18th Century

These are the first three images of this painting that came up on the web and this is what I mean about the coloring being different everytime. I have happy, magical, childhood associations with the particular shade of pink of her dress but only the shade in the book. The first of these three comes close. Regardless, I love this painting because although I love the idea of a pastoral or nature setting, I rarely actually like those paintings. I love how Gainsborough, as the book says, "integrat(es) the woman into the landscape," especially by identifying her hair with the leaves of the tree making her look like a tree nymph. I also like her natural relaxed pose and the "feathery brushwork."

Dutch Baroque

Allegory of Taste

Allegory of Smell

Allegory of Hearing

Allegory of Sight

The most frustrating thing about art text books is that you can put a dozen different books showing the same painting side by side and the colors will all be different. Of course, I'm still grateful that we have them because I doubt I'll ever make it to Museo del Prado in Madrid but I would hate to find out that the gorgeous colors and shimmering quality of Rubens' Garden of Love was a trick by the photographer. The Raising of the Cross seems to have the same quality but Henry IV, although a wonderful piece, does not. Looking the paintings up online confuses the issue even more. Regardless, I am drawn to Rubens' work over the other Dutch Baroque or any other Baroque painters. I love the playfulness of the putti and overall I find his paintings to be the most rich and expressive. I really like the painting Allegory of Sight so I look up the other three paintings in the series.