field. A person carrying a stick pause in front of one. Lush fields, green trees, and a gorgeous sky are shown to…

Vivid colors are accentuated via the time of day at which this painting is set—either at sunrise or sunset—and by comparison to a pale blue sky. The titular “spring tree” probably is a cherry in bloom, but a taller one also seems to display blossoms.…

This painting uses a curious system of perspective. Objects in the distance—like mountains, birds, a tall tree, or the sky above—appear more figurative and natural than those nearby. Closer by, where we might expect to see detail, are abstract…

At least two questions are implied by this painting’s title: which edge of the garden, and what is a garden? Due to a flattened plane and Sarkadi’s composition we see a row of hollyhocks and other tall flowers at the bottom of the canvas, with no…