Francisco de Zurbaran Saint Serapion, 1628.

1. Francisco de ZurbaranSaint Serapion, 1628. Zurbaran was also influenced by Caravaggio and the Caravaggistic style. Saint Serapion, who participated in the Third Crusade of 1196, was martyred while preaching the Gospel to Muslims. According to one account of his martyrdom, the monk was tied to a tree, tortured, and decapitated. In this work, Zurbaran conveys the fierce devotion of Catholic Spain In the painting, two tree branches are barely visible in the background. The small note on the right identifies him for the viewers.

2. Created when he was only twenty years old, this masterpiece impressively displays the command that Velazquez had for his craft. He rendered he figures with clarity and dignity, and his use of tenebrism shows an intense interest in Caravaggio’s work. The contrast of darks and lights, along with the plebeian nature of the figures, reveal the influence of Caravaggio, whose work Velazquez had studied. The artist present this genre scene(one from everyday life) with such care and conviction it seems to convey a deeper significance. Diego Velazquez Water Carrier of Seville, Wellington Museum, London 1619.

3. Created when he was only twenty years old, this masterpiece impressively displays the command that Velazquez had for his craft. He rendered he figures with clarity and dignity, and his careful depiction of the water jugs in the foreground, complete with droplets of water, adds to the scene’s credibility. Diego Velazquez Water Carrier of Seville, Wellington Museum, London 1619.

4. Also known as the Fraga Philip, because it was painted in the town of Fraga in Aragon. Such a designation differentiates the many royal portraits from one another. Philip IV appears as a military leader, arrayed in red and sliver campaign dress. Because the king was not a commanding presence and because he had inherited the large Hapsburg jaw (the result of dynastic inbreeding), Velazquez had to find creative ways to “ennoble” the monarch. He succeeded by focusing attention on the dazzling military regalia while not idealizing Philips appearance. Diego Velazquez King Phillip IV of Spain(Fraga Philip), 1644.

5. Diego Velazquez King Phillip IV of Spain, 1656. SPANISH BAROQUE

6. Carlos II (King Philip’s inbred son Charles, with a serious case of the Hapsburg Jaw)

8. Diego Velazquez Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor), 1656. Velazquez painted his greatest masterpiece, Las Meninas, after he returned to Spain. In it, Velazquez showed his mastery of both form and content. The painter repreented himself in his studio standing before a large canvas, on which he may be painting this very picture or, perhaps, the portraits of King Philip IV and Queen Mariana, whose reflections appear in the mirror on the far wall. The young Infanta (princess) Margarita appears in the foreground with her two maids-in-waiting, her favorite dwarfs, and a large dog. Velazquez extended the pictorial depth of his composition in both directions. The open doorway and its ascending staircase lead the eye beyond the artist’s studio, and the mirror device and the outward glances of several of the figures incorporate the viewer’s space into the picture as well.

9. Diego Velazquez detail of the artists, Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor) 1656

10. Diego Velazquez, Las Meninas, 1656. SPANISH BAROQUE

11. Pablo Picasso,Las Meninas, 1957.

12. TOP 10 Greatest Paintings of all time… According to art experts at Illustrated London News, 1985.

13. Rembrandt van Rijn Return of the Prodigal Son 1669 DUTCH BAROQUE 10

14. Pablo Picasso, Guernica, 1937. CUBISM 9

15. Matthias Grunewald,Isenheim Altarpiece, 1515. HIGH GERM RENAISSANCE 8

16. Giotto,The Lamentation, 1305. LATE GOTHIC 7

17. El Greco Burial of Count Orgaz 1586 HIGH SPANISH RENAISSANCE / MANNERISM 6

18. Piero Della Francesca Resurrection 1463 EARLY ITALIAN RENAISSANCE 5

19. Botticelli,La Primavera, 1482. EARLY ITALIAN RENAISSANCE 4

20. Giorgione The Tempest 1508 HIGH ITALIAN RENAISSANCE 3

21. Jan Vermeer,View of Delft, c1661. DUTCH BAROQUE 2

22. Diego Velazquez, Las Meninas, 1656. SPANISH BAROQUE 1

23. Peter Paul Rubens Anthony Van Dyck Jan Brueghel

24. Paul Ruebensa.k.a. Pee Wee Herman Peter Paul RubensSelf-Portrait, c1623.

25. Peter Paul Rubens, Raising of the Cross, 1609-1610. FLEMISH BAROQUE

26. Peter Paul Rubens, Decent From the Cross, 1611-1612.

27. Peter Paul Rubens, Erection of the Cross, 1609-1610. FLEMISH BAROQUE

28. Andrea Mantegna,St. Sebastian. c.1480. Peter Paul Rubens.St. Sebastian. c.1618,Oil on canvas.

29. Jan Brueghel the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens.Allegory of Sight (Part of the Five Senses series). c. 1618.

30. Peter Paul Rubens,The Judgement of Paris, c1636.

31. Peter Paul Rubens,Portrait of Marie d’Medici, 1622. The Marie de' Medici Cycleis a series of 21 paintings by Peter Paul Rubens commissioned by Marie de' Medici, wife of Henry IV of France, for the Luxembourg Palace in Paris. Rubens received the commission in the autumn of 1621. Twenty-one of the paintings depict Marie's own struggles and triumphs in life. The remaining three are portraits of herself and her parents. The paintings now hang in the Louvre in Paris.

32. Peter Paul Rubens,Marie Arrives At Marseilles,1622-1625. FLEMISH BAROQUE

33. Peter Paul Rubens, Marie Arrives At Marseilles, 1622-1625.

34. Peter Paul Rubens,Henry IV Receiving the Portrait of Marie d’Medici, 1621-1625.

35. Peter Paul Rubens,The Marie d’Medici Cycle, 1622.

36. Anthony Van Dyck, Self-Portrait with Sunflower.

37. Anthony Van Dyck,Charles I at the Hunt, 1635. FLEMISH BAROQUE