Italian Baroque Era Painter, ca.1571-1610
Italian painter. After an early career as a painter of portraits, still-life and genre scenes he became the most persuasive religious painter of his time. His bold, naturalistic style, which emphasized the common humanity of the apostles and martyrs, flattered the aspirations of the Counter-Reformation Church, while his vivid chiaroscuro enhanced both three-dimensionality and drama, as well as evoking the mystery of the faith. He followed a militantly realist agenda, rejecting both Mannerism and the classicizing naturalism of his main rival, Annibale Carracci. In the first 30 years of the 17th century his naturalistic ambitions and revolutionary artistic procedures attracted a large following from all over Europe. Related Paintings of Caravaggio :. | Mary Magdalen in Ecstasy | Lute Player f | Christ at the Column fdg | Saint Jerome Writing | The Annunciation | Related Artists:
Samuel HowittEnglish, 1756-1822,was an artist from England. Samuel Howitt was born into a wealthy Quaker family in Nottinghamshire, England. He began painting as a hobby and to amuse his friends. Hunting and racing were his hobbies and he mimicked this interest in his work. Howitt's family experienced financial difficulties, so Howitt decided to move to London. In London, Howitt made a career out of his talent, flourishing as a professional artist. He was published often in The Sporting Magazine and went on to illustrate various books. Howitt is best known for his lively and exotic sporting scenes. His superior watercolors and aquatints depict dramatic racing and hunting scenes as well as an array of conventional and exotic animals. Howitt's work is included in the Mellon Collection, which possesses no fewer than 160 of his watercolors, and many of his aquatints. Howitt exhibited at the Royal Academy and illustrated several books, including his own entitled The British Sportsman c.1812 and British Preserve c.1824. Samuel Howitt, "genius, artist, sportsman", concentrated his considerable artistic talents on picturing scenes of horse-racing and hunting in all its aspects. Born in Nottinghamshire, England, Howitt was largely self-taught ,"although he must have been helped by his companions George Morland, Rowlandson and John Raphael Smith. Howitt's watercolours of hunting, shooting and racing have delightful spontaneity.
Franz von StuckGerman Symbolist/Expressionist Painter and Sculptor, 1863-1928
Stuck was born at Tettenweis, in Bavaria. From an early age he displayed an affinity for drawing and caricature. To begin his artistic education in 1878 he went to Munich, where he would settle for life. From 1881 to 1885 Stuck attended the Munich Academy.
He first made a name with cartoons for Fliegende Blätter, and vignette designs for programmes and book decoration. In 1889 he exhibited his first paintings at the Munich Glass Palace, winning a gold medal for The Guardian of Paradise.
In 1892 Stuck co-founded the Munich Secession, and also executed his first sculpture, Athlete. The following year he won further acclaim with the critical and public success of what is now his most famous work, The Sin. Also in 1893, Stuck was awarded a gold medal for painting at the Chicago World's Fair and was appointed to a royal professorship. In 1895 he began teaching painting at the Munich Academy.
In 1897 Stuck married an American widow, Mary Lindpainter, and began work designing his own residence and studio, the Villa Stuck. His designs for the villa included everything from layout to interior decorations; for his furniture Stuck received another gold medal at the 1900 Paris World Exposition.
Having attained a high degree of fame by this time, Stuck was elevated to the aristocracy on December 9, 1905 and would receive further public honours from around Europe during the remainder of his life. Even as new trends in art left Stuck behind, he continued to be highly respected among young artists in his capacity as professor at the Munich Academy. Notable students of his over the years include Paul Klee, Hans Purrmann, Wassily Kandinsky, and Josef Albers.
Franz von Stuck died in 1928; his funeral address memorialized him as "the last prince of art of Munich's great days". He is buried in the Munich Waldfriedhof next to his wife Mary.
Hendrick van balenDutch Baroque Era Painter, ca.1575-1632
was a Flemish painter, who was born and died in Antwerp. Van Balen studied art while traveling in Italy. He was the teacher of Anthony Van Dyck and Frans Snyders and was also a contemporary of many of the other famous Flemish artists