Greek-born Spanish Mannerist Painter, 1541-1614
Considered a representative of late Renaissance Spanish art, El Greco was actually born in Greece, on the island of Crete. After studying in Venice under Titian, El Greco settled in Toledo, Spain in 1577. At the time he was wildly popular, his emotionally religious paintings being just the ticket for the hometown of the Spanish Inquisition. After his death his work was largely ignored until the beginning of the 20th century; now he considered one of the inspired geniuses of Western art. His distinctive style features bold shapes and colors, with elongated and slightly distorted figures.
In Toledo El Greco was in constant demand and liked living large: he maintained a private orchestra to accompany his meals. Related Paintings of El Greco :. | Christ on the Cross Adored by Two Donors (mk05) | The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception | Christ Carrying the Cross | Burial of the Cout of Orgaz | The Annunciation | Related Artists:
Erik Henningsen (29 August 1855 - 28 November 1930) was a Danish painter and illustrator. He is best known for his Social Realist paintings of poor and exposed groups in the 1880s and 1890s. He was the younger brother of Frants Henningsen who was also a painter.
Erik Henningsen was born on 29 August 1855 in Copenhagen to Frants Ludvig Henningsen (1820-1869), a grocer, and Hilda Charlotte Christine ne Schou (1824-1880). He showed an early artistic talent and was articled to decorative painter A. Hellesen. He also took drawing lessons privately with C. V. Nielsen and was admitted to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1873. He graduated in 1877 and won several awards and distinctions, including the Academy's Annual Medal in 1887 and 1890, the Ancher Prize in 1889.
Nicolaes maesDutch Baroque Era Painter, 1634-1693
Dutch painter. The son of the prosperous Dordrecht merchant Gerrit Maes and his wife Ida Herman Claesdr., Nicolaes Maes learnt to draw from a 'mediocre master' (Houbraken) in his native town before he studied painting with Rembrandt in Amsterdam. His training in Rembrandt's studio must have taken place between 1648/50 and 1653. By December 1653 Maes had settled in Dordrecht and made plans to marry, while a signed and dated picture of 1653 confirms that the 19-year-old artist had completed his training and embarked on an independent career.
William Powell Frith1819-1909 English painter. His parents were in domestic employment before taking a hotel in Harrogate in 1826. They encouraged him to become an artist, despite his own desire to be an auctioneer. While at school in Dover, Frith sketched caricatures and copies of Dutch genre scenes (Dover Mus.) that betray his disposition to narratives. His taste did not accord with the academic training he received at Henry Sass Academy in London (1835-7) and at the Royal Academy Schools (1837). Frith began his career as a portrait painter, using members of his family as models. He first exhibited at the British Institution in 1838, and during the 1840s he established himself with his entertaining historical and literary subjects in the popular tradition of C. R. Leslie, William Mulready and Sir David Wilkie. He was a member of THE CLIQUE, which included Richard Dadd, Augustus Egg, Henry O Neil and John Phillip. His friendship with Charles Dickens began with commissions for paintings of Dolly Varden (London, V&A) and Kate Nickleby (untraced) in 1842.