Mary, called Magdalene

That thin curl of smoke rising from the cabin chimney is the first thing to notice in Alexis Jean Fournier’s “Landscape”. It tells you someone is there. The quiet river, the trees and the open sky are no longer empty.

Painted in the late 19th century, the scene captures a peaceful side of America that often goes unnoticed. Fournier wasn’t interested in dramatic wilderness. He painted the simple signs of everyday life - a cabin, a fire, a home beside the water. Sometimes that’s all a landscape needs.

In “Still Life with a Goblet” (1653), Willem Claesz. Heda shows how much can be said with just a few objects. A tall Dutch wine glass stands beside another lying on its side, surrounded by soft gold and grey tones.

Heda was a master of quiet still lifes. Instead of painting a feast, he painted what was left behind, reminding us that even the calmest scenes can tell a story.

Royal Society reveals best nature pictures of the year

Attribué à Bisson Frères - Cathédrale de Reims, ca 1860