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Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: At the Moulin Rouge (1892); Art Institute of Chicago.

Au Moulin Rouge is a key work in the oeuvre of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. It is one of his largest and most orthodox – finished, in a traditional sense – works. The subject, people drinking, talking and dancing in the Moulin Rouge dance hall is a recurring motif in Lautrec's work, and pivotal, as it was precisely this subject that propelled him into the ranks of the all-time greats. Moreover, the people depicted in this scene were the ones his world revolved around: the dancers La Goulue (‘the Glutton’) and Jane Avril; his friends, seated round the table, of which the photographer Paul Sescau was the most important one; and in the background we can see Lautrec's cousin Dr. Tapie de Celeyran, together with the unmistakable figure of the painter himself. Toulouse-Lautrec was one of the foremost representatives of the post-impressionist movement, with Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and Seurat. These painters found inspiration in Impressionism, but also outside of western art; in Va...

Pere Borrell del Caso: Escaping Criticism (1874); Banco de España, Madrid.

ESCAPING CRITICISM Everything that deceives may be said to enchant, thus wrote Plato. In the world of arts this idea is almost self-evident: the artist transforms dead materials like wood, marble or paint into his or her perception of the world. The very fact that this version of reality is subjective forms the essence of its attraction to the viewer. There is one genre for which the art of deception forms its essence: the trompe-l’oeil. Here, the artist tries to trick our eye by creating a convincing optical illusion. Early examples of trompe-l’oeils can be found in Greek and Roman art, such as the famous murals in Pompeii, which offer views onto a non-existent landscape. Their popularity took a flight in the Baroque period, where the trompe-loeil’s illusionistic character perfectly suited the theatricality so embedded in this era. This stunning nineteenth-century example of a trompe-l’oeil is by the Catalan artist Pere Borrell del Caso. The relatively unknown Borrell, who lived f...

Anonymous: Last Judgment (12th/13th century); Santa Maria Assunta, Torcello.

The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, founded in 639 on the island of Torcello near Venice, Italy, contains an exceptional Last Judgment mosaic. Torcello is situated in the lagoon, about an hour by boat. The mosaic shown here covers the Cat hedral’s west wall. It was made in the twelfth and thirteenth century by Venetian Byzantine workmen. Why is this mosaic so special? On the lower right side, we see Hell in its most disgusting appearance ever. Angels pierce their hayforks into human bodies, black devils are flying around. This Hell is a Paradise for Byzantine Art lovers. The atrocities depicted here are not seen anywhere else. At the bottom of the scene countless skulls are floating around. Jaws are smirking and squalid wormlike creatures are creeping out of eye sockets. Body parts circle around: hands, feet, skulls, bones. The intriguing question is how the artist could put such unusual pictures in these mosaics. Probably craftsmen from Constantinople were at work...

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