Contrast Collection

Diego Velazquez (1599-1660). Old Woman Cooking Eggs, 1618
Diego Velazquez (1599-1660). Spanish Baroque painter. The Old Woman Cooking Eggs, 1618. Oil on canvas. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Hogarth, Four Times of the Day, Noon
Hogarth, Four Times of the Day, 2. Noon. A group of Huguenots attend the French Church in Hog Lane, London (right), opposite an eating house and a group of disreputable people (left)

The carnival in the port of Spain, Trinidad, 1888. People cavort in fancy dress through the street, some playing banjos, others brandishing what looks like bladders on sticks

Liberal Election Campaign Card, 1909
A Liberal Party campaign card for the 1909 General Election. A grim image of an elderly couple heading for the workhouse is contrasted with the partys vision of sunlit fields of waving corn

Two businessmen and different business models
The Old Way. The New Way. Two businessmen and different business models and their success or failure. Giving credit or paying cash. Date: 1870

Toilet / Manicure 1930
Frumpish middle-aged woman gives a manicure to a pretty young woman in her bedroom

Clematis Montana Rubens, a hardy climbing plant of the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, with pink flowers. Seen here growing up the side of a house

The Strife of Lent with Shrovetide, c. 1550, by Pieter Bruegh
Pieter Brueghel the Elder (c.1525-1569). Flemish painter. The Strife of Lent with Shrovetide, c.1550. National Museum of Denmark. Copenhagen. Denmark

Firefighters in action with hosepipes, Shad Thames, SE1
Firefighters in action with hosepipes at night, at a fire in Shad Thames, 19 February 1958, at the premises of Corry & Co, showing the Gainsford Street/Maguire Street corner of the building

WW2 greetings card, As You Were! Three servicewomen in uniform, a WRN, an ATS and a WaF, look longingly at an elegant evening dress in a store window. Date: circa 1942

A white tulip amongst black tulips
A lone white tulip grows up amongst a mass of darker blooms. Photograph by Norman Synge Waller Budd

Stella Cranshawe
Spirit medium discovered by Harry Price, who seems to have believed her genuine, in contrast to Helen Duncan

Bible, New Testament: parable of Lazarus and the rich man
The parable of Lazarus and the rich man

Comic postcard, The beaver and the otter Date: circa 1918

Mlle. Anita, the Doll Lady, and her brother
Mlle. Anita, measuring about twenty-six inches in height, and known as The Doll Lady or the Living Doll, pictured with her ordinary-sized brother, Herr Ignatz Zachowly during a visit to England

Trompe l oeil showing wife and mother-in-law
MY WIFE - AND MY MOTHER-IN-LAW 1915

Contrasting Bathroom

Puerta del Sol, circa 1900, by Enrique Martinez Cubells
Enrique Martinez Cubells (1874-1947). Spanish painter. Puerta del Sol, circa 1900. History Museum. Madrid. Spain

The Yellow Note
A portrait painting of a casually seated woman wearing a distinctive yellow outfit and holding flowers of the same colour. Her bright red had makes for a strong contrast. Date: circa 1915

Girl With Red Coat
A painting, simple in style to enhance the colour contrast, portraying a seated girl, wearing an orange cardigan with blue blouse. Date: circa 1918

The Crossing Sweeper, by William Powell Frith, showing Victorian wealth and poverty. Date: 1858

Cartoon, Reckoning without their host, WW1
Cartoon, Reckoning without their host. Defeated at Verdun, Germany, Prussia and Death walk away despondently. A smiling French soldier in the background says they had everything planned

Comic postcard, Vicar and drunken man Date: 20th century

Comic postcard, Plump man and pretty woman at the seaside Date: 20th century

Homeless man looks up at Buckingham Palace, London
Homeless man looks up at Buckingham Palace - changing of the guard and Victoria Memorial seen in background. Date: circa 1950s

Gas lamp and GPO / British Telecom Tower, London
Early 20th century gas lamp and standard juxtaposed with the new GPO/Brtish Telecom Tower under construction. Date: circa 1960s

GPO / British Telecom Tower under construction
Londons GPO/British Telecom Tower under construction, juxtaposed against a Victorian building. Date: circa 1963

Comic postcard, Elegant woman and scruffy man selling sheet music in the street Date: 20th century

Machnow eating breakfast at the London Hippodrome
Feodor Machnow, the Russian giant, pictured next to his manager and (possibly) members of the staff at the London Hippodrome, eating breakfast during his time performing there

Old woman trying on a pink bonnet in a shop, circa 1815
Old woman trying on a pink bonnet in front of three young shopgirls, Women appear to have sworn to lie about youth up to their last breath

Poster, Two Little Vagabonds, Royal Princesss Theatre
Poster, Two Little Vagabonds by Sims and Shirley, touring from the Royal Princesss Theatre, London. 1897

Illustration, an Epicurean. first published 1838

Cartoon, two men fencing - Satisfaction. early 19th century

Two soldiers on the Chelsea Embankment 1882
After the review: Waterloo and Tel-el-Kebir: a sketch on the Chelsea Embankment of two soldiers of very different vintages walking together. Date: 1882

RAF gunners keeping watch at their posts during a raid Date: circa 1940

Modern Bathroom Date: 1950

Englishman of 1670
In 1666, a new style for men is introduced in sharp contrast to the extravagant court styles : the long vest or body-coat is an intimation of things to come Date: circa 1670

Dramatic light on the Cook range of mountains, New Zealand
Dramatic light on the Cook range of mountains on South Island, New Zealand Date: 1993

Cartoon, German soldiers eating and drinking, WW1
Cartoon, Kultur and Grub. A stereotypical view of German soldiers eating sausages and drinking beer, showing the contrast between the German idea of culture and the soldiers greed. Date: 1915

Soudan, Fashoda conflict. Magazine Punch, 1898
How Some People Invade the Soudan. Satirical cartoon by T. Reed in the magazine Punch. September 24, 1898. Reference to the conflict between France and Britain for colonial territories in Sudan

The two-horse act. Picture shows a male bareback rider on two horses balancing his female partner on his right leg. Date c1874

Comic German postcard -- Two Better Halves
Comic German postcard by Arthur Thiele -- Two Better Halves -- two grossly overweight women followed by their two skinny husbands. Date: early 20th century

The Blind Guitarist, 1778, by Francisco de Goya
Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828). Spanish painter. The Blind Guitarist, 1778. Prado Museum. Madrid. Spain

Louis Wain - rich Lion and crossing sweeper Monkey. circa late 19th century

Joseph Wright (1734-1797). An Experiment on a Bird in the Ai
Joseph Wright (1734-1797). Known as Wright of Derby. English painter. An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (1768). Oil-on-canvas. Detail. National Gallery. London. England. UK

Chateau de Veves, 1875
The Chateau de Veves, at Dinant, Belgium, viewed from the village. Date: 1875

Three cartoons at the start of the First World War: at the top, a comment on needing another war to collect the debts for this one

Shale (right) and garnet-mica-schist (left)
Shale is sedimentary and garnet-mica-schist is metamorphoc in origin. Specimen held at the Natural History Museum, London

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