Images Dated 13th September 2010

Virgils Tomb

Virgil's Tomb (1785). Wright, Joseph of Derby 1734-1797. Wright travelled in Italy from 1774-76 and produced many fine drawings of classical subjects and geological curiosities. On his return to England Wright used these drawings to produce a number of paintings of Italian subjects, many of which employ dramatic effects of light. Virgil's Tomb, near Naples, was much visited on the ?Grand Tour? due to its picturesque appearance and the great esteem in which the Roman poet Virgil was held in the eighteenth century. Date: 1785

© National Museums NI / MARY EVANS

The Three Dancers

The Three Dancers (1945). Luke, John 1906-1975. The Three Dancers is a prime example of Luke?s highly stylised and precise technique. The flowing lines of the dancers? arms, the bending boughs of the bush and the wavy undulations of the landscape, create the rhythm of the dance in a powerfully immediate way. The subtle finish and intense colour derives from the use of tempera, a medium Luke began experimenting with in 1933 and which fascinated him. By the 1940s, Luke had become virtually obsessed with the craftsmanship involved in creating works like The Three Dancers. Indeed, such was his preoccupation with the making of the picture that he produced lengthy notes on its technical construction. Luke spent almost his entire career living and working in Belfast with the exception of a period in County Armagh during the war years. This picture, painted whilst he was living there, is the first of a number of almost visionary compositions produced in the mid-1940s possibly inspired by the closing stages of the war. Date: 1945

© National Museums NI / MARY EVANS

Allegory of Fortune

Allegory of Fortune. Lippi, Lorenzo 1606-1665. The depiction of a human figure personifying an abstract concept such as youth or beauty is called an allegory. The young woman in this painting is an allegory of fortune and the monkey, who appears to be selecting playing cards, symbolises chance. The association of fortune with man?s ability to shape his destiny by swift, decisive action was a popular concept during the Renaissance. It derived from the classical idea of fortune being an unpredictable force which must be seized to ensure success. Born in Florence, Lippi was a pupil of Matteo Rosselli from whom he learnt the fine, searching drawing skills of the Florentine workshop tradition. During the 1630s Lippi drew increasingly from nature, a skill described by his biographer Balducci as ?his pure imitation of reality?. Lippi also developed a restrained, classical style that abandoned the richly patterned fabrics and elaborate jewellery favoured by other Seventeenth century Florentine painters

© National Museums NI / MARY EVANS