Q.
A window to the soul? Poets, lyricists, and spies have gushed over all that can be learned from reading the eyes. What are some examples of paintings where the subject’s eyes are particularly compelling? What do their expressions say to you?

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A.

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Leonardo da Vinci. Salvator Mundi.  ~1500

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Jan van Eyck. Portrait of a Man (Self Portrait?). 1433

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Leonardo da Vinci. Mona Lisa.  ~1503-19

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El Greco. Portrait of the-Artist’s son Jorge Manuel Theotokopoulos. 1603

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Peter Paul Rubens. Portrait of Sara Breyel. 1611

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Artemisia Gentileschi. Self-Portrait as a Female Martyr. 1615

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Peter Paul Rubens. Le Chapeau de Paille. 1622-25

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Frans Hals. The Laughing Cavalier. 1624

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Rembrandt van Rijn. Old Man with a Gold Chain. 1631

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Rembrandt van Rijn. Self Portrait. 1659

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Johannes Vermeer. Girl with a Pearl Earring. 1665

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Paul Cezanne. Self-Portrait.  1862

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James Tissot.  A Winter’s Walk. 1878

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John Singer Sargent. Alice Vanderbilt Shepard. 1888

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Vincent Van Gogh. Portrait of Dr. Gachet.  1890

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Grant Wood. American Gothic.  1930

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Frida Kahlo. Portrait of Doña Rosita Morillo. 1944

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Header Art: Self-Portrait as a Lute Player. Artemisia Gentileschi.  1615-18