Alina 2018-08-05 14:05:00 painters biographies
Born on June 28, 1577, Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens was one of the most celebrated and prolific artists in Europe during his lifetime as well as the entire Baroque era. His patrons included royalty and churches, and his art depicted subjects from religion, history and mythology. Known for such works as "The Descent from the Cross," "Wolf and Fox Hunt," "Peace and War," "Self-Portrait with Helena and Peter Paul" and "The Garden of Love," Rubens's style combined a knowledge of Renaissance classicism with lush brushwork and a lively realism. He died in 1640.
Peter Paul Rubens was born on June 28, 1577, in the town of Siegen in Westphalia (now Germany), one of seven children of a prosperous lawyer and his cultured wife. Following his father's death in 1587, the family moved to Antwerp in the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium), where the young Rubens received an education and artistic training. He served as an apprentice to several established artists, and was admitted into Antwerp's professional guild for painters in 1598.
In 1600, Rubens traveled to Italy, where he viewed the art of such Renaissance masters as Titian and Tintoretto in Venice, and Raphael and Michelangelo in Rome. He soon found an employer, Vincenzo I Gonzaga, duke of Mantua, who commissioned him to paint portraits and sponsored his travels. Rubens was sent by Vincenzo to Spain, to the city of Genoa in Italy, and then again to Rome. A gifted businessman as well as a highly talented artist, Rubens began to receive commissions to paint religious works for churches and portraits for private clients.
Rubens returned home to Antwerp in 1608. There he married Isabella Brant and established his own studio with a staff of assistants. He was appointed court painter to Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella, who governed the Southern Netherlands on behalf of Spain. In a time of social and economic recovery after war, Antwerp's affluent merchants were building their private art collections and local churches were being refurbished with new art. Rubens received a prestigious commission to paint two large religious works, "The Raising of the Cross" and "The Descent from the Cross," for Antwerp Cathedral between 1610 and 1614. In addition to many projects for Roman Catholic churches, Rubens also created paintings with historical and mythological scenes during these years, as well as hunting scenes like "Wolf and Fox Hunt" (circa 1615-21).
Rubens became known as "the prince of painters and the painter of princes" during his career, due to his frequent work for royal clients. He produced a tapestry cycle for Louis XIII of France (1622-25), a series of 21 large canvases glorifying the life and reign of Marie de Medici of France (1622-25) and the allegorical "Peace and War" for Charles I of England (1629-30).
Following the death of his wife, Isabella, in 1626, Rubens traveled for several years, combining his artistic career with diplomatic visits to Spain and England on behalf of the Netherlands. When he returned to Antwerp, he married his second wife, Helena Fourment; his family group "Self-Portrait with Helena and Peter Paul" was a testament to his domestic happiness with his wife and new son. In the 1630s, Rubens produced several of his major mythological works, including "The Judgment of Paris" and "The Garden of Love," an idyllic scene of courting couples in a landscape.
At the time of his death, on May 30, 1640, in Antwerp, Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium), Rubens was one of the most celebrated artists in Europe. He left behind eight children as well as numerous studio assistants, some of whom—most notably Anthony van Dyck—went on to have successful artistic careers of their own.
Rubens's skill at arranging complex groupings of figures in a composition, his ability to work on a large scale, his ease at depicting diverse subjects and his personal eloquence and charm all contributed to his success. His style combined Renaissance idealization of the human form with lush brushwork, dynamic poses and a lively sense of realism. His fondness for depicting fleshy, curvaceous female bodies, in particular, has made the word "Rubenesque" a familiar term.
Admirers of Rubens's work included his contemporary, Rembrandt, as well as artists of other regions and later centuries, from Thomas Gainsborough to Eugène Delacroix.
Alina 2018-08-04 14:05:00 painters biographies
John Ruskin was born February 8, 1819 in London, England. His multivolume Modern Painters, planned as a defense of painter J.M.W. Turner, expanded to become a general survey of art. His other writings include The Seven Lamps of Architecture and The Stones of Venice. He also defended the Pre-Raphaelites. In 1869 he was elected Oxford's first Slade professor of fine art; he resigned in 1879.
Alina 2018-08-03 14:05:00 painters biographies
Albert Pinkham Ryder was born March 19, 1847, in New Bedford, Mass. His highly personal seascapes, including Toilers of the Sea, reflect his feeling of helplessness against the forces of nature. Thick yellow light (usually moonlight) heightens the mood of mystery in many of his paintings. Though he was a solitary painter, his works became well known in his lifetime.
