17th century French artist Louise Moillon achieved fame with her beautifully precise still-lifes ~ here’s her Basket of Plums (1629)

Bacchus, liberally festooned with grapes, casually pours drink for his little panther (!), wine trellises adorn the slopes of a deceptively-slumbering Vesuvius, & serpent Agathodaemon represents ‘good spirit’ of vineyards (Wall fresco, House of the Centenary, Pompeii)

I always enjoy an opportunity to post this ~ Alphonse Bertillon, pioneer of the front-&-profile criminal mugshot, did some practice runs with his nephew, a notoriously hardened criminal, aged 2. His crime? 'Nibbling pears' (Silver albumen print, 1893 MoMA)

Extreme close-up of Manet’s In the Conservatory (1879) reveals not only his technique but also the fine cracking in the paint (‘craquelure’) & the texture of the canvas itself blog.iliou-melathron.de/deutsche-mus...

Barcelona-born UK-based artist Miriam Escofet’s portrait of her mother, An Angel at my Table. winner of the prestigious 2018 BP Portrait Award. At R, a close-up / a joint viewing by mother & daughter © Miriam Escofet

Cornish painter Harold Harvey used the sunny view of Mount’s Bay from the porch of his home in this painting of two women chatting over tea, as cat looks on / & used the same setting to depict woman standing knitting at the door as man plays accordion (The Blue Door 1931, 1934)

If you look long enough at Albrecht Dürer’s pen studies of creased pillows, you may well see faces ~ pillow corners transform into noses, chins or horns, while creases become mouths and brows (1493) publicdomainreview.org/collection/d...

Another side of ‘decorative’ Alphonse Mucha ~ here he depicts exhausted Slavic peasant woman as she sits, hopelessly alone, in frozen, famine-struck field, throwing back her head in resigned despair. As the wolves move in, does the star represent hope? (Winter Night, 1920s)

The Japanese word “tsundoku” describes the secret habit of acquiring books and then letting them pile up without necessarily ever reading them. I plead guilty! For some, just possessing a book is sometimes enough (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

French actress/opera singer Louise Jacquet looks up at us engagingly from reading an admiring letter, in this exceptional pastel portrait by Jean-Étienne Liotard (c 1750). Such a lively & natural expression! Check out the fine detailing on her clothes, too

Back in the 12th century, French sculptor Gislebertus carved this angel as (s)he appears to the three Magi as they dream, waking one with the delicate touch of a finger, and pointing her other forefinger toward the Bethlehem star (Cathedral of St Lazare, Autun)

Raoul Dufy displays his characteristic lively and colourful touch in this travel poster for Normandy, commissioned by the French Railways (c 1952)

US realist artist Richard Maury specialises in precisely-detailed interior scenes of ordinary life (My Interpretation of the Manner of DFE, 2003) www.catherinelarosepoesiaearte.com/2012/09/rich...

Enjoying the intense light effects in contemporary US artist Dan McCaw’s depiction of a woman in a sunroom

On his exile to Elba, Napoleon vowed he’d return to Paris the next year, just as his favourite flower, the violet, did each spring. Here, Jean Canu celebrated that return in March 1815 by hiding silhouettes of Napoleon, his son & 2nd wife Marie Louise in bunch of violets (clues at R)

On his exile to Elba, Napoleon vowed he’d return to Paris the next year, just as his favourite flower, the violet, did each spring. Here, Jean Canu celebrated that return in March 1815 by hiding silhouettes of Napoleon, his son & 2nd wife Marie Louise in bunch of violets (clues at R)

With the world on his shoulders ~ magnificently-bearded 15C mason/sculptor Adam Kraft’s strikingly naturalistic depiction of himself, holding chisel and mallet, supporting the intricate gothic tabernacle he created at St Lorenz, Nuremberg (1490s)

An opening scene in Taylor Swift’s video for her latest single release ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ is based on Friedrich Heyser’s 1900 painting ‘Death of Ophelia’ ~ and has led to a large spike in visitor numbers to the Wiesbaden museum where it’s hung www.theguardian.com/music/2025/o...

Wonderfully-detailed reconstructed depiction of a pied kingfisher, found in the ruins of a royal palace in ancient Egypt, painted over 3,300 years ago www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Dutch artist Willem Claeszoon Heda’s superb still life of wineglasses & beakers, a pewter plate, with knife, lemons, olives, hazelnuts, walnuts & paper twist of tobacco ~ I’m particularly enjoying the effect of light on the glass & metal surfaces (1633) www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/...

Katsushika Ōi, the talented, overlooked daughter/collaborator of famous woodblock artist Hokusai, painted this night scene in Tokyo’s notorious Yoshiwara district. Passers-by gaze through latticed windows at brightly-dressed women in a clever interplay of light & shade (c 1850)

Van Gogh captures the feeling of summer in his light-filled painting of a lane near Arles, the town where he was living at the time (May 1888)

Camille Pissarro played a major role in developing impressionism, and was father figure to many impressionist artists. But, like many others, he sold little during his lifetime. Here’s his View of Studio, Éragny, Pear Trees in Bloom ■ Rue Saint-Honoré, Afternoon Rain (1890s)

20th century artist Hans Dieter’s Morning in the Valley ~ the impressive landscape dwarfs the young girl pushing a pram across the stone bridge, probably in the hills round Lake Constance

JS Sargent demonstrates bravura watercolour technique in depicting his niece Rose-Marie Ormond ~ “the most charming girl who ever lived” ~ in a flowing white dress, lounging on a grassy bank, one hand restraining her umbrella. For her story, see www.artinsociety.com/rose-marie-o...

