#paintings explained

The Head of the Virgin in Three-Quarter View Facing Right (ca. 1510–1513) drawing in high resolution by Leonardo da Vinci. Original from The MET Museum

This is a delightful picture; it could seem escapist, If we look closely we see that things in this image are not as innocent, as they seem at first sight. Masters and servants seem to look differently at things; the man and woman and child who pick at the bunch of grapes are dressed in better clothes than the rest, they appear to simply enjoy a day out in the country. But the gaze of the working woman directs at us is different; it seems troubled, it makes her seem shy. One of the workmen to the right, in the background, stands and looks at the foreground group. There's a clear awareness of class difference here, and of the problems that this entails. Goya himself, as court painter, was a court servant.

Vincent van Gogh's Terrace in the Luxembourg Gardens (1886) famous painting

Leonardo da Vinci's Adoration of the Magi (ca. 1480–1482) famous painting

Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper (1495-1498) famous painting. Original from Wikimedia Commons. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel

Unkown Artists Canva Collection

Vincent van Gogh's Stairway at Auvers (1890) famous landscape painting. Original from the Saint Louis Art Museum