Jan Steen
Dutch Baroque Era Painter, ca.1625-1679
Daily life was Jan Steen's main pictorial theme. Many of the genre scenes he portrayed are lively to the point of chaos and lustfulness, even so much that a Jan Steen household, meaning a messy scene, became a Dutch proverb (een huishouden van Jan Steen). Subtle hints in his paintings seem to suggest that Steen meant to warn the viewer rather than invite him to copy this behaviour. Many of Steen's paintings bear references to old Dutch proverbs or literature. He often used members of his family as models. Jan Steen painted also quite a few self-portraits, in which he showed no tendency of vanity.
Steen did not shy from other themes: he painted historical, mythological and religious scenes, portraits, still lifes and natural scenes. His portraits of children are famous. He is also well known for his mastery of light and attention to detail, most notably in textiles. Steen was prolific, producing about 800 paintings, of which roughly 350 survive.
Steen's work was valued much by contemporaries and as a result he was reasonably well paid for his work. He did not have any students, but his work proved a source of inspiration for many painters. Related Paintings of Jan Steen :. | The Way hear it is the way we sing it | Beware of Luxury | The way you hear it is the way you sing it | Scholar at his Desk | The Morning Toilet | Related Artists: Chiari, GiuseppeItalian Baroque Era Painter, 1654-1727 Otakar Lebedapainted Z bechynske obory - Srnky in 1899 Maratta, CarloItalian Baroque Era Painter, 1625-1713
was an Italian painter of the High Baroque period, active mostly in Rome. Born in Camerano, then part of the Papal States. He came as a boy of 12 to apprentice in the studio of Andrea Sacchi. Like Sacchi, his paintings have a classicizing tone, inspired by the works of the great painters from Parma and Bologna: Carracci, Guercino, and Lanfranco. He developed a close relationship with Sacchi till the death of his master in 1661. He worked alongside Francesco Cozza, and Domenico Maria Canuti in the decoration of the Palazzo Altieri. His first prominent work is an Adoration of the Shepherds for San Giuseppe die Falegnami in 1650. He came to establish one of the most prominent art studios in Rome of his time. Other major works are the The Mystery of the Trinity Revealed to St. Augustine (c. 1655) painted for the church of Santa Maria dei Sette Dolori, The Appearance of the Virgin to St. Philip Neri (c. 1675) now in the Pitti Palace of Florence, The Virgin with Saints Carlo Borromeo and Ignatius of Loyola and Angels (c. 1685) for the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella, and The Assumption of the Virgin with Doctors of the Church (1689) for Santa Maria del Popolo, . His numerous depictions of the Virgin earned him the nickname Carluccio delle Madonne (Little Carlo of the Madonnas). The style of Maratta is a classicized Baroque, more restrained and composed than the styles of Cortona and Carracci, thus more allied to the traditions of Sacchi, Albani, and Reni. He was one of the artists favored by Giovanni Bellori. Maratta was known for his insightful portraiture. In 1650, Maratta was introduced to pope Alexander VII, who commissioned many paintings including one of his greatest works, a painting of Constantine destroying the idols for the Baptistry of the Lateran. This work brought Maratta increased fame in the Vatican, and in 1704 Maratta was knighted by pope Clement XI. Other works include an altarpiece in the San Francesco Saverio Chapel of the Church of the Gesu, in the right transept. In 1679 or 1680, a daughter, Faustina Maratti Zappi was born to Maratta by a mistress,
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