Every

Picture
Tells a
Story
a v i e w er’ s gu ide

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 Episode 1
Mr and Mrs Andrews
by Thomas Gainsborough

Highlights
In his portrait of two aristocratic 18th-century British landowners,
Gainsborough may have intended to depict bird carcasses in the
unfinished area in the lady’s lap as a not-so-subtle comment on the
couple’s marriage and social position.

Questions to Consider
1. Does the painting appeal to you? Why do you think critics consider it
a masterpiece?
2. Other critics have speculated that the artist could have intended to
paint a child’s portrait or book in the void in Mrs. Andrew’s lap. What
significance do you think those objects would have had? Why else
might Gainsborough have left the area unfinished?
3. I f Mr. and Mrs. Andrews did indeed stop Gainsborough from
including a symbolic social critique in the painting, how do you think
the incident could have affected his ability to get commissions to
ca. 1750 (oil on canvas) paint the celebrities of his day?
National Gallery, London
Other Works Featured
Mary, Countess Howe (ca. 1763), Thomas Gainsborough
Mrs Sarah Siddons (1785), Thomas Gainsborough
William Poyntz (1762), Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough with His Wife and Elder Daughter, Mary
(ca. 1751), Thomas Gainsborough
Two Daughters with Cat (ca. 1759), Thomas Gainsborough
Peter Darnell Muilman, Charles Croake, and William Keable in a
Landscape (ca. 1750), Thomas Gainsborough
Girl with Pigs (1782), Thomas Gainsborough
The Four Elements: Air (1570), Joachim Beuckelaer

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 Episode 2
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp
by Rembrandt

Highlights
Rembrandt suggests Christian iconography in his portrait of a
criminal’s cadaver and puts us, the viewers, in the position of the
audience often depicted in such paintings.

Questions to Consider
1. Why do you think the 17th century Dutch were so fascinated by
cadaver dissections?
2. What elements of the painting appeal to you? In your opinion, what
identifies it as a Rembrandt?
3. D o you think the fascination with dissection has any parallels in
modern painting, photography, or film? Why or why not?

Other Works Featured

1632 (oil on canvas)
Mauritshuis, The Hague
Self Portrait as the Apostle St. Paul (1661), Rembrandt
The Descent from the Cross (1633), Rembrandt
Flayed Ox (1655), Rembrandt
Dead Peacocks (ca. 1639), Rembrandt
Anatomy drawing from the Leiden Anatomy Theatre (1609),
J.C. Woudanus
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Sebastiaen Egbertszoon (ca. 1601-03),
Aert Pieterszoon
Dr. Sebastiaen Egbertszoon’s Osteological Presentation (1619),
Nicolaes Eliaszoon Pickenoy
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Frederick Ruysch (1683), Jan van Neck
Self Portrait (1628), Rembrandt
Still Life with Flowers (1639), Hans Bollongier
The Night Watch (1642), Rembrandt
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Joan Deyman (1656), Rembrandt

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 Episode 3
The Tempest
by Giorgione

Highlights
In The Tempest, Giorgione depicts the ancient Greek story of the
goddess Demeter and her mortal lover Iasion, whom Zeus struck
down with a lightning bolt.

Questions to Consider
1. How do you react to the painting on a personal level?
2. What elements of the painting give it such a “charged” atmosphere?
3. I n some versions of the Greek myth, Iasion and Demeter’s dalliance
produced not one, but two sons—Plutus (god of wealth) and
Philomelus (who invented the plough). How does this version
influence the interpretation of the painting?

Other Works Featured

Sleeping Venus (ca. 1510), Giorgione
Judith (ca. 1504), Giorgione
Laura (1506), Giorgione
Three Philosophers (ca. 1508/09), Giorgione
The Vendramin Family (mid 1540s), Titian
Miracle of the True Cross at the Bridge of San Lorenzo (1500),
Gentile Bellini
Portrait of Lord Byron in Albanian Dress (ca. 1835), Thomas Phillips
Feast in the House of Levi (1573), Paolo Veronese
Danae (ca. 1560), Titian
Diana and Callisto (1556-59), Titian
Jupiter and Io (1532), Antonio da Corregio
Rape of Ganymede (1635), Rembrandt
ca. 1505 (oil on canvas)
Galleria dell 'Accademia, Venice

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 Episode 4
The Birth of Venus
by Botticelli

Highlights
Botticelli depicts Venus not as a primarily erotic figure, but as a
symbol of fertility.

Questions to Consider
1. What do you appreciate most about The Birth of Venus?
2. Have you seen the painting elsewhere in popular culture? Does that
impact your experience of the painting?
3. J anuszczak draws many clues for his interpretation from the house
where the Venus hung and other paintings located there. To what
extent should context influence our interpretation of art? Have you
ever changed your views of a piece of art, literature, or film upon
learning its context?
4. H ow much weight do you give to symbols when evaluating or
appreciating a work of art?

