French Realist Painter, 1814-1875
.was a French painter and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France. Millet is noted for his scenes of peasant farmers; he can be categorized as part of the naturalism and realism movements. Related Paintings of jean-francois millet :. | The Sower | Mme.Eugene Canoville (san15) | Shepherdess with her flock (san17) | Winnower | Woman knitting (san19) | Related Artists:
Lavinia FontanaItalian Painter, 1552-1614
Daughter of Prospero Fontana. She was trained by her father and followed his Mannerist style. Her first recorded works, which date from 1575, were small paintings for private devotion, such as the Holy Family (Dresden, Gemeldegal.). By 1577 she had become established as a portrait painter in Bologna. Works of this date include the Self-portrait at the Harpsichord (Rome, Gal. Accad. S Luca) and the portrait of Senator Orsini (Bordeaux, Mus. B.-A.). Her portrait style reflects the formality of central Italian models as well as the naturalistic tendencies of the north Italian tradition. The elegantly costumed Orsini is shown seated at a table, with a suite of rooms opening behind him, a setting recalling such Florentine portraits of the 1530s as Agnolo Bronzino's Bartolommeo Panciatichi (Florence, Uffizi). Lavinia used a similar setting for other portraits, including the Gozzadini Family (1584; Bologna, Pin. N.). Female sitters are also shown in elaborate dress, with particular attention paid to details of embroidery and jewels, and they are often accompanied by small dogs
constant permekeConstant Permeke (Dutch pronunciation: July 31, 1886 ?C January 4, 1952) was a Belgian painter and sculptor who is considered the leading figure of Flemish expressionism.
Permeke was born in Antwerp but when he was six years old the family moved to Ostend, where his father became curator of the Municipal Museum of Arts. Permeke went to school in Bruges from 1903 until 1906, when he was drafted into the Belgian army. He served in a university company with whom he settled in Sint-Martens-Latem. After his military service ended in March 1908, Permeke returned to Ostend where he roomed together with another artist, Gustave De Smet but in 1909 he returned to Latem where he lived as a recluse. His work of this period is characterized by his heavy brush. In 1912 Permeke married Maria Delaere and the newlyweds settled in Ostend. His work from this period gains its expressive force through muted tonality and brutal forms.
When World War I started, Permeke was mobilized and during the defense of Antwerp he was wounded in action near the town of Duffel. His wounds forced him to be evacuated to the United Kingdom where he was in hospital at South Hillwood. After his release from hospital he was reunited with his family in Folkestone, where his son John was born. In 1916 he moved to Chardstock in Devonshire and started painting again, mostly colorful English landscapes. After the end of the war, the Permeke family returned to Ostend in 1919. In contrast to the happy time in Devonshire, the harsh reality of the worker's life turns Permeke's work back to a gloomier mood as he mainly paints the harsh fisherman's life.
In 1921 Permeke was able to exhibit his work in Antwerp and in Paris. Between 1922 and 1924, Permeke regularly went to Astene, in order to cooperate with Frits Van den Berghe. In 1926 Permeke went to Vevey in Switzerland where he mainly painted mountain scenes. In 1929 he moved to Jabbeke. During this period he changed his subject: instead of the fisherman and the sea he now focused on the farmer and his land. During this period, Permeke was enormously productive with works like "Gouden Oogst" (1935), "De Grote Marine" (1935), "Moederschap" (1936), "Het Afscheid" (1948), "Dagelijks Brood" (1950). Starting in 1937 Permeke tried his hand at sculpting as well. As a sculptor, Permeke tried to isolate the human figure in monumental efforts. "De Zaaier" (1939), "Niobe" (1946) and "De Drie Gratiën" (1949) are good examples of this period.
During World War II, Permeke was forbidden to paint by the German occupiers as his art was seen by them as Entartete Kunst. Privately, things were even worse as his son Paul was arrested and sent to Germany as a forced labourer. After the war, Permeke was appointed director of the National higher Institute and of the Royal Academy in Antwerp but after only one year he offered his resignation. In 1947-1948, Permeke had a big retrospective exhibition in Paris but his happiness at the return of his son was soon shattered when in 1948 his wife died. Emotionally scarred and ailing, Permeke had to be nursed by his daughter.
John Henry TwachtmanAmerican Impressionist Painter, 1853-1902
American painter and printmaker. He began as a painter of window-shades but developed one of the most personal and poetic visions in American landscape painting, portraying nature on canvases that were, in the words of Childe Hassam, 'strong, and at the same time delicate even to evasiveness'. His first artistic training was under Frank Duveneck, with whom he studied first in Cincinnati and then in Munich (1875-7). His absorption of the Munich style, characterized by bravura brushwork and dextrous manipulation of pigment, with the lights painted as directly as possible into warm,