Breeze Barrington is a writer and historian, specialising in 17th-century artistic culture.
The artist is better known for painting Ancien Régime aristocrats than for verdant hills and melancholy skies. That may change after an auction at Sotheby’s
The Royal Collection has found a work from the artist’s London years reveals as much about its patron as about the painter
A portrait saved for the nation has been praised for representing racial equality in 17th-century Britain, but it’s mainly a warning to women everywhere
Seeing the National Portrait Gallery’s treasures in a new setting allows us to appreciate the larger-life-than personalities behind the paintings in new ways
The painter employed trompe l'oeil like no artist before or since – and his box of tricks makes for a real treat at Ikon in Birmingham
A new study reminds us that royal palaces were places to live in as well as impressive displays of power
A pair of monumental landscapes painted in his later years offer an unusually personal glimpse of the artist himself
The Amazon series limps through its art history but is just about salvaged by its endearingly goofy hero
The artist knew exactly how to cultivate her own image, ensuring her great success – both then and now
Caravaggio and Bernini are the headliners – but the Rijksmuseum’s show reveals the range of artists who adopted the baroque style
