b. March 30, 1746, Fuendetodos, Spain--d. April 16, 1828, Goya is considered the 18th Century's foremost painter and etcher of Spanish culture, known for his realistic scenes of battles, bullfights and human corruption. Goya lived during a time of upheaval in Spain that included war with France, the Inquisition, the rule of Napoleon's brother, Joseph, as the King of Spain and, finally, the reign of the Spanish King Ferdinand VII. Experts proclaim these events -- and Goya's deafness as a result of an illness in 1793 -- as central to understanding Goya's work, which frequently depicts human misery in a satiric and sometimes nightmarish fashion. From the 1770s he was a royal court painter for Charles III and Charles IV, and when Bonaparte took the throne in 1809, Goya swore fealty to the new king. When the crown was restored to Spain's Ferdinand VII (1814), Goya, in spite of his earlier allegiance to the French king, was reinstated as royal painter. After 1824 he lived in self-imposed exile in Bordeaux until his death, reportedly because of political differences with Ferdinand. Over his long career he created hundreds of paintings, etchings, and lithographs, among them Maya Clothed and Maya Nude (1798-1800); Caprichos (1799-82); The Second of May 1808 and The Third of May 1808 (1814); Disasters of War (1810-20); and The Black Paintings (1820-23).  Related Paintings of Francisco de goya y Lucientes :. | Portrait of a Lady with a Fan | St Gregory | Saturn devours harm released one of its chin- | The Family of Charles IV | Josefa Josefa Bayeu |
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Thomas Nast
September 27, 1840 ?C December 7, 1902,Illustrator Thomas Nast was the first American celebrity cartoonist, famous for helping to turn out New York corrupt politicians and for creating peristent iconographic images of Santa Claus. Nast, from a family of German immigrants, began working in New York City as a cartoonist at the age of 15. He had a long association with Harper Weekly (1861-86), during which his battlefield illustrations and skilled caricatures made him famous in the U.S. and abroad (Van Gogh was a collector). Nast was an opinionated, progressive Republican, and his illustrated attacks on the leader of New York Democrats, William Boss Tweed, are said to have helped bring down an era of government corruption. One of the most influential caricaturists of his time, he is credited with creating the image of Santa as a chubby fellow in a red suit. Nast also came up with the image of an ass to represent Democrats (around 1870) and an elephant to represent Republicans (1874). His popularity waned in the 1880s, and he parted ways with Harper Weekly over political and artistic differences. Failing to succeed with his own publication or as a painter, he managed to be appointed by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1902 to a diplomatic position in Ecuador, where he contracted yellow fever and died. Now officially embraced icons, the animal symbols of the two political parties were meant by Nast to be unflattering.
Stanislaw Wyspianski
1869-1907 was a Polish playwright, painter and poet, as well as interior and furniture designer. A patriotic writer, he created a series of symbolic, national dramas within the artistic philosophy of the Young Poland Movement. Wyspiaeski was one of the most outstanding and multifaceted artists of his time in Europe. He successfully joined the trends of modernism with themes of the Polish folk tradition and Romantic history. Unofficially, he came to be known as the Fourth Polish Bard. Stanisław Wyspiaeski was born to Franciszek Wyspiaeski and Maria Rogowska. His father, a sculptor, owned an atelier on Wawel Hill. His mother died of tuberculosis in 1876 when Stanisław was seven years old. Due to alcohol problem, Stanisław's father could not fulfil his parental responsibilities. Stanisław was adopted by his aunt Joanna Stankiewiczowa and her husband Kazimierz. The Stankiewicz family belonged to a bourgeois and intellectual class. In their house Wyspiaeski became acquainted with painter Jan Matejko, who was a frequent visitor. Matejko soon recognized that the boy had artistic talent and gave him the first artistic guidance. Wyspiaeski attended Saint Anne's Secondary. The school was unique for several reasons. Firstly, although Polish language was forbidden in educational institutions under foreign rule, the lectures in Saint Anne's Gymnasium were delivered in Polish. Secondly, the teacher's goal was to equip the students with a thorough knowledge of Polish history and literature. Thirdly, the school graduates, which included Lucjan Rydel, Stanisław Estreicher and Henryk Opieeski, were considered prominent figures in Krakew's cultural life. As a student Wyspiaeski did not display any specific talent, but took particular interest in art and literature. According to Joanna Stankiewiczowa, a young Stanisław portrayed small village cottages, animals, plants, armors and decorations. As far as literature was concerned, Wyspiaeski created a dramatic interpretation of Matejko's painting Stefan Batory pod Pskowem (Bathory at Pskov). In 1887 Wyspiaeski enrolled in the Philosophy Department at the Jagiellonian University and the School of Fine Arts in Krakew. While studying at the University, he attended lectures in art, history and literature. Jan Matejko, the dean of the School of Fine Arts soon recognized Wyspiaeski's talent and asked him to join in the creation of a polychrome inside the Mariacki Church. The years 1890-1895 were devoted to traveling. Wyspiaeski visited Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Prague and France. The stay in France was regarded to be the major point in his artistic life. He studied at the private atelier Academie Colarossi. Since the school fee was very high, Wyspiaeski applied for a grant. During the stay in France he got acquainted with Paul Gauguin. Together they visited art museums, where Wyspiaeski was bewitched by the beauty of Pierre Puvis de Chavannes's paintings. He also attended theatre performances based on Shakespeare's and antic plays. His future dramas: Daniel i Meleager (Daniel and Meleagra) and Powret Odysa (Return of Odysseus) were based on the antic tradition. Meanwhile, he worked on several dramas Krelowa Polskiej Korony (The Queen of Polish Crown), Warszawianka (Varsovian Anthem) and the first version of Legenda (Legend). The play Legenda (Legend) was based on the famous Polish legend about Wars and Sawa. In August 1894 he returned to Krakew, where he got involved in the modernist movement. It was then he designed and partially made a polychrome for the Franciscan Church that was composed of flowery, geometrical and heraldic motifs. Moreover, the prior of the church encouraged Wyspiaeski to design various stained glass windows such as Blessed Salomea, Saint Francis Stigmata and God the Father. It is worth mentioning that Wyspiaeski received an award of the Polish Academy of Learning for the landscape of the Kopiec Kościuszki (Kościuszko Mound).
Mainardi, Sebastiano
Italian High Renaissance Painter, 1460-1513