b.Jan. 8, 1836, Dronrijp, Netherlands. d.June 25, 1912, Wiesbaden, Germany. Painter and designer of Dutch birth. The son of a notary, Alma-Tadema demonstrated an early artistic ability. In 1852 he entered the Antwerp Academy, where he studied under Gustaf, Baron Wappers, and Nicaise de Keyser. An important influence at this time was Louis De Taye, Professor of Archaeology at the academy and a practising artist. Alma-Tadema lived and worked with De Taye from 1857 to 1859 and was encouraged by him to depict subjects from the early history of France and Belgium. This taste for historical themes increased when Alma-Tadema entered Baron Henri Leys studio in 1859 and began assisting him with his monumental frescoes for the Antwerp Town Hall. While in Leys studio, Alma-Tadema produced several major paintings, for example the Education of the Children of Clovis (1861; ex-Sir John Pender priv. col., see Zimmern, p. 3) and Venantius Fortunatus Reading his Poems to Radagonda (1862; Dordrecht, Dordrechts Mus.), which are characterized by their obscure Merovingian subject-matter, rather sombre colouring and close attention to detail.  Related Paintings of Alma-Tadema, Sir Lawrence :. | An Egyptian widow in the Time of Diocletian (mk23) | Portrait of Aime-Jules Dalou,his Wife and Daughter (mk23) | The Voice of Spring (mk23) | Orante (mk23) | Fredegonda and Galswintha AD 566 (mk23) |
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Thomas Patch
1725 - 1782 was an English painter, engraver and caricaturist. He made a living by basing himself in Italy and undertaking commissions from rich young British men on Grand tours.His paintings today are in the Royal Collection and various museums. Patch was thrown out of Rome for a homosexual act. Patch was born in Exeter in 1725, the son of a doctor. He had not completed his medical studies when he came to Rome in 1747 as a grand tourist and where he met Joshua Reynolds. Initially he worked for Joseph Vernet, creating landscapes of Tivoli and pastiches of Vernet's work. He was forced to leave Rome after some homosexual He was in Florence in 1755, where he was commissioned to paint people on their Grand tours. Here he was assisted by his friendship with Sir Horace Mann, who was the British envoy and therefore a point of contact with British tourists arriving in Florence. While there he completed studies of human physiognomy, looking at the expressions and facial types as well as completing portraits of many in the British society in Florence. He also studied the old masters and published studies of them. Towards the end of his life his output of paintings slowed.Patch was also known to be an art dealer. In about 1763, Patch completed three views of Florence that are now part of the Royal Collection. They are thought to have been bought by George III. On October 19, 1767, he was enterprising enough to witness the eruptions of Mount Vesuvius which he painted from both the land and the sea.
LA TOUR, Maurice Quentin de
French Rococo Era Painter, 1704-1788 French pastellist. He was one of the greatest pastellists of the 18th century, an equal of Jean-Simeon Chardin and Jean-Baptiste Perronneau. Unlike them, however, he painted no works in oils. Reacting against the stately portraits of preceding generations and against the mythological portraits of many of his contemporaries, La Tour returned to a more realistic and sober style of work. The fundamental quality of his art lies in his ability to suggest the temperament and psychology of his subjects by means of their facial expression, and thereby to translate their fugitive emotions on to paper: 'I penetrate into the depths of my subjects without their knowing it, and capture them whole', as he himself put it. His considerable success led to commissions from the royal family, the court, the rich bourgeoisie and from literary, artistic and theatrical circles.
Dan sayre Groesbeck
A California illustration artist. American , 1879-1950