$76,700,000 for The Massacre of the Innocents by Paul Rubens (2002)

     The Massacre of the Innocents is one of two paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, depicting an episode of the biblical Massacre of the Innocents as related in the Gospel of Matthew.


     This painting by Peter Paul Rubens, painted in 1611, is the only painting in this list which was not painted in the 19th or 20th century. It was sold to Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet for $ 76,700,000 at a 2002 Sotheby's auction.

Mary Magdalen

    On March 9, 2012 I will present my interpretation of Titian's "Sacred and Profane Love" as "the Conversion of Mary Magdalen" at the annual meeting of the South Central Renaissance Society to be held this year in New Orleans. In conjunction I have put up on my website a slide show of images of the Magdalen that I have used. The slide show is a work in progress and I welcome any suggestions or recommendations.


     Meanwhile, I thought to put up a few images here interspersed with commentary from Anna Jameson's chapter on Mary Magdalen in her "Sacred and Legendary Art." All citations are from v. 1 of the 1895 edition.

Titian: "Flora"

     Is it possible that Titian’s so-called “Flora” could be a representation of Mary Magdalen? In my interpretation of the “Sacred and Profane Love” I argued that  Titian represented Mary Magdalen in two guises: first, as a beautiful courtesan contemplating the error of her ways, and second, as the penitent sinner of the apocryphal gospels.

Marian symbolism & the constancy of Virgil

      Marian symbolism & the constancy of Virgil posted at Three Pipe Problem examines themes found in artistic representations of the Virgin Mary during the Renaissance. Niyazi notes that "the Renaissance is commonly described as a rebirth of learning from antiquity. It was also the inheritor of rich visual and literary traditions that persisted through the Early Christian and Middle Ages. This post examines two of the most prominent of these." Not to give too much of a spoiler, but I found Niyazi's discussion of depictions of the Virgin Mary breastfeeding quite fascinating! (Fun fact: did you know the Council of Trent "forbade the depiction of the Nursing Virgin due to the nudity suggested by the exposed breast"?!).

Corn Harvest - Bruegel

Return of the Herd - Bruegel

Rape of Europa - Titian

Assumption of the Virgin - Titian

Burial of Count Orgaz - El Greco

Last Judgement - Michelangelo

Madonna of the Goldfinch - Raphael

Arnolfini Marriage - van Eyck

Ghent Altarpiece - van Eyck

Virgin and Child - Botticelli

Primavera - Botticelli

Tribute Money - Masaccio

Peasant Wedding

Birth Of Venus -by Botticelli (1482- 1486)

   Painting the natural beauty of human's male and female body was not a taboo in the ancient time. But with the rising spread of religions like Judaism and Christianity, and other orthodox groups, the artists were not encouraged to do that job. they were also discouraged for painting the bodies of females without clothes. We can categorically say that the painting of natural beauty of woman was doomed to virtual anonymity. Such a period lasted for one thousand and five hundred years. The flow of artistic depiction through the paintings of natural beauty of female body was dammed. But this dam was burst by one Italian painter: Sandro Botticelli.

The Birth of Venus (La Naissance de Venus)

The Birth of Venus

In this painting, The Birth of Venus, Bouguereau had shown his natural instinct and the technical knowledge of the contours of the nude female body. A human body, especially a female nude, attracts the viewers’ eyes by the balanced proportions. And this regard Bouguereau had acquired artistic inspiration from the artists of sixteenth century.

This period of anonymity for painting clothe-less females and males lasted almost for one thousand years. During this period, the flow of artistic depiction through the paintings of beauty of female and male body was dammed. But the painting done by The Birth of Venus, by Botticelli in the year 1482 started a new era in figurative painting. After this incident, the trend was set. Artists were no longer shy about choosing the subject of cloth-less women. (All the images courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Three Graces

      To describe the paintings done by Rubens, a special word was devised: 'Rubenesque'. This word symbolized the paintings of women with heavy waist and ample bodied. Rubens would paint a woman model in her natural beauty with voluptuousness and putting dimples on her flesh. His painting Three Graces is one of the most famous paintings in the world of art. Rubens’s visit to Rome and Italy made him acquainted with the work of master artists like Titian,Caravaggio and Raphael. He had occasions to meet and admire work of the group of contemporary Italian artists.