1820-1895 British art critic, was born in London, the son of George Scharf, a Bavarian miniature painter who settled in England in 1816 and died in 1860. He studied in the schools of the Royal Academy. In 1840 he accompanied Sir Charles Fellows to Asia Minor, and in 1843 acted as draughtsman to a government expedition to the same country. After his return he devoted himself with great industry and success to the illustration of books relating to art and antiquity, of which the best known are Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome (1847); Milman's Horace, (1849); Kugler's Handbook of Italian Painting (1851); and Dr Smith's classical dictionaries. He also engaged largely in lecturing and teaching, and took part in the formation of the Greek, Roman and Pompeian courts at the Crystal Palace. He acted as art secretary to the great Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition of 1857, and in that year was appointed secretary and director to the newly founded National Portrait Gallery. The remainder of his life was given to the care of that institution. Scharf acquired an unrivalled knowledge of all matters relating to historic portraiture, and was the author of many learned essays on the subject. In 1885  Related Paintings of George Scharf :. | Flowers and Fruit | Charles IV as a huntsman | Bathers at Asnieres | Deer in a Monastery Garden | Countess Alexander Nikolaevitch Lamsdorff |
Related Artists:
Rupert Bunny
Australian Painter, 1864-1947 Australian painter. After studying in Melbourne under G. F. Folingsby (d 1891), he moved to Europe in 1884 and studied in London under P. H. Calderon and in Paris under Jean-Paul Laurens, who introduced him to the Societe des Artistes Francais in 1887. His early works consisted mainly of mythological subjects and graceful images of pleasant Symbolist landscapes; he defected to the New Salon in 1901 and produced some less decorative works, including images of biblical subjects. A long series of paintings of women followed, but his style again changed abruptly when in 1913 he exhibited at the Salon d'Automne a series of images of dancers, The Rite, that shows the influence of Primitivism. Although not attracted to the avant-garde, Bunny showed an adventurous spirit in his unusual sense of colour, sense of rhythm and witty use of his subjects' poses. He continued to live in Paris and London until 1933.
konrad magi
konrad magi(1878 to 1925),was an Estonian landscape painter. He was one of the most colour-sensitive Estonian painters of the first decades of the 20th century, and Magi works on motives of the island of Saaremaa are the first modern Estonian nature paintings. Magi received his elementary art education from the drawing courses of the German Artisans Society of Tartu (1899?C1902.) At the same time, he was keenly engaged in theater, violin, and various sports. Magi continued his art education as an unattached student in Saint Petersburg (1903?C1905.) In the autumn of 1907, he went to Paris. There Magi studied at a free academy. From 1908 to 1910, he lived in Norway. In 1912, Magi returned to Tartu, where he worked as an art teacher. In Åland, he created delicate plant vignettes in the style of Art Nouveau: Kahekesi (Two together; 1908; China ink drawing). In Paris, Magi was influenced by Impressionism and Fauvism, which had a significant impact on his colours: Lilleline vali majakesega (A flower field with a little house; 1908?C1909), Norra maastik manniga (A Norwegian landscape with a pine; 1910). From 1918, the influence of Expressionism is manifest, fostered by Mägi extreme sensitivity and emotional response to the anxious times: Puhajarv (Lake Puha); 1918?C1920), Otepaa maastik (Landscape of Otepaa; 1918?C1920). Also influenced by Expressionism are his big figure compositions Piet?? (1919), Kolgata (Golgatha; 1921). Konrad Magi - Rannamaastik (Beach landscape)Magi new artistic period, begun on a trip to Italy, brought calmer tempers: Varemed Capril (Ruins in Capri; 1922?C1923). Along with nature pictures, he painted flowers and portraits. Magi mostly beautiful female models express the Art Nouveau ideal of beauty: Holsti (1916). In his later portraits from the 1920s, a more serious temper is expressed: Madonna (1923?C1924).
Hyacinthe Rigaud
1659-1743 French Hyacinthe Rigaud Gallery He was born Jacint Rigau i Ros [1] -- though in many encyclopaedias is "re-christened" with the name of H??acint Francesc Honrat Mathias Pere Martyr Andreu Joan Rigau -- in Perpignan, which became French (Treaty of the Pyrenees) a short time after his birth (November 7, 1659). In 1682, he was awarded the Prix de Rome. He was the most important portrait painter in the reign of King Louis XIV. His instinct for impressive poses and grand presentations precisely suited the tastes of the royal personages, ambassadors, clerics, courtiers, and financiers who sat for him. Because Rigaud's paintings captured very exact likenesses along with the subject's costumes and background details, his paintings are considered precise records of contemporary fashions. Rigaud was a master of the Baroque style of art. Rigaud's best-known work is his 1701 painting of Louis XIV which today hangs in the Louvre in Paris, as well as the second copy also requested by Louis XIV which is now at Versailles. In 1709 he was made a noble by his hometown of Perpignan. In 1727 he was made a knight of the Order of Saint Michael. Hyacinthe Rigaud died in Paris, France on December 27, 1743.