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The Peasant Wedding by Pieter Bruegel The Elder, 1567.
In this 16th century wedding celebration we see the bride sitting in front of a cloth and very proudly surveying the festivities on "her day." The lore is that Bruegel would dress up as a peasant and did his research first hand. Notice the Bride sitting in front of the green cloth with a crown above her head.
Detail, The Peasant Wedding, Pieter Bruegel the Elder.
Portrait of Susanna Lunden or Le Chapeau de Paille (The Straw Hat), 1622-25 by Peter Paul Rubens, National Gallery, London.
A portrait of Rubens' sister-in-law, who was widowed by the time this was painted. Her sister was Rubens' second wife. Rubens' was the most famous and popular painter of the 17th century. His paintings of full-figured females have spawned the term "rubenisque" to describe voluptuous figures.
Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his Gallery at Brussels, c. 1651 by David Teniers.
We are so used to seeing large expanses of wall surrounding works of art, but that is really only a 20th century method of hanging paintings, for years it was done like the gallery in this painting - floor to ceiling, stacked on top of each other.
The Descent from the Cross c.1435/8 by Rogier van der Weyden, Museo del Prado, Madrid.
The sadness and suffering on the faces of the figures in this scene show that van der Weyden was a close observer of people. He achieved great success during his lifetime but in spite of this, very little is known about him personally and attributing work directly to him is problematic.
Dump Truck, 2013 by Wim Delvoye
Belgian artist Wim Delvoye takes everyday objects and just makes them nicer and prettier. His work reminds me of another favorite of mine, Cal Lane.
Love his series of pigs decorated like Persian rugs.