Other Works Featured

ca. 1485 (tempera on canvas)
Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Adoration of the Magi (1475), Botticelli
Fortitude (ca. 1470), Botticelli
Madonna of the Pomegranate (ca. 1487), Botticelli
Madonna of the Magnificat (ca. 1481), Botticelli
The Adoration of the Magi (ca. 1478/82), Botticelli
Portrait of a Man with Medal of Cosimo the Elder (ca. 1474-75),
Botticelli
Venus and Mars (ca. 1485), Botticelli
The Birth of Venus (1863), Alexandre Cabanel
La Primavera (ca. 1482), Botticelli

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 Episode 5
Boy Bitten by a Lizard
by Caravaggio

Highlights
Caravaggio’s painting contains a lesson to the viewer about
the transience of youth, the perils of sensual pleasure, and the
precariousness of life.

Questions to Consider
1. How do you react to the painting? Does your impression change after
the first glance?
2. What elements of the painting give it a sense of intimacy?
3. D o you share Januszczak’s sympathies with the lizard, rather than
the boy? Why or why not?

Other Works Featured

Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist (1607-1610), Caravaggio
Young Bacchus (1593), Caravaggio
The Fortune Teller (ca. 1595), Caravaggio
The Cardsharps (ca. 1594), Caravaggio
The Taking of Christ (1602), Caravaggio
The Lute Player (ca. 1596), Caravaggio
Contarelli Chapel paintings, Church of San Luigi dei Francesi:
The Calling of St. Matthew, The Martyrdom of St. Matthew,
The Inspiration of St. Matthew (1597-1602), Caravaggio
The Beheading of St. John the Baptist (1608), Caravaggio
The Sacrifice of Isaac (1601-02), Caravaggio
David (1609-10), Caravaggio
Bacchus (ca. 1596), Caravaggio
Boy with a Fruit Basket (1593), Caravaggio
St. Jerome (1605-1606), Caravaggio
ca. 1595-1600 (oil on canvas)
National Gallery, London
A Table Laden with Flowers and Fruit (ca. 1600-10), Master of the
Hartford Still-Life
9

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 Episode 6
Mona Lisa
by Leonardo da Vinci

Highlights
A robbery and attempted forgery in 1911 helped propel Mona Lisa to
its position as the most famous painting in the world.

Questions to Consider
1. Do you find Mona Lisa particularly compelling as a painting?
2. Can you think of other artworks that have inspired tchotchkes such
as ashtrays and refrigerator magnets, as Mona Lisa has? How do
those products affect your appreciation of the original work?
3. D o you know of other famous forgeries or stolen pieces of art? What
effects do you think these had on the artists’ reputations, the art
community, the public, and the works themselves?

Other Works Featured

Self-portrait in red chalk (1512-15), Leonardo da Vinci
Ginevra de’ Benci (ca. 1474/78), Leonardo da Vinci
Madonna Benois (1475-78), Leonardo da Vinci
The Last Supper (1495-98), Leonardo da Vinci

ca. 1503-06 (oil on wood panel)

Louvre, Paris

11

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 Episode 7
Le déjeuner sur l’herbe
by Édouard Manet

Highlights
Perhaps motivated by the hypocrisy of his father, Manet set out to
paint a deliberately shocking—even sacrilegious—work, updating and
mocking old masters.

Questions to Consider
1. What do you think of Januszczak’s theory that Auguste Manet had
an illicit affair with his sons’ piano teacher, Suzanne Leenhoff, whom
Édouard married after his father’s death?
2. How does the truth or falsehood of the senior Manet’s alleged affair
affect your reaction to the painting?
3. W hat evidence do you find in the paintings to support the notion that
Manet felt a sexual attraction to his model, Victorine Meurent?

Other Works Featured

ca. 1863 (oil on canvas)
Musée d' Orsay, Paris
Mlle. Victorine in the Costume of an Espada (1862), Édouard Manet
Young Lady in 1866 (1866), Édouard Manet
Olympia (1863), Édouard Manet
Street Singer (1862), Édouard Manet
Les Romaines de la Décadence (1847), Thomas Couture
Self-Portrait with Palette (1879), Édouard Manet
Portrait of M. and Mme. Auguste Manet (1860), Édouard Manet

13

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 Episode 8
The Arnolfini Marriage
by Jan van Eyck

Highlights
Rather than documenting the marriage of a rich merchant family,
van Eyck’s work memorializes the couple’s pregnancy—probably
after the woman had died in childbirth.

Questions to Consider
1. If artists often used fruit on windowsills as a symbol of Adam and
Eve’s fall in the Garden of Eden, why does it so often appear in
paintings of the Virgin Mary—who, in Catholic tradition, was free of
original sin?
2. Apart from the mysterious purpose of The Arnolfini Marriage, what
makes it a masterpiece? What draws you to the painting?
3. I f you accept the interpretation of the Marriage as a posthumous
portrait of Mme. Arnolfini, how does it affect your response to the
painting as a work of art?

