Thursday, January 26, 2017

Oil Paintings on Copper Surfaces

Balthasar Denner
Portrait of an old woman
ca. 1720-40
oil on copper
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

"That elegant Part of Mankind, who are not immers'd in the animal Life, but employ themselves in the Operations of the Mind, may be divided into the learned and conversible. The Learned are such as have chosen for their Portion the higher and more difficult Operations of the Mind, which require Leisure and Solitude, and cannot be brought to Perfection, without long Preparation and severe Labour. The conversible World join to a sociable Disposition, and Taste of Pleasure, an Inclination to the easier and more gentle Exercises of the Understanding, to obvious Reflections on human Affairs, and the Duties of common Life, and to the Observation of Blemishes or Perfections of the particular Objects, that surround them. Such Subjects of Thought furnish not sufficient Employment in Solitude, but require the Company and Conversation of our Fellow-Creatures, to render them a proper Exercise for the Mind: And this brings Mankind together in Society, where every one displays his Thoughts and Observations in the best Manner he is able, and mutually gives and receives Information, as well as Pleasure."

 from the essay, Of Essay-Writing (1742) by David Hume

Hendrick van Steenwyck
Italian Palace
1623
oil on copper
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Hendrick van Steenwyck
Gothic church interior
ca. 1610-20
oil on copper
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Hendrick van Steenwyck
Liberation of St Peter from prison
1630s
oil on copper
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Sassoferrato
Holy Family
before 1685
oil on copper
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Jean-Baptiste Lallemand
Roman Forum
1750s
oil on copper
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Willem van Mieris
Cupid and Psyche
before 1747
oil on copper
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Simon de Vos
Magnanimity of Scipio Africanus
1641
oil on copper
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Simon de Vos
Abigail bringing gifts to David
1641
oil on copper
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Simon de Vos
Marcus Curtius leaping into the chasm
1641
oil on copper
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Simon de Vos
Penitent Magdalene
ca. 1630-35
oil on copper
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Anonymous painter working in the Netherlands
St Catherine
18th century
oil on copper
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Cristofano Allori
Annunciation
before 1621
oil on copper
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Paolo Veronese
Adoration of the Magi
1570s
oil on copper
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Jan Frans Beschey
Assumption of the Virgin
18th century
oil on copper
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg