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 :. | the vision of st. john | El Espolio | The Purification of the Temple | Christ Healing the Blind | The Burial of Count Orgaz |
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Ambrosius Bosschaert
(Antwerp, January 18, 1573?CThe Hague, 1621) was a still life painter of the Dutch Golden Age.He started his career in Antwerp, but spend most of it in Middelburg (1593?C1613), where he became dean of the painters' guild. He later worked in Amsterdam (1614), Bergen op Zoom (1615?C1616), Utrecht (1616?C1619), and Breda (1619). He specialised in painting still lifes with flowers. In 1587, Ambrosius Bosschaert moved from Antwerp to Middelburg with his family because of the threat of religious persecution. At the age of twenty-one, he joined the cityes Guild of Saint Luke. Not long after, Bosschaert had established himself as a leading figure in the fashionable floral painting genre.
Hippolyte Delaroche
(17 July 1797 - 4 November 1856), commonly known as Paul Delaroche, was a French painter born in Paris. Delaroche was born into a wealthy family and was trained by Antoine-Jean, Baron Gros, who then painted life-size histories and had many students. The first Delaroche picture exhibited was the large Josabeth saving Joas (1822). This exhibition led to his acquaintance with Theodore Gericault and Eugene Delacroix, with whom he became friends. The three of them formed the core of a large group of Parisian historical painters. He visited Italy in 1838 and 1843, when his father-in-law, Horace Vernet, was director of the French Academy in Rome. Delaroche's studio in Paris was in the Rue Mazarine. His subjects were painted with a firm, solid, smooth surface, which gave an appearance of the highest finish. This texture was the manner of the day and was also found in the works of Vernet, Ary Scheffer, Louis-Leopold Robert and Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. Among his students were British landscape artist Henry Mark Anthony (1817-1886),
Thomas Blanchet
Thomas Blanchet (1614, possibly in Paris - 21 June 1689, Lyon) was a French painter, draughtsman, architect, sculptor and printmaker. During his training in Paris Blanchet met Jacques Sarazin, and on his advice moved from studying sculpture to painting. During this time he familiarised himself with the Baroque and the School of Fontainebleau's Mannerism, new imports into Paris at this time. Among his probably co-students was Simon Vouet. He stayed in Rome from c.1645 to 1653 and worked with artists in Nicolas Poussin's circle, as well as visiting the studios of Andrea Sacchi and Pietro da Cortona. He was highly praised by Gianlorenzo Bernini, who he also visited. Blanchet produced paintings for Niccolo Guido di Bagno (1584 -1663), made engravings of ancient tombs and views or prospettive and a mausoleum for Rene de Voyer d'Argenson, French ambassador to Venice in San Giobbe, Venice (1654).