Greek-born Spanish Mannerist Painter, 1541-1614
Considered a representative of late Renaissance Spanish art, El Greco was actually born in Greece, on the island of Crete. After studying in Venice under Titian, El Greco settled in Toledo, Spain in 1577. At the time he was wildly popular, his emotionally religious paintings being just the ticket for the hometown of the Spanish Inquisition. After his death his work was largely ignored until the beginning of the 20th century; now he considered one of the inspired geniuses of Western art. His distinctive style features bold shapes and colors, with elongated and slightly distorted figures.
In Toledo El Greco was in constant demand and liked living large: he maintained a private orchestra to accompany his meals. Related Paintings of El Greco :. | Portrat des Kardinalinquisitors Don Fernando Nino de Guevara | St. Paul | View of Toledo | The Opening of the Fifth Seal | St Luke Painting the Virgin and Child before 1567 | Related Artists:
Edmond Aman-Jean (1858 - 1936) was a French symbolist painter, who founded the Salon des Tuileries. It is also noted that he was a friend of Georges Seurat.
Horace pippin1888-1946
was a self-taught African-American painter who worked in a naive style. The injustice of slavery and American segregation figure prominently in many of his works. He was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Goshen, New York. There he attended segregated schools until he was 15, when he went to work to support his ailing mother.Pippin served in the 369th infantry in Europe during World War I, where he lost the use of his right arm. He said of his combat experience: His activity as a painter did not begin in earnest until 1930. One of his best-known paintings, his Self-portrait of 1941, shows him seated in front of an easel, cradling his brush in his right hand (he used his left arm to guide his injured right arm when painting). His painting of John Brown Going to his Hanging (1942) is in the collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Among Pippin's works are many genre paintings, such as the Domino Players (1943), in the Phillips Collection, Washington D.C., and several versions of Cabin in the Cotton.
Joseph Highmore1692-1780
British
Joseph Highmore Gallery
Joseph Highmore (3 June 1692?C1780), was a British portrait and historical painter.
Born in London in 1692, he displayed early a strong ability, particularly for the fine arts, which was discouraged by his family, who rather saw him as a solicitor. However, all his spare time was dominated by his favourite pursuit and, upon the ending of his clerkship at the age of seventeen, he abandoned law and resolved to trust in future to his talents as a painter alone for his chance of fame and fortune.
His gamble paid off and he continued to improve his reputation and upon the revival of the Order of the Bath in 1725, he was selected to paint the knights in full costume. The years 1732 to 1734 were spent on a tour of the Netherlands and France and on his return to England, he applied himself to perfecting his talent, which continued for the next 50 years of his life, until his death.
Among his best works are biblical "Histories", historical painting being a style which Highmore had picked up on his travels in France. One such biblical painting is Hagar and Ishmael, which was donated to the Foundling Hospital for the purpose of decorating its Court Room (the room where the Court of Governors met). The painting is still part of the Foundling Hospital art collection and can now be seen at the Foundling Museum in London.
As an author, he was best known for the rather longwindedly titled Critical Examination of Reubens' two Paintings in the Banqueting House and Observations on Bodwell's Pamphlet against Christianity.