Time to indulge in a little nostalgia with Russell Sidney Reeve’s The Felixstowe to Ipswich Coach (c 1950)

Outstanding 17/18C Netherlands artist Rachel Ruysch was famous for her paintings of flowers, fruits & assorted bugs, set against dark backgrounds. Found favour with the Medicis ■ won commissions rivalling Rembrandt’s ■ painted for 68 years ■ & had 10 children

Gabriël Metsu, a contemporary of Vermeer, depicts a fashionably-dressed man writing a letter with a quill pen, his face and hands highlighted by light streaming in from the open window. A richly decorated Persian rug covers the table (1666, Nat Gallery Ireland)

French artist Henri Martin uses a pointillist style to achieve the effect of a sunny day in the countryside. You can make up your own narrative about the relationship between the two people (Spring, 1903)

17th century Dutch artist Adriaën Coorte achieves a Japanese-like simplicity and restraint in this still life with three medlar fruits on a deeply-shadowed ledge, with a butterfly hovering above, emerging out of the darkness (1695, private collection)

Which of these two versions of The Lute Player is an original by Caravaggio? The Met Museum in New York has previously said that it’s the one on the right. But other experts’ view ~ that it’s the one on the left ~ has now been supported by AI analysis www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

These lemons, oranges & pomegranate in a Chinese blue-and-white porcelain bowl (with subtle water droplets on the tabletop) proclaim their freshness and life ~ but already a fly has alighted to start the process of decay…. (Jacob van Hulsdonck, 1620s) www.getty.edu/news/what-is...

Despite its name, the Bird-Dropping Beetle definitely does not drop any birds ~ instead, it looks just like a bird’s dropping (Excastra albopilosa). The disguise is so effective that no-one noticed it till 2024. Now it’s a finalist for Australian Insect of the Year www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...

Famed architect Palladio’s last commission was the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza. The stage set for its first performance in 1585 was a masterpiece of illusion which convincingly depicted roads disappearing into the distance. Incredibly it’s still there to this day. Tks @JonathanMendel1

This sandal, woven from grasses and twigs about 650 years ago, has been found in the nest of a bearded vulture, preserved in the cool dry air of a cave in southern Spain (National Geographic; photo Sergio Couto) esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Astonishing sculpture of 60 detailed figures carved from a single block of Carrara marble ~ Francesco Bertos’ Fall of the Rebel Angels (c 1730). Suspicion that his skill was beyond human ability led to his being questioned by the Inquisition. Tks @JonathanMendel1 gallerieditalia.com/en/vicenza/e...

Beautifully restrained necklace worn by the Egyptian Princess Khenmet at least 3,900 years ago, with falcon’s head clasp and protective gold amulets inlaid with semiprecious stones, such as carnelian, turquoise & lapis lazuli (ca 1932-1898 BC) egypt-museum.com/necklace-of-...

From ancient Egypt, more than 3,000 years ago ~ this wooden cosmetic spoon with handle in the shape of a biting, running jackal (ca 1539-1292 BC) opencollection.brooklynmuseum.org/objects/4065

Eye-catching mural of a fisherman tending to his nets, painted by Elle Koziupa in 2025 in Newquay, Cornwall, celebrating the town’s fishing history (Muqy Street Art Trail) www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/...

Warm sunlight slants across the building walls, and at the end of the lane, a clear sky of gradually deepening blue ~ Scottish-born artist James Proudfoot’s ‘Sun on a House, Dieppe’ (1937)

In 1945, artist NC Wyeth was killed when hit by a train at a railway crossing. His stricken son Andrew’s tribute/farewell to him was this enigmatic ‘Winter 1946’, set over the hill from where the accident occurred, and showing himself as a young man running, erratically

On a brilliant sunny day in Paris, family and friends gather to chat and relax in the shade at Le Parc Monceau (1878). This was one of Claude Monet’s last paintings of Paris

Enjoying 20C English artist Malcolm Midwood Milne’s "Barrow Hill" (1939) Salford Museum & Art Gallery

JS Sargent was obsessed with depicting Virginie Gautreau ~ here’s his ‘Portrait of Madame X’, as exhibited in 1884, with (gasp!) a suggestively slipped shoulder strap. The hysterical outrage over this affront to decency led Sargent to add a more decorous strap (at R)

Highly influential 20C photographer Robert Frank was once described as the “Manet of the new photography”, and his images as “cinematic, immediate, off-kilter and grainy” ~ here’s his young son Pablo in Times Square (1953)

Probably just my imagination, but I like the nostalgic charm and vague air of potential adventure in 20C French painter Raoul du Gardier’s “Washing Down the Deck” (La Lavage du Pont)

A correction ~ the painting of Hazel Lavery in our recent post should have been dated as 1910, not 1927

Here’s a couple of splendid Eupholus magnificus weevils minding their own business in the forests of New Guinea (photo: Rob de Vos)

Irish portraitist John Lavery depicts his wife Hazel in 1927, sketching outside in the sunlight. Hazel was famous for her beauty, & Lavery used her as the model for “a female personification of Ireland” which appeared on Irish banknotes for many decades

Spectacular stained glass and decorative murals by Józef Mehoffer in the recently-restored Church of Sacred Heart of Jesus in Turek, Poland (photo: Marcin Derucki)