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1896 France
The Wave
A nude woman braces herself on a wet shore before a curling blue-green wave, turning her face back toward the viewer.
William-Adolphe Bouguereau
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ArtifactArchive / Object index
Ten ways into
the past.
Explore paintings and visual records drawn from the Video Factory archive. Each page starts with the artwork, then gives you the date, maker, context, and the questions that remain.
10
artwork records
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The collection
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story.
Open any record for a larger view and a fuller reading below the artwork.
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Date not provided in the supplied excerpt Created in London
Whistler's Mother
Anna McNeill Whistler sits in profile against a restrained field of grey, her stillness made monumental by the surrounding geometry.
James McNeill Whistler
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1503–1519 Italy
Monna Lisa
A portrait identified by the Louvre as Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo, known around the world as La Joconde or Monna Lisa.
Leonardo da Vinci
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1833 France
The Execution of Lady Jane Grey
Blindfolded and kneeling, Lady Jane Grey reaches for the execution block while Sir John Brydges guides her through the darkness.
Paul Delaroche
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1649–1653 Udaipur
Battle at Lanka, Ramayana
Rama's monkey army faces the demon army of Lanka in a crowded field of movement, colour, and mythic conflict.
Sahib Din
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ca. 1618 Mughal India
Jahangir Welcoming Shah 'Abbas
Jahangir welcomes Shah 'Abbas in a ceremonial court scene attended by figures, offerings, winged forms, and golden emblems.
Abu'l Hasan; attribution also recorded to Bishandas
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1863 United States
John Brown: Meeting the Slave-Mother
On the steps of Charlestown jail, John Brown encounters an enslaved mother and her child on his way to execution.
Published by Currier & Ives, after Louis Ransom
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Date not documented in the supplied source France
Morning, Interior
A seated man dresses while a woman rests in bed; a bright shaft of morning light cuts through the domestic interior.
Maximilien Luce
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Date not stated in the supplied source Travancore / Dutch war
Battle of Colachel
A historical scene of the Dutch surrender during the Battle of Colachel in the Travancore-Dutch war.
Artist not securely identified
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Date not provided in the supplied source Rajput states / Delhi Sultanate
Battle of Tarain
A painting described as the Battle of Tarain between a Rajput state and the Delhi Sultanate.
Artist not securely identified
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