Alina 2018-08-02 14:05:00 painters biographies
In 1907, Egon Schiele became a protegee of Gustav Klimt, leader of the Vienna Secession group of artists. Schiele's work owes much to Klimt's decorative elegance, however, Schiele emphasized expression over decoration. In 1909, he helped found the New Art Group in Vienna. Important works include “The Self Seer” (1911), “The Cardinal and Nun” (1912), and “Embrace” (1917).
Alina 2018-08-02 14:05:00 painters biographies
In 1907, Egon Schiele became a protegee of Gustav Klimt, leader of the Vienna Secession group of artists. Schiele's work owes much to Klimt's decorative elegance, however, Schiele emphasized expression over decoration. In 1909, he helped found the New Art Group in Vienna. Important works include “The Self Seer” (1911), “The Cardinal and Nun” (1912), and “Embrace” (1917).
Alina 2018-08-01 14:05:00 painters biographies
In 1922, David Alfaro Siqueiros painted frescoes on the walls of the National Preparatory School and began organizing and leading unions of artists and workingmen. His Communist activities led to numerous jailings and periods of exile. He produced thousands of square feet of wall paintings in which numerous social, political and industrial changes were portrayed from a left-wing perspective.
The son of a bourgeois family, painter David Alfaro Siqueiros was born in Chihuahua City, Mexico, on December 29, 1896. In 1908 he went to Mexico City to study art and architecture at the Franco-English College.
His schooling came at an interesting time in Mexican history. In 1910 the Mexican Revolution erupted, and a newly politicized Siqueiros became involved in student strikes. The following year he led a successful student strike at the San Carlos Academy that changed the school's teaching methods.
At the age of 18 Siqueiros joined the Mexican Revolution Army, eventually attaining the rank of captain. He also joined the Communist Party and worked to undermine Mexico's new military dictator, Victoriano Huerta.
For Siqueiros, art and politics blended seamlessly together. His murals, big and bold, were often infused with causes that supported his leftist politics. Also, Siqueiros wasn't afraid to bring art to his political work.
While still with the Mexican Revolution Army, he co-founded a group called the Congress of Soldier Artists. He also teamed up with Diego Rivera, a fellow muralist and hard-core leftist, and Javier Guerrero, to start El Machete, the weekly paper that became the official mouthpiece for the country's Communist Party.
His life and work seemed to bounce between acceptance and repudiation. During the 1920s and early 1930s Siqueiros was jailed often for his political work. Yet in 1922 he was commissioned to paint what may be his most famous mural, "Los Mitos" (The Myths") at the National Preparatory School.
In the 1930s, Siqueiros came to the United States and worked in Los Angeles. His murals there told the story of America's forceful relationship with Latin America. His work also took him to South America and then back to New York, where he opened up a school for young artists. The students included Jackson Pollock, then just starting out.
Following the rise of the left-leaning Lázaro Cárdenas to the Mexican presidency, Siqueiros returned to his home country. But his stay there was short-lived. After the Spanish Civil War broke out, the artist traveled to Spain to serve and fight against the Fascists.
Siqueiros' Communist sympathies ran so deep, and his affinity for Stalin was so strong, that in 1940 Siqueiros led an attack on the home of Leon Trotsky, who'd been granted asylum in Mexico by President Cárdenas. Trotsky survived the ambush, but was later assassinated, an act that Siqueiros may or may not have had a hand in.
As an artist Siqueiros relented little on his ambitious projects. He continued his anti-Fascist theme during World War II, with pieces like "A New Day for Democracy," "Death to the Invader" and "Fraternity Between the Black and White Races."
In 1959 the Mexican government sentenced Siqueiros to five years in jail for supporting a railroad workers' union. After the artist was released in 1964, he continued to show his fiery passion for left-wing causes. He strongly backed the new Cuban government and its leader, Fidel Castro, and came out swinging against the U.S. and its war in Vietnam.
In 1974 Siqueiros died in Cuernavaca, his home for the last decade of his life.
Alina 2018-07-31 14:05:00 painters biographies
Red Skelton was a pantomimist and radio and television comedian, host, and star performer of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) for 20 years. Skelton performed in minstrel and burlesque shows until his career took off in 1938 when he made his big break in both radio and film. Eventually Skelton took roles in over 30 films, including Having a Wonderful Time with Ginger Rogers.
Alina 2018-07-30 14:05:00 painters biographies
Rabindranath Tagore was a Bengali poet, novelist and painter best known for being the first non-European to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 with his book Gitanjali, Song Offerings. He was highly influential in introducing Indian culture to the West and is generally regarded as the outstanding creative artist of modern India. He was hailed by W.B Yeats and André Gide.
