Greek-born Spanish Mannerist Painter, 1541-1614
Considered a representative of late Renaissance Spanish art, El Greco was actually born in Greece, on the island of Crete. After studying in Venice under Titian, El Greco settled in Toledo, Spain in 1577. At the time he was wildly popular, his emotionally religious paintings being just the ticket for the hometown of the Spanish Inquisition. After his death his work was largely ignored until the beginning of the 20th century; now he considered one of the inspired geniuses of Western art. His distinctive style features bold shapes and colors, with elongated and slightly distorted figures.
In Toledo El Greco was in constant demand and liked living large: he maintained a private orchestra to accompany his meals. Related Paintings of El Greco :. | Allegory with a Boy Lighting a Candle in the Company of an Ape and a Fool | The Assumption of the Virgin | Christus treibt die Handler aus dem Tempel | St.Jerome as a Cardinal | Ausgiebung des Hl. Geistes | Related Artists:
Jacob Wesselpainted Portrait of Hieronim Florian Radziwiłł. in 1746
Reinier Nooms (c. 1623 - c. 1667), also known as Zeeman (Dutch for "sailor"), was a maritime painter known for his highly detailed paintings and etchings of ships.
Nooms was born and died in Amsterdam. He started painting and drawing in his later years, following a rough, drunken life as a sailor. It is not known how he acquired his skill as an artist. His knowledge of ships is evident from his work: ships and foreign locations are depicted with high accuracy and in great detail, and served as an example to other artists of how to depict ships.
A widely traveled artist, Nooms visited Paris, Venice and possibly Berlin, and also journeyed along the coast of North Africa.
A favourite subject of his paintings were the Dutch victories in the Anglo-Dutch Wars. For instance, he painted the Amalia, the flagship of admiral Maarten Tromp, before the Battle of the Downs in 1639. This painting now hangs in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, UK. His painting of the Battle of Leghorn in 1653 is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
In the 1650s, Nooms made a series of etchings of ships and topographical views characterized by a high degree of detail and precision. These etchings served as an example to many artists. The 19th century French etcher Charles Meryon was highly influenced by Noom, whose etchings of Paris cityscapes inspired Meryon to his own series of Paris etchings. Meryon even dedicated some of this work to Nooms in poetic form.
Frederic Bazilleb.Dec. 6, 1841, Montpellier, France
d.Nov. 28, 1870, Beaune-la-Rolande
French
Frederic Bazille Galleries
was a French Impressionist painter best known for his depiction of figures.
Born in Montpellier, Herault, Languedoc-Roussillon, into a middle-class Protestant family, Bazille became interested in painting after seeing some works of Eugene Delacroix. His family agreed to let him study painting, but only if he also studied medicine.
Bazille began studying medicine in 1859. He moved to Paris in 1862 to continue his studies. There he met Pierre-Auguste Renoir, was drawn to Impressionist painting, and began taking classes in Charles Gleyres studio. After failing his medical exam in 1864, he began painting full-time. His close friends included Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, and Édouard Manet. Born to a wealthy family, Bazille helped support some of these artists by giving them space in his studio and materials to use.
Bazille was just twenty-three years old when he painted several famous works, including The Pink Dress. His best known painting is Family Reunion (1867?C1868).