Visual narrative can tell stories in ways simply unavailable in serial forms of storytelling like literature or movies. This series is about exceptional painting which tell many stories at once, in a single image. In this table of contents, each painting covered in the series is classified according to its narrative form.
A temporal sequence of scenes involving common characters from a single grand narrative
Hans Memling (c 1433–1494), Scenes from the Passion of Christ (1470-1), oil on oak panel, 56.7 x 92.2 cm, Sabauda Gallery, Turin, Italy. Wikimedia Commons.
Seen occasionally today in comics, and illustrations.
Stages which could occur simultaneously, providing fine detail to a grand narrative
Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c 1525–1569), The Harvesters (1565), oil on panel, 119 x 162 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY. Wikimedia Commons.
Jacopo Tintoretto (c 1518-1594), The Crucifixion (E&I 123) (1565), oil on canvas, 536 x 1224 cm, Albergo, Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Venice, Italy. Wikimedia Commons.
Seen today in some types of illustrations, such as the Water Cycle.
Unrelated stories within an overall theme or grand narrative
Hieronymus Bosch (c 1450–1516), The Garden of Earthly Delights (centre panel) (c 1495-1505), oil on oak panel, central panel 190 × 175 cm, each wing 187.5 × 76.5 cm, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. Wikimedia Commons.
Hieronymus Bosch (c 1450–1516), The Haywain Triptych (centre panel) (c 1510-16), oil on oak panel, left wing 136.1 x 47.7 cm, central panel 133 × 100 cm, right wing 136.1 × 47.6 cm, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. Wikimedia Commons.
William Powell Frith (1819–1909), engraved by Francis Holl (1866) The Railway Station (1862), original oil on canvas, this print mixed media engraving on wove, finished with hand colouring, 66 x 123 cm, Private collection. Wikimedia Commons.
