The birth of Venus (1483 - 1485) by Sandro BotticelliUffizi Gallery
Pale pink flowers are scattered by the west winds while a nymph carries a billowing pink gown, ready to cloak the newly-born Venus in Sandro Bottecelli's masterpiece.
This enigmatic image leaves may questions, but its subtle fleshy tones always leave a lasting impression.
The Pink Dress (Albertie-Marguerite Carré, later Madame Ferdinand-Henri Himmes, 1854–1935) (ca. 1870) by Berthe MorisotThe Metropolitan Museum of Art
In 1870 Berthe Morisot painted the teenage Marguerite Carré wearing a pink dress. The black trim marks this gown out as expensive, and stylish, evening wear.
At the time, pink wasn't associated solely with femininity, but it was favored by many.
Winter Sun at Lavacourt (1879 - 1880) by Claude MonetMuMa - Musée d'art moderne André Malraux
The winter of 1879 saw deep snows blanket northern France, and Monet set out daily to capture the play of light on this natural canvas. Take a moment to imagine him alone in the fields, a chill rising as the sun sets on another day of painting en plein air.
Take a moment to imagine him alone in the fields, a chill rising as the sun sets on another day of painting en plein air.
One Hundred Famous Views of Edo “Plum Garden in Kameido” (1857) by Utagawa HiroshigeShizuoka city Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art
Another tranquil scene by the Japanese woodcut artist Hiroshige, pairing a pale pink sky with the matching plum blossom at the Seikoen estate, Edo.
The work is a masterpiece of ukiyo-e and the complicated bokashi gradient technique.
The Coiffure (1890-1891) by Mary CassattNational Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Mary Cassatt's The Coiffure clearly draws on the Japanese woodblock style, with large patches of colour separated by hairline black.
The pale pink chair, carpet, and skin seem to bring the image closer to us, as if we were in the room with her.
Notre-Dame, une fin d'après-midi (A Glimpse of Notre Dame in the Late Afternoon) (1902) by Henri MatisseAlbright-Knox Art Gallery
A Glimpse of Notre Dame in the Late Afternoon, painted by Henri Matisse during a period of melancholy, suggests a fleeting moment of private devotion from a quietly spiritual man in the seclusion of his own room.
The smudged pink silhouette is nonetheless unmistakable as Notre Dame in the haze of distance.
Suit Suit (1938–39) by Elsa SchiaparelliThe Metropolitan Museum of Art
In 1931, fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli invented Shocking Pink, an oversaturated mixture of magenta and white.
Shocking Pink became her signature colour, and influenced images of femininity for the rest of the 20th Century.
Super-Chess (1937) by Paul KleeKunsthaus Zürich
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