ArtVault

«Time Cuts Cupid's Wings» — Anthony van Dyck ArtVault

"The Arnolfini Portrait" — Jan van Eyck. Price: $8,000,000. On the wall above the mirror, van Eyck inscribed: «Johannes de eyck fuit hic. 1434» — "Jan van Eyck was here. 1434." Not "created this," but a witness-like declaration, akin to a notary. In the convex mirror behind the couple, reflections show two figures entering—likely van Eyck and an attendant—capturing themselves as observers. Long called "The Arnolfini Wedding Portrait," it was thought to depict Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife at their marriage. But she isn’t pregnant—her rounded shape comes from holding up her dress’s gathered folds, a fashionable 15th-century Burgundian style. The painting entered London’s National Gallery in 1842, seized by British troops in 1813 during the Peninsular War. It’s one of the earliest, most intricate secular portraits in European art—renowned for its perspective, domestic detail, and precise rendering of fur, glass, brass, and fabric. #ArtHistory #VanEyck #Masterpiece ArtVault

"Панели с Иоанном Крестителем и сценами его жизни" — Доминго Рам. Это фрагмент большого алтаря, созданного в испанской готике. Такие ретабло достигали более 3,5 метров: стены храмов покрывали темперой по золоту, рассказывая о святом от рождения до казни. Золотой фон — не украшение, а символ божественного света; он выводит сцены за пределы времени. Доминго Рам работал в арагонской школе на рубеже XVI века, когда Испания ещё следовала готике, несмотря на расцвет Возрождения в Италии. Со временем алтари разбирали, панели рассеялись по музеям. Искусствоведы теперь собирют их, как пазлы, чтобы восстановить первоначальный вид. #GothicArt #ReligiousPainting #SpanishRenaissance ArtVault

«The Virgin and Child in .............» — Fyodor Antonovich Bruni, 1843 ArtVault

«Portrait of Vincent van Gogh» - John Russell ArtVault

«Triptych Inspired by 'Oresteia' by Aeschylus» — Francis Bacon Price: $84,550,000 This work draws inspiration from Aeschylus’s 5th-century BCE trilogy of Greek tragedies. The triptych is one of Francis Bacon’s most monumental pieces, encompassing the full scope of his iconic imagery. The paintings were offered at auction for the first time in six years, having previously been in the possession of Norwegian collector Hans Rasmus Astrup and his private museum in Oslo for over three decades. ArtVault

«The Forgotten» — Émile Pierre Betseller ArtVault

«The Overgrown Pond» — Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov Polenov reveals himself here as a master of color. The painting’s charm lies in its subtle gradations of a single hue, delicate nuances, and tonal variations. The old footbridge is rendered beautifully — the sun-bleached planks evoke a deep sense of nostalgia. The composition reflects academic traditions, emphasizing the contrast between foreground and background. The meticulously detailed foreground stands in quiet opposition to the softer, more generalized background. Yellow water lilies add warmth and brightness to the pond’s dark surface. ArtVault

«Plein-air» — Ramon Casas. Price: 20,000 $ In 1890–1891, Casas moved to Paris, living at Montmartre’s Moulin de la Galette with artists Santiago Rusiñol and Miquel Utrillo. This bohemian hub became their shared home and studio. Inspired by Parisian landscapes and windmills, Casas and Rusiñol embraced Impressionist techniques—open-air painting and urban motifs—later bringing these ideas to Barcelona. Their work profoundly shaped Catalan Modernisme. This painting, alongside «Bal au Moulin de la Galette», stands as a key piece of the movement. Unlike Renoir or Toulouse-Lautrec’s vibrant scenes, Casas’ style carries a quieter, melancholic tone. Today, it’s held at the National Art Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona, a central archive of his work. Casas and Rusiñol are considered founding figures of Catalan Modernisme. #Modernisme #RamonCasas #CatalanArt ArtVault

“Thumbs Down” — Jean-Léon Gérôme This painting reshaped history. Though no one knows the true meaning of *pollice verso* (“with turned thumb”), Gérôme’s depiction convinced the world that a downward thumb sealed a gladiator’s fate. Despite his usual accuracy—using Pompeii armor, ancient texts, and Colosseum plans—his choice may have been wrong. By 1879, critics argued the gesture likely meant the opposite. Yet his vision endured. It inspired *Gladiator*: Ridley Scott saw the painting before reading the script. “It told me everything,” he said, “the grandeur, brutality, soul of Rome.” ArtVault

«Large Interior W11» — Lucian Freud Price of the painting: $86,000,000 The art collection of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, which sold for $1.62 billion, has become the most valuable in auction history. Among the featured works was Lucian Freud’s *Large Interior W11*. Freud’s personal life was deeply intertwined with his art: the figures in this painting include his mistresses, his daughter, his adopted son, and a young girl unrelated to him. Paul Allen acquired the piece in 1998 for a then-record $5.8 million. By 2022, its value had soared to $86 million. ArtVault

"Gothic Cathedral" – Karl Schinkel ArtVault

«Winter Sunset in the ............ Forest» — Yuly Yulyevich Klover, 1889 ArtVault

«A Night in the Company of the Geniuses of Study and Love» — Pedro America ArtVault

«Victim of Fanaticism» — Nikolai Pimonenko ArtVault

“Man proposes, God disposes” — Edwin Henry Landseer. Price: $104,000. At Royal Holloway, London, this painting is linked to curse tales. Since the 1970s, a British flag covers it during exams—students fear the bears bring failure or madness. One unverified story tells of a student’s suicide note blaming the bears. No proof exists. The work reflects the doomed 1845 Franklin Expedition, where 129 men vanished seeking the Northwest Passage. Inuit accounts reported cannibalism, shocking Victorians. Landseer, never in the Arctic, painted a symbolic wreck: torn flag, broken telescope, bones, and polar bears. Its dark tone was rare for Victorian art. Thomas Holloway bought it for his women’s college—an unusual pick. Lady Franklin, the explorer’s widow, attended its 1864 Royal Academy debut but refused to see it, calling it offensive. #ArtHistory #VictorianArt #FranklinExpedition ArtVault

"Rain, Steam, and Speed" — J.M.W. Turner. This painting, made when Turner was nearly seventy, foreshadowed Impressionism decades early. It shows the Great Western Railway train speeding over the Thames at Maidenhead, on a bridge engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel—its radical arches so bold the railway board feared collapse. Barely visible, a hare races ahead of the train, a tiny detail sparking debate: is nature fleeing progress, or matching it? Early locomotives and hares both reach similar speeds. When shown at the Royal Academy, William Makepeace Thackeray said Turner had “surpassed all former wonders,” the train seeming to charge at fifty miles per hour. Later, its blurred light and motion deeply influenced Monet, shaping Impressionism. #Turner #Impressionism #ArtAndScience ArtVault

«Ten Views of Lingbi Mountain» — Wu Bin Price of the painting: $75,436,000 A rare handwritten scroll from the Ming dynasty has set a world record for the highest price ever paid for a Chinese manuscript or painting. The auction lasted nearly an hour. This piece became the most valuable work sold at an Asian auction in 2020. Previously, it was offered at Sotheby’s in New York 31 years ago, where it was sold to an American collector for a then-record $1.2 million. ArtVault

«The Three Graces» – Édouard Bisson ArtVault

«Forest Fire» — Alexey Kuzmich Denisov-Uralsky ArtVault