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 :. | Burial of the Cout of Orgaz | burial of count orgaz | The Adoration of the Shepherds | Hl. Petrus | The Modena Triptych |
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Konstantin Makovsky
1839 September 17 [O.S. September 30] 1915) was an influential Russian painter, affiliated with the "Peredvizhniki (Wanderers)". Many of his historical paintings, such as The Russian Bride's Attire (1889), showed an idealized view of Russian life of prior centuries. He is often considered a representative of a Salon art. Konstantin was born in Moscow as the older son of a Russian art figure and amateur painter, Yegor Ivanovich Makovsky. Yegor Makovsky was the founder of Natural class, the art school that later became as the famous Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Among the friends of the family were Karl Briullov and Vasily Tropinin. All children of Yegor became notable painters (see Makovsky). Later Konstantin wrote For what I became I think I should thank not the Academy or Professors but only my father. In 1851 Konstantin entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture where he became the top student, easily getting all the available awards.
Pauwels van Hillegaert
(1596-1640) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of landscapes and military scenes. He married Anneken Homis from Antwerp in 1620, with whom he had several children, including the painter with the same name, Pauwels van Hillegaert II (1621-1658). This Pauwels Jr. married Cornelia de Vlieger (daughter of Simon de Vlieger) and had two daughters. When Pauwels Jr. like his father died at a relatively young age, Cornelis de Bie wrote a commemorative poem about him. Pauwels Sr. won royal commissions to paint battle scenes, most notably for the Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch in 1629. He also won a commission for the Battle of Nieuwpoort. He also painted Italianate landscapes, but was mostly admired for his horses and armor.
Legros, Alphonse
French-born British Painter and Sculptor, 1837-1911 British etcher, painter, sculptor and teacher of French birth. He is said to have been apprenticed at the age of 11 to a sign-painter, at which time he may also have attended classes at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Dijon. He was employed as assistant on a decorative scheme in Lyon Cathedral before moving in 1851 to Paris, where he worked initially for the theatre decorator C. A. Cambon (1802-75). He soon became a pupil of Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran, whose methodical instruction and liberality in fostering individual talent proved of lasting benefit to Legros. In 1855 he enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, attending irregularly until 1857. During this period Legros had a taste for early Netherlandish art and for French Romanticism, which was later superseded by his admiration for Claude, Poussin and Michelangelo.