Based on over 100.000 votes, The Fighting Temeraire (1839) by Turner was chosen as the greatest painting in Britain!

Want to know why? I just made a 2-minute video about this masterpiece (link also in bio):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j3OlsB5log4

The result is based on a poll organized by BBC Radio 4 in 2005.

 Based on over 100.000 votes, The Fighting Temeraire (1839)

Some things just look better in the moonlight.

Scarborough by Moonlight (1898) was painted by Walter Linsley Meegan (1859-1944) in his hometown on the east coast of England. It shows the relatively calm harbor with its many boats and the city lights in the background.

Meegan is known for his moonlight and harbor scenes, and he was a student of John Atkison Grimshaw (1836-1893) who painted in a similar style.

Meegan's paintings go for fairly affordable prices, with many of them selling for fees between 1000 and 2000 USD.

 Some things just look better in the moonlight. Scarborough

Whistlejacket is an impressive, life-size portrait by George Stubbs (1724-1806), a self-taught artist with a passion for anatomy and painting.

The National Gallery acquired it in 1997 for 10M pounds.

 Whistlejacket is an impressive, life-size portrait by

The Fighting Temeraire by Turner was voted the greatest painting in Great Britain in 2005.

After years of service, the magnificent ship went to its final resting place to be broken up. It is on display in the National Gallery in London.

 The Fighting Temeraire by Turner was voted the greatest

Zebra (1763) is one of George Stubbs' magnificent paintings of animals. While collecting these wild animals was a hobby of some of the very rich, including the English queen, Stubbs painted them out of a deep interest in anatomy and science.

 Zebra (1763) is one of George Stubbs' magnificent paintings

Would you like this painting in your living room?

The Fight: St George Kills the Dragon VI (1866) was painted by Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898).

It is part of a series of seven paintings about the 3rd-century story of St. George and the Dragon that the British artist Myles Birket Foster commissioned for his living room. And the paintings were not just small panels. This painting, including frame, measures 166.0 x 175.6.

It shows the climax of the story of St. George, princess Sabra, and the dragon. See my post earlier today for some more info on that. And whereas the dragon in the previous painting was already relatively small, Burne-Jones’ dragon resembles more a crocodile. It seems hard to believe that this creature could eat two sheep (and later one sheep and one maiden) every day, as this is how the story is usually told.

But for British artist, St. George had a broader meaning than just his legend of slaying a dragon. St. George had become the patron saint of England and represented the Christian spirit and the rise Victorian revival more generally.

 Would you like this painting in your living room? The

Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high... are the idyllic, Romantic landscapes of John Constable.

Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows (1831) is on display in Tate Britain.. Constable loved to paint rainbows and double rainbows in his landscapes, creating a magical environment.

 Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high... are the idyllic

Anthony van Dyck painted almost 90 portraits of the controversial French Henrietta Maria (the Queen of England in the 17th century). The Queen liked Van Dyck as he did not mind to make her look a little bit taller than she was in reality.

Two versions of this portrait exist; one in the San Diego Museum of Art and another one in the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen.

 Anthony van Dyck painted almost 90 portraits of the

The huge hair of Anne, Viscountess Townshend by Joshua Reynolds was very fashionable in England in the 1770s!

This portrait is on display in the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco.

 The huge hair of Anne, Viscountess Townshend by Joshua

The facade of Westminster Abbey today still looks the same as the one Canaletto painted 271 years ago.

Since 1066, all coronations of English and British monarchs have taken place in this Gothic church.

 The facade of Westminster Abbey today still looks the same

The Venetian painter Canaletto painted numerous incredible city views during the 18th century. This is St. Paul's Cathedral, the tallest building in London for over 250 years.

Canaletto was born in Venice where he painted most of his city views, but he also spent 10 years in England painting London and surroundings.

 The Venetian painter Canaletto painted numerous incredible

During his first six-month tour of Italy, J.M.W. Turner filled 23 sketchbooks with impressions from Rome. Among them were several ones of the Colosseum. This trip would have a major impact on Turner.

 During his first six-month tour of Italy, J.M.W. Turner

In between portraying King Charles of England and the people around the king, Anthony van Dyck also found time to paint himself.

Self-Portrait with a Sunflower shows why Van Dyck (1599-1642)  is considered Belgian's best portrait painter.

 In between portraying King Charles of England and the

Queen Eleanor is on a mission to poison her husband's Mistress.

Her husband, Henry II of England, was meeting with his mistress Rosamund Clifford, in the middle of a big maze. But Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine was able to track her down trailing a red cord (in her left hand).

The mistress could choose between taking the poison or a dagger, and she chose for the poison and died.