#renaissance-painting

#renaissance-painting

Consider Hans Holbein the Younger's portrait of Henry VIII's fourth wife, Anne of Cleves: an enigmatic look, cast from beneath heavy-lidded eyes; a long nose, the soft breath from which is almost felt; a red velvet gown richly adorned with gold and pearls, set against a blue background made more vivid by its recent restoration. Serving as the cover image for Elizabeth Goldring's biography, it is a painting that conveys much of her subject's continuing

With a vast maritime empire and firm control of overland Silk Road routes, Venice in the early 16th century was at its peak. The artist synonymous with those dazzling years is Vittore Carpaccio (around 1465-1525/26) whose religious scenes often had an urbane and elaborate splendour that places them immediately in what was then likely Europe's richest enclave. To a remarkable degree, the major works of Carpaccio are still to be found in Venice proper,