A historical view of arguably the greatest disaster in London’s history.

The Great Fire of London, with Ludgate and Old St. Paul's (c. 1670) was painted by an artist whose identity is unknown until today.

It shows one of the most devastating events that has happened in London’s history, the Great Fire which took place between September 2 and 6, 1666. On the left, you can see several people trying to save whatever they can, while, on the right, the long lines of people are trying to extinguish some of the fire.

On the left side, it shows Ludgate, the westernmost gate in the London Wall, on fire. This gate would be completely destroyed by the fire but was rebuilt afterwards (only to be demolished in 1760). The Old St. Paul’s Cathedral, which can be seen in the distance, was also destroyed.

It’s always fascinating to think about the person who could have painted this. Unfortunately, there are no leads on whom this person may have been. But if you have any ideas, feel free to share!

 A historical view of arguably the greatest disaster in

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat is the masterpiece of the Art Institute of Chicago.

It was only loaned out once in 1958, to the MoMA, and got immediately threatened by a fire and had to be evacuated.

 A Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat is the

The light effects in A Boy Blowing on a Firebrand (1621-1622) are spectacular. Just look at the sparks emanating from the glowing ember.

It was painted by Gerrit van Honthorst, who earned the fitting nickname Gerrit of the Nights, because of this type of paintings.

 The light effects in A Boy Blowing on a Firebrand

The Arab Jeweler (1882) by Charles Sprague Pearce is an intimate portrait of a craftsman concentrating on his next masterpiece.

Born in Boston, Charles Sprague Pearce (1851-1914) was one of the many American artists in the second half of the 19th century who moved to France to give an impulse to his artistic career. But Pearce did not just settle in France, he kept traveling, and visited Egypt and Algeria, among other countries. There, he encountered the local North African people and cultures, which would inspire him for the rest of his life.

This native craftsman is keeping the smoldering fire hot in order to bend some piece of metal in its desired shape. It's hard for me to see what he is making exactly, but in the foreground of the painting, we can see some of the jewelry and tools of this Egyptian craftsman.

 The ancient craft of jewelry making. The Arab Jeweler

Which one is your favorite face and element, if any?

Arcimboldo painted the four elements -- fire, water, air, and earth -- consisting of many related individual objects and creatures.

The faces represent harmony being created from chaos.

 Which one is your favorite face and element, if any?

Battle of Chesme at Night (1848) by Ivan Aivazovsky shows the Russian-Turkish naval battle that took place on July 5-7, 1770.

It was part of the on Russo-Turkish War between 1768–1774, and Aivazovsky tried to reimagine this scene under a moonlit sky. During this battle, the Russian used some so-called fire-ships, which were small vessels intended to put the enemy ships on fire. One of those ships could reach the Turkish fleet, and you can see the result here.

Aivazovsky was specialized in seascapes and painted his fair share of battle scenes. But he created many more paintings (literally thousands) in which he focused on capturing the state of the sea and its waves under different weather conditions. He was a true master in capturing the sea and was a professor of seascape painting during his life. And you can still see that in some of the waves he painted in this work.

A historical view of arguably the greatest disaster in

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat is the

The light effects in A Boy Blowing on a Firebrand

The ancient craft of jewelry making. The Arab Jeweler

Which one is your favorite face and element, if any?

The horror of a battle scene. Battle of Chesme at Night