Dutch Baroque Era Painter, ca.1625-1679
Daily life was Jan Steen's main pictorial theme. Many of the genre scenes he portrayed are lively to the point of chaos and lustfulness, even so much that a Jan Steen household, meaning a messy scene, became a Dutch proverb (een huishouden van Jan Steen). Subtle hints in his paintings seem to suggest that Steen meant to warn the viewer rather than invite him to copy this behaviour. Many of Steen's paintings bear references to old Dutch proverbs or literature. He often used members of his family as models. Jan Steen painted also quite a few self-portraits, in which he showed no tendency of vanity.
Steen did not shy from other themes: he painted historical, mythological and religious scenes, portraits, still lifes and natural scenes. His portraits of children are famous. He is also well known for his mastery of light and attention to detail, most notably in textiles. Steen was prolific, producing about 800 paintings, of which roughly 350 survive.
Steen's work was valued much by contemporaries and as a result he was reasonably well paid for his work. He did not have any students, but his work proved a source of inspiration for many painters. Related Paintings of Jan Steen :. | Arrival of a Visitor | The Harpsichord Lesson | The Merry family | Samson and Delilah | Self-Portrait as a lutenist | Related Artists:
Konstantin Korovin1861-1932
Russian Konstantin Korovin Galleries
Konstantin was born in Moscow to a merchant family officially registered as peasants of Vladimir gubernia. His father, Aleksey Mikhailovich Korovin, earned a University degree and was more interested in arts and music than in the family business established by Konstantin's grandfather. Konstantin's older brother Sergey Korovin was a notable realist painter. Konstantin's relative Illarion Pryanishnikov was also a prominent painter of the time and a teacher at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.
In 1875 Konstantin entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpturing and Architecture, where he learned from Vasily Perov and Alexei Savrasov. His brother, Sergey was already a student of the School. During their scholar years Korovins became friends with their fellow students Valentin Serov and Isaac Levitan, Kontantin kept these friendship through the whole of his life.
In 1881-1882, Korovin spent a year at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg, but returned disappointed to the Moscow School of painting, sculpturing and architecture. He studied at the school under the new teacher Vasily Polenov until 1886.
In 1885, Korovin made traveled to Paris and Spain. Paris was a shock for me?? Impressionists?? in them I found everything for what I was scolded back at home, in Moscow, he later wrote.
Korovin. On the balcony, Spanish women Leonora and Ampara. 1897-1898.Polenov introduced Korovin to Savva Mamontov's Abramtsevo circle: Viktor Vasnetsov, Apollinary Vasnetsov, Ilya Repin, Mark Antokolsky and others. The Abramtsevo circle's love for stilized Russian themes is reflected in Korovin's picture A Northern Idyll. In 1885 Korovin works for Mamontov's Opera house. He designed the stage decor for Giuseppe Verdi's Aida, L??o Delibes' Lakme and Georges Bizet's Carmen.
St. Triphon's Brook in Pechenga. 1894.In 1888, Korovin traveled with Mamontov to Italy and Spain, where he produced painting On the balcony, Spanish women Leonora and Ampara. Konstantin traveled within Russia, Caucasus and Central Asia, exhibited with Peredvizhniki. He was painting in the Impressionist and later in the Art Nouveau style.
In the 1890s, Korovin became a member of the Mir iskusstva art group.
Korovin's subsequent works was strongly influenced by his travel to the North. In 1888 he was captivated by the stern northern landscapes, as seen in The Coast of Norway and The Northern Sea.
His second trip to the North, with Valentin Serov in 1894, coincided with the construction of the Northern Railway. Korovin painted a large number of landscapes: Norwegian Port, Saint Trifon's Brook in Pechenega, Hammerfest: Aurora Borealis, The Coast at Murmansk and others. The paintings are built on a delicate web of shades of grey. The etude style of these works was typical for the Korovin's art of the 1890s.
Using material from his northern trip, Korovin designed the Northern Railway pavilion at the All Russia Exhibition of 1896 at Nizhny Novgorod.
In 1900, Korovin designed the Central Asia section of the Russian Empire pavilion on the Paris World Fair; and was awarded the Legion of Honour by the French government.
Spring, 1917In the beginning of the 20th century Korovin focused his attention on the theatre. He moved from Mamontov's opera to Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg. Departing from the tradition of the stage decor, which only indicated the place of action, Korovin produced a mood decor, which conveyed the general emotions of the performance. Korovin designed sets for Constantin Stanislavski's dramatic productions, as well as Mariinsky's operas and ballets. He did the stage design for such Mariinsky's productions as Faust (1899), The Little Humpbacked Horse (1901) and Sadko (1906) that became famous for their expressiveness.
Pier in Gurzuf, 1914In 1905, Korovin became an Academician of Painting, and in 1909-1913 he was a professor at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.
One of the artist's favourite themes was Paris. He painted A Paris Cafe (1890s'), Cafe de la Paix (1905'), La Place de la Bastille (1906), Paris at Night; Le Boulevard Italien (1908'), Night Carnival (1901), Paris in the Evening (1907) and others.
During the World War I Korovin worked as a camouflage consultant at the headquarters of one of the Russian armies and was often seen at the front line. After the October Revolution Korovin continued to work in the theatre, designing stage for Richard Wagner's Die Walk??re and Siegfried as well as Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker (1918-1920).
In 1923 Korovin moved to Paris by the advice of the Commissar of Enlightenment, Anatoliy Vasilievich Lunacharsky, to cure his heart condition and help Korovin's handicapped son. There was supposed to be a large exhibition of Korovin's works but the works were stolen and Korovin was left penniless. For years he produced the numerous Russian winters and Paris boulevards just to make ends meet.
In the last years of his life he produced stage designs for many of the major theatres of Europe, America, Asia and Australia, the most famous of which is his scenery for a production by the Turin Opera House of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel.
Korovin died in Paris on September 11, 1939.
Konstantin's son Alexey Korovin (1897-1950) was a notable Russian-French painter. Because of an accident during his childhood he had both feet amputated. Alexey committed suicide in 1950.
Jan SiberechtsBelgian
1627-1703
Jan Siberechts (1627 ?C 1703) was a Flemish Baroque landscape painter. He was born in Antwerp, the son of a sculptor with the same name. After establishing himself as an artist in Flanders, he moved to England during his forties.
He died in London
Hayley Lever(28 September 1876 - 6 December 1958) was an Australian-American painter, etcher, lecturer and art teacher.
Richard Hayley Lever was born in Australia on 28 September 1876. Lever demonstrated artistic talent early on, and spent his entire life focusing on this as his craft.