Dutch Post-Impressionist Painter, 1853-1890 Vincent Willem van Gogh (30 March 1853 ?C 29 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist artist. Some of his paintings are now among the world's best known, most popular and expensive works of art. Van Gogh spent his early adult life working for a firm of art dealers. After a brief spell as a teacher, he became a missionary worker in a very poor mining region. He did not embark upon a career as an artist until 1880. Initially, Van Gogh worked only with sombre colours, until he encountered Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism in Paris. He incorporated their brighter colours and style of painting into a uniquely recognizable style, which was fully developed during the time he spent at Arles, France. He produced more than 2,000 works, including around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches, during the last ten years of his life. Most of his best-known works were produced in the final two years of his life, during which time he cut off part of his left ear following a breakdown in his friendship with Paul Gauguin. After this he suffered recurrent bouts of mental illness, which led to his suicide. The central figure in Van Gogh's life was his brother Theo, who continually and selflessly provided financial support. Their lifelong friendship is documented in numerous letters they exchanged from August 1872 onwards. Van Gogh is a pioneer of what came to be known as Expressionism. He had an enormous influence on 20th century art, especially on the Fauves and German Expressionists.  Related Paintings of Vincent Van Gogh :. | Olive Picking (nn04) | Still life basket with two potato-baskets | Two Little Girls | The Snower | Thatched Cottages in Cordeville (nn04) |
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Louis Carrier-Belleuse
(1848-1913) was a French painter and sculptor. He was son and pupil of Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse. He designed the patterns of the Faïencerie (earthenware factory) from Choisy-le-Roi, where he was artistic director. He was also the sculptor of the Equestrian monument to General Manuel Belgrano
Jens Juel
1745-1802 Danish Jens Juel Galleries was a Danish painter, primarily known for his many portraits, of which the largest collection is on display at Frederiksborg Castle. He was born in the house of his mothers brother Johan Jørgensen, who was a school teacher in Balslev on the island of Fyn. Jens Juel was the illegitimate son of Vilhelmine Elisabeth Juel (January 1725 ?C March 1799), who served at Wedellsborg and a fine gentleman, probably a Wedell or Lord Jens Juel. When Juel was one year old, his mother married Jørgen Jørgensen (1724 ?C June 4, 1796), who was a school master in Gamborg, not far from Balslev, and he grew up in Gamborg. He showed an interest in painting from an early age, and his parents sent him to be an apprentice of painter Johann Michael Gehrman in Hamburg, where he worked hard for five or six years and improved himself so far, that he created himself a reputation as a painter of portraits, landscapes, etc. Just over twenty years old he came to Copenhagen to attend the Royal Danish Academy of Art. In 1767 he was awarded its small gold medal and in 1771 the large gold medal. In 1772 he left Copenhagen to be away for eight years. Initially, he went to Rome where he stayed for four years together with other Danish artists, including Abildgaard. From Rome, he moved to Paris, at the time a center of portrait painting. In 1777 he moved on to Geneva, where he stayed for two years at the home of his friend Charles Bonnet in the company of other Danish artists, including etcher Clemens. In Geneva, Juel soon earned himself a reputation as an excellent artist and he painted many portraits. Through Bonnet, who had become a member of honour of the Danish academy, his reputation reached Denmark. After eight years of absence, he returned to Copenhagen in 1780 after a brief stay in Hamburg, where he met Klopstock. It was at his house, that he painted his well-known picture of "Messiadens Digter". Back in Copenhagen, he created himself a reputation as a painter of portraits for the royal house, nobility and the well-to-do. April 4, 1782, he was unanimously elected to be a member of the academy by Mandelberg, Weidenhaupt and Abildgaard. He became the director of the academy in 1795.
Parrocel, Joseph
French, 1646-1704 He studied with his father Barthelemy Parrocel (1595-1660) and then with his elder brother Louis Parrocel (1634-94). He went to Paris for four years to perfect his work and then, c. 1667, to Rome, where he became the pupil of the battle painter Jacques Courtois and was influenced by Salvator Rosa. He remained in Italy for eight years and stayed for a time in Venice, before returning to settle in Paris in 1675. He was approved (agree) by the Academie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in February 1676 and received as a full member in November of the same year, presenting the Siege of Maastricht (Draguignan, Mus. Mun.). His painted oeuvre consists principally of military scenes, particularly battles, and he received numerous royal commissions. In the period 1685-8 he executed 11 paintings for the Salle du Grand Couvert at the cheteau of Versailles (nine in situ; one in Tours, Mus. B.-A.; one in Dijon, Mus. B.-A.); in 1699 he painted the Crossing of the Rhine (Paris, Louvre.) for the cheteau of Marly, Yvelines, and in 1700 he executed the Fair at Bezons (Tours, Mus. B.-A.), anticipating the fetes galantes of Antoine Watteau. He was also the author of a number of hunting scenes . His most important religious paintings were the May of Notre-Dame de Paris of 1694, St John the Baptist Preaching (Arras, Mus. B.-A.) and St Augustin Succouring the Sick (c. 1703; Nantes, Mus. B.-A.), which was intended for the monastery in the Place des Victoires in Paris. He also contributed battle scenes to the backgrounds of portraits by Hyacinthe Rigaud and by Gabriel Blanchard. His technique was highly original in the context of his time; he employed a very free style of execution and used thick impasto and intense colours. He was also a prolific engraver, producing around 100 plates,