Other Works Featured

Lucca Madonna (1436), Jan van Eyck
Ince Hall Madonna (1433), Jan van Eyck
Ghent Altarpiece/Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (1432), Jan van Eyck
Madonna of the Cherries (ca. 1535), Joos van Cleve
Portrait of a Man/Self Portrait (1433), Jan van Eyck
Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini (1435), Jan van Eyck
The Annunciation (ca. 1525), Joos van Cleve
Portrait of a Woman in Red (1620), Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger

1434 (oil on oak panel)

National Gallery, London

15

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 Avenues for further learning
Episode 1: Mr and Mrs Andrews
Asfour, Amal and Paul
Williamson. Gainsborough’s
Vision. Liverpool: Liverpool
University Press, 1999.
Lindsay, Jack. Thomas
Gainsborough: His Life and
Art. New York: Granada, 1982.
Postle, Martin. Thomas Gainsborough.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003.
Rosenthal, Michael. The Art of Thomas
Gainsborough: "A Little Business for the Eye."
New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999.
Episode 2: The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp
Berger, Harry, Jr. Manhood,
Marriage & Mischief:
Rembrandt’s "Night Watch"
and Other Dutch Group
Portraits. New York:
Fordham University
Press, 2007.
Bomford, David. Rembrandt. London:
National Gallery, 2006.
Schwartz, Gary. The Rembrandt Book. New
York: H.N. Abrams, 2006.
Taylor, Michael. Rembrandt’s Nose: Of Flesh
and Spirit in the Master’s Portraits. New
York: Distributed Art Publishers, 2007.
16
EPTAS_booklet_2_20b.indd 18-19
Episode 3: The Tempest
Anderson, Jaynie.
Giorgione: The Painter of
"Poetic Brevity." New York:
Flammarion, 1997.
Eller, Wolfgang L.
Giorgione: Catalogue
Raisonne: Mystery Unveiled. Petersberg,
Germany: Michael Imhof, 2007.
Ferino-Pagden, Sylvia, and Giovanna Nepi
Sciré. Giorgione: Myth and Enigma. Milan:
Skira, 2004.
Settis, Salvatore. Giorgione’s "Tempest":
Interpreting the Hidden Subject. Trans. Ellen
Bianchini. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1990.
Episode 4: The Birth of Venus
Legouix, Susan. Botticelli.
London: Chaucer, 2004.
Lightbown, Ronald.
Botticelli: Life & Work. New
York: Abbeville Press, 1989.
Swinglehurst, Edmund. The Life and Works
of Botticelli. Bristol: Paragon, 1994.
Zollner, Frank. Botticelli: Images of Love
and Spring. Trans. Fiona Elliott. New York:
Prestel, 1998.
Episode 5: Boy Bitten by a Lizard Episode 7: Le déjeuner sur l’herbe
Hunt, Patrick. Caravaggio. Armstrong, Carol. Manet
London: Haus, 2004. Manette. Princeton: Yale
University Press, 2002.
Mancini, Giulio, Giovanni
Baylione, and Giovanni King, Ross. The Judgment
Pietro Bellori. Lives of of Paris: The Revolutionary
Caravaggio. London: Pallas Decade that Gave the World
Athene, 2005. Impressionism. New York: Walker & Co.,
2007.
Prose, Francine. Caravaggio: Painter of
Miracles. New York: Atlas/HarperCollins, Locke, Nancy. Manet and the Family
2005. Romance. Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 2001.
Sgarbi, Vittorio. Caravaggio. New York:
Rizzoli International Publishers, 2007. Zeri, Federico. Manet, "Le déjeuner sur
l’herbe." Richmond Hill, Ont.: NDE, 1999.
Episode 6: Mona Lisa Episode 8: The Arnolfini Marriage
McMullen, Roy. "Mona Borchert, Till-Holger. Jan
Lisa": The Picture and the van Eyck: Renaissance
Myth. Boston: Houghton Realist. Los Angeles:
Mifflin, 1975. Taschen, 2008.
Mohen, Jean-Pierre, Michel Graham, Jenny. Inventing
Menu, and Bruno Mottin. "Mona Lisa": van Eyck: The Remaking of an Artist for the
Inside the Painting. New York: Abrams, Modern Age. New York: Berg, 2007.
2006.
Seidel, Linda. Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini
Sassoon, Donald. Becoming "Mona Lisa": Portrait: Stories of an Icon. New York:
The Making of a Global Icon. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Harcourt, 2001.
Simpson, Amada. Van Eyck: The Complete
Scotti, R.A. Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Works. London: Chaucer Press, 2007.
Theft of the "Mona Lisa." New York: Knopf,
2009.
Booklet written and edited by Joseph D. Younger and Elizabeth Stocum. © 2009 Acorn Media Group, Inc.
17
2/20/09 5:58:50 PM
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