Cumberland Art Gallery highlights

Artemisia Gentileschi

Self-Portrait as the Allegory of ‘Painting’, c1638-9

This is one of the most revealing portraits of a 17th-century woman. Artemisia has depicted herself as a working artist and as ‘La Pittura’, the female personification of painting itself – something her male rivals could not do. Artemisia used descriptions of ‘La Pittura’ in ‘emblem books’ that described how she was supposed to look: the artist is lost in the moment, her hair tied back but dishevelled, her body contorted as she concentrates on the canvas.

Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal)

Santa Maria Della Caritá looking towards the bacino c1727-8

Canaletto’s paintings are suffused with Venetian sunlight, minute touches of the paintbrush picking out reflections in the water, and façades of buildings are bathed in light in sharp contrast to walls of dark shadows. In the painting of the Carità, an adjacent building casts its silhouette onto the church, providing a foil to the sunlit figures in the foreground.

Venice: The Grand Canal from the Carità towards the Bacino c.1727-28 by Canaletto — *Image: © Royal Collection Enterprises Ltd 2025 |* *Royal Collection Trust.*

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

The calling of Saints Peter and Andrew, c1602-04

'Follow me and I will make you fishers of men!' We see the moment just after Christ has spoken, as the impact of his words shows on the incredulous faces of the disciples. Caravaggio has created drama out of a single second. The brothers Peter and Andrew are poised, about to answer Christ’s invitation – their lives will change forever.

Sir Joshua Reynolds

The death of Dido, c1775-81

Artists often turn to the rich mythologies of the ancient world for dramatic stories. This theatrical painting depicts the suicide of Queen Dido of Carthage, abandoned by her lover Aeneas. Reynolds attempts to capture her expression of complete despair, as she writhes in anguish. We are meant to feel the Queen’s pain, and react to the artwork as we would to an actor’s performance on a stage.

A dramatic painting depicting a woman lying on a funeral pyre surrounded by another woman.

Image: © Royal Collection Enterprises Ltd 2025 | Royal Collection Trust.

Sir Anthony van Dyck

Portrait of Mary, Princess Royal and later Princess of Orange, c1637

Court artists worked directly for the royal family. Van Dyck’s portrait of the 6-year-old daughter of Charles I is a statement of dynastic wealth – the expensive lace, pearls and gold damask curtain – but also a delightful image of a little girl with her hands clasped uncertainly in front of her silver apron, attempting a mature pose beyond her years.

A painting of a young girl dressed in elaborate Stuart costume — *Image: Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to Historic Royal Palaces, 2008*

Thomas Gainsborough

Diana and Actaeon, c1785-88

As punishment for spying on her while bathing, the goddess Diana throws water in the face of Actaeon, transforming him into a stag who is destined to be killed by his own dogs. Gainsborough blended the figures into the landscape to evoke the mystery and power of nature, an approach that reaches back to Titian and forward to Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse.

A sketch or unfinished painting depicting mythological nymphs bathing in a pool, while a man looks at them.

Image:© Royal Collection Enterprises Ltd 2025 | Royal Collection Trust.

Portrait of Rembrandt's mother, painted by the artist. The figure wears an exotic deep purple hood with a fur mantle over a dark dress culminating in an embroidered white chemise. The tone of the painting is sombre, but it is offset by the parchment pallor of the skin, the colour of the chemise and the yellow embroidery of the hood. — *Image: © Royal Collection Enterprises Ltd 2025 | Royal Collection Trust.*

Rembrandt van Rijn

An old woman, called ‘The Artist’s Mother’, c1627-9

Rembrandt’s painting is a timeless and moving record of old age. The hooded eyes, thinning lips and the loose and creased folds of skin are all exaggerated and highlighted, designed to evoke our pity and perhaps a sense of our own mortality. Such paintings, virtuoso exercises of imagination, also brilliantly displayed Rembrandt’s talent, and helped establish his reputation.

Jan Brueghel the Elder

A Flemish fair, 1600

Brueghel’s colourful depiction of a street party is also a celebration of the happiness of a society at peace. The Dutch Republic had declared independence from Spanish rule in 1581, heralding a ‘Golden Age’ of Dutch art and culture. This painting is a statement of national pride. It shows how a well-ordered society should be, but it is also an incident-packed description of town life, full of delightful detail.

A painting depicting a festival with dancing peasants and other figures on a country road. — *Image: © Royal Collection Enterprises Ltd 2025 | Royal Collection Trust.*

The painting depicts the interior of a fisherman's cottage early in the morning. A young woman sits, her hands covering her face. A young child holds on to an elderly woman, who both look on at the scene. — *Image: © Royal Collection Enterprises Ltd 2025 | Royal Collection Trust.*

Frank Holl

No tidings from the sea, 1870

Victorian artists drew on a long legacy of narrative art. This painfully emotional scene captures a family’s desolation after the death of a fisherman. Holl’s muted colours and the quiet grief of each of the figures is relieved only by the mystical light around the bright white shirt of the young girl, a sign of hope and an echo of the religious symbolism of earlier artworks.

Duccio di Buoninsegna

Triptych: Crucifixion and other scenes, c1302-08

Sacred paintings have helped Christians understand the important principles of their faith, for 2,000 years. In this 14th-century depiction of the death of Christ, the Sienese artist Duccio has placed Christ’s mother, the Virgin Mary, four times, skilfully painting her emotions so that the viewer can identify with her story. This altarpiece was for private use; its hinged sides originally closed like doors to protect the painting. When opened for prayer by candlelight, the gold leaf glowed and shimmered, evoking the riches of heaven.