Arturo Michelena Penthesilea Oil on canvas 436 x 648cm Instituto Autonomo Circulo Militar de las Fuerzas Armadas, Caracas Penthesilea, daughter of Ares and Otrera, was an Amazon queen who fought and died in the Trojan War. After Hector, the leader of the Trojan army, was killed in the final year of the war, Penthesilea arrived with a small but highly skilled troop of Amazon warriors to help the doomed city against the Greeks. Penthesilea slew many Greeks before being killed in turn by Achilles, the greatest of the Greek warriors at Troy. But when Achilles stripped Penthesilea of her armor a ..read more

Rohan Hours Lamentation of the Virgin (f. 135, Pl. 57)  The Hours of the Cross Tempera paints and gold leaf  Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France The grieving Virgin cannot be consoled by the Apostle John, who looks up in consternation at a saddened God. The Grandes Heures de Rohan (The Rohan Hours) is an illuminated manuscript book of hours, painted by the anonymous artist known as the Rohan Master, probably between 1418 and 1425, in the Gothic style. It contains the usual offices, prayers and litanies in Latin, along with supplemental texts, decorated with 11 full page, 54 hal ..read more

Annibale Carracci  (1560–1609) Lamentation of Christ, c. 1606 Oil on canvas height: 92.8 cm (36.5 in); width: 103.2 cm (40.6 in) National Gallery This is perhaps the most poignant image in the National Gallery’s collection of the pietà – the lamentation over the dead Christ following his crucifixion. It was a subject to which Annibale Carracci returned frequently, especially during the last decade of his life. Here, the limp and lifeless body of Christ lies in the lap of his mother, the Virgin Mary. A distraught Mary Magdalene kneels on the right, hands raised and mouth o ..read more

Manuel Panselinos St. Mercury and St. Artemy, c. between 1290 and 1310 Fresco Prorata Also called soldier saints, these are a group of saints who were generally soldiers in life, martyrs to Christ in death, and then latterly revealed as our heavenly protectors... Holy Great Martyr Artemius of Antioch was a prominent military leader during the reigns of the emperor Constantine the Great (May 21), and his son and successor Constantius (337-361). Artemius received many awards for distinguished service and courage. He was appointed viceroy of Egypt. In this official position he did much ..read more

William Etty, RA (British, 1789-1849) Venus Oil on board 19.7 x 14.3cm (7 3/4 x 5 5/8in). Private collection Sold for £800 in 14, 2021 William Etty, RA (British, 1789-1849) Venus Oil on canvas 64.5 x 50.5cm (25 3/8 x 19 7/8in). Private collection Sold for £2,550 in September 2022 Venus is the Roman goddess whose functions encompassed love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity and victory. In Roman mythology, she was the mother of the Roman people through her son, Aeneas, who survived the fall of Troy and fled to Italy. Julius Caesar claimed her as his ancestor ..read more

Arthur Rackham, RWS (British, 1867-1939) Andromeda Watercolour and bodycolour 54.5 x 37.3cm (21 7/16 x 14 11/16in) Private collection Sold for £88,500 in September 2022 Rackham has applied his unique imagery and style to the myth of Andromeda. The princess has been chained to a rock as a sacrifice to sate the sea monster, Cetus, sent by Poseidon as punishment for Andromeda's mother's claim to be of greater beauty than the sea dwelling Nereids. Andromeda has recoiled in fear as she attempts not to look at the beast which makes its way towards her. The viewer can only anticipate the e ..read more

Giovanni Battista Langetti Joseph interprets the baker's dreams in prison Oil on canvas 124 x 173 cm Private collection Estimate for 20,000 - 30,000 GBP in April 2015 Joseph was falsely accused and thrown into prison. In prison, Joseph did the work of interpreting dreams for these politically connected individuals. Joseph met two of Pharaoh’s officials who were incarcerated, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. The chief baker he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food ..read more

Bartolomé Estebán Murillo (Spanish, Seville 1617–1682 Seville) Virgin and Child, c. 1670s Oil on canvas 65 1/4 x 43 in. (165.7 x 109.2 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art Often referred to as the "Santiago Madonna," this painting once belonged to the Marqués de Santiago, whose collection contained many outstanding works by the artist. The popularity of Murillo’s paintings of the Virgin and Child derives from his ability to endow a timeworn theme with a quality of intimacy and sweetness evident in both the soft modeling and, in this picture, the infant’s momentary diversion of atten ..read more

North Italian School Pan and Syrinx, circa 1600 Oil on copper 21.3 by 29.5 cm.; 8 3/8  by 11 5/8  in. Private collection In classical Greek mythology, Syrinx was a nymph and a follower of Artemis, known for her chastity. Pursued by the amorous god Pan, she ran to a river's edge and asked for assistance from the river nymphs. In answer, she was transformed into hollow water reeds that made a haunting sound when the god's frustrated breath blew across them. Pan cut the reeds to fashion the first set of panpipes, which were thenceforth known as syrinx. The word syringe was derived ..read more

Bartolomé Estebán Murillo The Virgin and Child with the infant Saint John the Baptist Oil on canvas 174.6 by 109 cm.; 68 3/4 by 42 7/8 in Private collection Sold for 269,000 GBP in April 2015  Murillo’s many depictions of the Virgin and Child were enormously successful: he endowed a conventional Catholic subject with newfound intimacy through soft modeling and naturalistic details. Like Zurbarán and Velázquez, Murillo was trained in Seville, where he spent his whole career. More on this painting Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (born late December 1617, baptized January 1, 1618 ..read more