Angelica Kauffmann, Cornelia Pointing to Her Children as Her Treasures, c. 1785

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Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, 1784

Things to think about when studying:

• What movement does this painting fit into?
• What elements of the work does the artist draw your attention to? (both narrative and stylistic)

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Thomas Jefferson, Monticello, 1772

Things to think about when studying:

• What architectural style is this? What philosophical idea does it embody?
• How does Jefferson emphasize that philosophy through the architecture?

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Benjamin West, The Death of General Wolfe, 1771

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Toilet of Venus - François Boucher, 1751

Things to think about when studying:

• What movement is this painting from?
• What elements tell you that it’s from the mid 18th century?

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William Hogarth, The Marriage Contract from Marriage à la Mode, 1743-1745

Things to think about when studying:

• What is happening in this painting? What happens in the larger series?
• Explain why/how this is a satirical painting

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John Singleton Copley, Paul Revere, 1768

Things to think about when studying:

• Why was Copley such a master portraitist?
• How did Revere choose to display himself? His trade? What qualities does Copley emphasize in his sitter?

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Jacob van Ruisdael, The Jewish Cemetery, c. 1657

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Hyacinthe Rigaud, Louis XIV, 1701

Things to think about when studying:

• What elements of this painting are typically Baroque in nature?
• How does this painting demonstrate Louis’s conception of himself? How does it function as a piece of propaganda?

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Bernini, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, 1645-52. Located in the Cornero Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome.

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Johannes Vermeer, Woman Holding a Balance, c. 1644

Things to think about when studying:

• What aid/piece of technology did Vermeer (most likely) use to help him paint?
• How is his treatment of light and space different than his contemporaries?

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Johannes Vermeer, The Milkmaid, c. 1658-60

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Diego Velazquez, Las Meninas, 1656

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Pieter Claesz, Still Life with Oysters, 1642

At this time in Dutch history, still lifes were in great demand; they signified a time of growing prosperity and abundance, and required no formal education in order to understand their message. In this example, Claesz beautifully renders the scene by combining imported items with local ones, showing the worldly nature of the Dutch economic climate at this time. The objects pictured are so tactile, it’s almost as if you could reach out and stroke the cool glass of the goblet, or pluck an oyster from the plate.

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Rembrandt, Militia Company of Capt (Nightwatch), 1639-42

This painting is without a doubt Rembrandt’s most famous, and seen as the national painting of the Dutch. Although it has lots of nationalistic baggage attached to it, this work is undeniably one of the most important 17th century paintings in terms of sheer ambition. The title Nightwatch was given to the painting in a later century because it had darkened from smoke and a dark varnish applied to protect the paint; however, the image actually depicts Captain Frans Banning Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch leading the Second Precinct Company out of the city walls, presumably to perform some important militia duty. A myth pervades popular culture that this painting was not successful, or that Rembrandt’s eventual bankruptcy was a result of the “failure” of this work: both ideas are patently untrue. For a commissioned portrait of this ambition, Rembrandt needed special permission from the patrons to create the unusually bustling action, and it is certain that each patron signed off on his depiction within the painting. 

In the image, Captain Cocq is leading his militia out of the city to perform some duty; there is a sense of chaos and normal disorganization that would be realistic for an activity of this sort. Rembrandt moves the viewer’s eye through the painting by using various diagonals, color, and light that converge to create a sense of unified action that hasn’t quite coalesced into a unified procession, giving the painting its dynamism. For the figure of Captain Cocq, who is the main figure pictured on the left, Rembrandt plays with light to highlight his face and hands, while using extra paint layered on in thick impasto to almost sculpt his figure and give it an extraordinary three-dimensional quality. Rembrandt is probably aware of this rough style from Frans Hals, who employed it frequently in his portraits.

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