German-born American Hudson River School Painter, 1830-1902 Bierstadt was born in Solingen, Germany. His family moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1833. He studied painting with the members of the D??sseldorf School in D??sseldorf, Germany from 1853 to 1857. He taught drawing and painting briefly before devoting himself to painting. Bierstadt began making paintings in New England and upstate New York. In 1859, he traveled westward in the company of a Land Surveyor for the U.S. government, returning with sketches that would result in numerous finished paintings. In 1863 he returned west again, in the company of the author Fitz Hugh Ludlow, whose wife he would later marry. He continued to visit the American West throughout his career. Though his paintings sold for princely sums, Bierstadt was not held in particularly high esteem by critics of his day. His use of uncommonly large canvases was thought to be an egotistical indulgence, as his paintings would invariably dwarf those of his contemporaries when they were displayed together. The romanticism evident in his choices of subject and in his use of light was felt to be excessive by contemporary critics. His paintings emphasized atmospheric elements like fog, clouds and mist to accentuate and complement the feel of his work. Bierstadt sometimes changed details of the landscape to inspire awe. The colors he used are also not always true. He painted what he believed is the way things should be: water is ultramarine, vegetation is lush and green, etc. The shift from foreground to background was very dramatic and there was almost no middle distance Nonetheless, his paintings remain popular. He was a prolific artist, having completed over 500 (possibly as many as 4000) paintings during his lifetime, most of which have survived. Many are scattered through museums around the United States. Prints are available commercially for many. Original paintings themselves do occasionally come up for sale, at ever increasing prices.  Related Paintings of Albert Bierstadt :. | Yosemite Winter Scene | Rocky Mountains | The Matterhorn | An Indian Encampment | Cathedral Rock, Yosemite Valley, California |
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Alfred Hirv
(born March 26, 1880 in Pechory - died May 26, 1918 in Pskov) was an Estonian painter, known especially for his still lifes. For a time he studied with Julius von Klever in Saint Petersburg; further studies took him to Rome and Munich, where he studied at the school of Anton Ažbe. His paintings are reminiscent of the style of the Dutch Golden Age. Works by Hirv can be found in the Estonian Art Museum.
Cazin Jean-Charles
French landscapes painter and ceramist , 1841-Le Lavandou 1901 Painter and ceramicist. His earliest paintings reveal close affinities with the realist tradition, while his later compositions (mostly landscapes of northern France) demonstrate an awareness of Impressionism and a commitment to recording the changing effects of light and atmosphere. He was sent to England for health reasons but by 1862 or 1863 was living in Paris and active in avant-garde artistic circles.
st ambrose
Milan; feast day December 7) Bishop of Milan. Raised in Rome, he became a Roman provincial governor. As a compromise candidate, he was unexpectedly elevated from unbaptized layman to bishop of Milan in 374. He established the medieval concept of the Christian emperor as subject to episcopal advice and censure when he forced the emperor Theodosius to seek forgiveness from the bishop, and he opposed tolerance for adherents of Arianism. He wrote theological treatises influenced by Greek philosophy, including On the Holy Spirit and On the Duties of Ministers, as well as a series of hymns. His brilliant sermons and personal example converted St. Augustine.