' Jules Massenet' French composer (1842-1912)

Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer from Montaud , who was best known for his opera's . His compositions were very popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries , and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death Massenet's style went out of fashion , and many of his opera's fell into almost total oblivion . Apart from Manon and Werther , his works were rarely performed . However, since the mid 1970's, many of his opera's have undergone periodic revivals .

Manon - Anna Netrebko & Roberto Alagna - Act 2 (Opera by Jules Massenet)

.....Anna Netrebko (Manon Lescaut )and Robert Alagna (Le Chevalier Des Grieux ) in Jules Massenet's 'Manon' (Act 2 beginning)

' The Archers' Sir Henry Raeburn . Scottish (1756-1823) Oil on canvas , circa 1789-1790 . The National Gallery , London.

'The Archers' is one of a small number of outstanding portraits from the early part of Raeburn's career , in which he employed an exceptionally accomplished and subtle fusion of arresting compositions and dramatic treatment of light and shade to create a sense of intimacy between the spectators and sitters . The portrait is datable to about 1789 or 1790 , when the young subjects were in their late teens . Robert and Ronald Ferguson became members of the Royal Company of Archers in 1792 and 1801 respectively and the contemporary revival of archery as a fashionable sport appears to have served as an inspiration for the composition. The two brothers are shown in a striking and complex arrangement of contrasts. Robert is lit from the left , while Ronald behind him is shown entirely in shadow , gazing out at the viewer while framed in the tautened bow of his brother. The stillness, darkness and broad , confident application of paint combine to create a sense of hushed atmosphere , which is at once formal and verging on the romantic.

'French Fury' Ferdinand de Braekeleer . Belgium (1792-1883) Oil on canvas, circa 1827-1646. Hermitage Museum , St.Petersburg .

The "French Fury" was a failed attempt by Francois , Duke of Anjou to conquer the city of Antwerp by surprise on the 17th January , 1583 . During the Eighty years' War the States-General had asked in 1581 the French Duke to become head of state of the Seventeen Provinces , to obtain French support in expelling the Spanish troops. Anjou did not have much influence in the Netherlands , and attempted to seize more power . He decided to try to occupy Antwerp, the largest city of the Seventeen Provinces, by surprise. Antwerp had already been comprehensively sacked by Spanish troops in the 'Spanish Fury' of 1576 . Unfortunately for Anjou his plan was discovered . The inhabitants still traumatised by the Spanish plunder seven years earlier, were determined to prevent another occupation by foreign troops by all means possible . On the 17th January, 1583 , in an attempt to fool the citizens of Antwerp , Anjou asked to be permitted to enter the city in order to honour them with a 'Royal Entry' As soon as Anjou's troops entered the city , the gates of Antwerp were slammed shut behind them . Having lost the advantage of surprise , the small French army found itself hopelessly trapped within the city as it was bombarded from windows and rooftops with stones, rocks , logs and even heavy chains . The city's experienced garrison then opened up a deadly, point-blank fire on the troops . Only a few Frenchmen , including the Duke of Anjou , escaped . Over 1,500 troops perished , many of them hacked to death by the enraged citizens of Antwerp. ......Ferdinand de Braekeleer (1792-1883) was a Belgium painter. The son of poor parents , he was at first excepted by Mathieu van Brée's Art School for Orphans and later by the Antwerp Academie . He gained several prizes there in 1809 and 1811 and later distinguished himself in the Paris Salon of 1813 .

' Old Woman and a Boy with Candles' Pieter Paul Rubens , Flemish (1577-1640) Oil on panel , circa 1616-1670 . Mauritshuis , The Hague .

In 2005 the Maurithuis purchased this masterpiece by Pieter Paul Rubens , the great Flemish Baroque painter . In this nocturnal scene a boy is about to light a wick from a burning candle held by the old woman. Her old wrinkled face and the boy's smooth, soft cheek are beautifully lit by the flame . Shortly after returning from Italy at the end of 1608 , Rubens began to paint nocturnal scenes. In Italy he had become familiar with the work of Caravaggio - famous for his contrasts of light and shade - whose paintings served as examples for this panel. It is possible Rubens made this painting for his own pleasure, since it was still in his possession when he died . The panel is composed of 21 little boards whereas panels of this size usually consist of only one or two boards. This 'untidy' support makes it even more likely that Rubens made the painting for himself and not for an official buyer.

' Saint Sebastian ' Gerrit van Honthorst , Dutch (1590-1656) Oil on canvas , circa 1623 . The National Gallery , London .

Sebastian was a Roman centurion , who was discovered to be a Christian and was sentenced to death by the Emperor Diocletian . He was bound to a stake and shot with arrows . He was left for dead , although the arrows had not killed him and he was eventually stoned to death . Honthorst was one of the first artists to portray Saint Sebastian as a half-length figure , slumped forward in a seated position .The pose was subsequently adopted by other followers of Caravaggio in Utrecht , including Jan van Bijlert and Hendrik ter Brugghen in the mid 1620's . This picture was probably painted shortly after Honthorst's return to Utrecht in 1620 .

' The Procuress' Gerrit van Honthorst , Dutch (1590-1656) Oil on panel , 1625 . Centraal Museum , Utrecht ..

The Procuress happily points to the smart young man, presumably a customer who quite visibly holds his purse in his left hand. With his other hand he gestures towards the girls lute , while the girl too , her décolletage roguishly displayed by the candlelight , points towards her instrument. The strong emphasis laid on the lute suggests that the instrument here has the more vulgar, and very common, significance of vagina . (The Dutch word 'luit' can mean either) Under an elegant veil , the painting thus illustrates - and by implication - condemns illicit love. This painting is an excellent example of van Honthorst's familiar devise: placing a silhouetted figure in the foreground....Gerrit van Honthorst was a leading member of the 'Utrecht' school influenced by the Italian painter Caravaggio. He was born in Utrecht (1590) as the son of a textile painter . His younger brother Willem also became a painter . Van Honthorst was apprenticed to Abraham Bloemaert, the most celebrated master in Utrecht. He went to Italy around 1610-1615 when Caravaggio's influence there was at its height. In Italy, van Honthorst aquired the nickname 'Gherdo delle Notte', because his figures are often portraid in the darkness of night.

Da Vinci - The Lost Treasure (BBC)

' An Omnibus Ride to Piccadilly (Mr Gladstone Travelling with Ordinary Passengers ) Alfred Morgan . English (1862-1904) Oil on canvas , circa 1885 .

William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1888) was British Prime Minister on four occasions as well as the country's oldest serving Prime Minister at 84 years old . During his various ministries he introduced the secret ballot into the British electoral system , oversaw the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland , and in 1866 tried unsuccessfully to pass a bill through parliament to devolution or Irish Home Rule . He was known by the appellation G.O.M., which stood for ' Grand Old Man ' to his friends and supporters , and 'God's Only Mistake ' to his lifelong rival Benjamin Disraeli . Gladstone is also remembered for the bag that bears his name and for using the longest word in a British Parliamentary Debate : antidisestablishmentarianism . .....Alfred Morgan (1862-1904) was an English painter . His extensive range of subjects included , portraits , flowers , animals and landscapes , as well as historical and biblical scenes . In 1885 he completed a portrait of William Ewart Gladstone 'An Omnibus Ride to Piccadilly Circus , Mr Gladstone Travelling with Ordinary Passengers ' The 'ordinary passengers' , in fact were the artist himself and his wife and children .