1712-1793 Italian Francesco Guardi Galleries Francesco Guardi was born in Venice into a family of lesser nobility from Trentino. His father Domenico (born in 1678) and his brothers Niccolo and Gian Antonio were also painters, the latter inheriting the family workshop after the father's death in 1716. They probably all contributed as a team to some of the larger commissions later attributed to Francesco. His sister Maria Cecilia married the pre-eminent Veneto-European painter of his epoch, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. In 1735, Guardi moved to the workshop of Michele Marieschi, where he remained until 1743. His first certain works is from 1738, for a parish at Vigo d'Anuania, in Trentino. In this period he worked alongside his better-known brother, Gian Antonio. The first work signed by Francesco is a Saint Adoring the Eucarist (circa 1739). His works in this period included landscapes as well as figure representations. His early vedutas show influence both from Canaletto and Luca Carlevarijs. On February 15, 1757 he married Maria Mattea Pagani, the daughter of painter Matteo Pagani. In the same year his brother Gian Antonio died and his first son, Vincenzo, was born. His second son, Giacomo, was born in 1764. In 1763 he worked in Murano, in the church of San Pietro Martire, finishing a Miracle of a Dominican Saint clearly influenced by Alessandro Magnasco in its quasi-expressionistic style. Francesco Guardi's most important later works include the Doge's Feasts, a series of twelve canvases celebrating the ceremonies held in 1763 for the election of Doge Alvise IV Mocenigo. In his later years, Canaletto's influence on his art diminished, as showed by the Piazzetta in the Ca' d'Oro of Venice. In circa 1778, he painted the severe Holy Trinity Appearing to Sts. Peter and Paul in the parish church of Roncegno. Miracle of a Dominicane Saint (1763), Lugano, private collection.In 1782 Guardi was commissioned by the Venetian government six canvases to celebrate the visit of the Russian Archdukes in the city, of which only two remain, and two others for that of Pope Pius VI. On September 12 of that year he was admitted to the Fine Art Academy of Venice. A stronger attention to colours is present in late works such as the Concerto of 80 Orphans of 1782, now in Munich, in the Façade of Palace with Staircase in the Accademia Carrara of Bergamo. Guardi died at Venice in 1793.  Related Paintings of Francesco Guardi :. | Fantastic Landscape | Venice from the Bacino di San Marco | The Coronation of the Doge on the Staircase of the Giants at the Ducal Palace (mk05) | View of a Square with Palace | Santa Maria della Salute |
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John Downman
English Painter, ca.1750-1824, English painter and draughtsman. He became a pupil of Benjamin West in 1768 and entered the Royal Academy Schools, London, the following year. In 1770 and 1772 he exhibited portraits at the Royal Academy and showed his first subject picture in 1773. He left for a period of study in Italy and was in Rome with Joseph Wright of Derby from 1773 to 1774. When he next exhibited at the Royal Academy (1777) he was living in Cambridge, but from 1778 to 1804 his considerable annual contribution to the Academy exhibitions was sent from various London addresses. His very popular small portraits were often shown in groups of six or nine. His occasional subject pictures were based on themes from mythology, Classical history, poetry and the theatre. They included a scene from As You Like It (untraced) painted for John Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery. Downman became ARA in 1795 and travelled widely in later life, marrying in Exeter in 1806 and sending works to the Royal Academy (1805-12 and 1816-19) from all over the country.
Philip Charles Hardwick
English architect , (1822-1892), was a notable English architect of the 19th century who was once described as "a careful and industrious student of mediaeval art". He was born in Westminster and was the son of the architect Philip Hardwick (1792-1870), grandson of Thomas Hardwick (junior) (1752-1825) and great grandson of Thomas Hardwick Senior (1725-1825); the Hardwicks' architectural work spanned over 100 years, making them one of the most successful architectural families in British history. Hardwick's mother was also from an eminent architectural family: the Shaws. His maternal grandfather was John Shaw Senior (1776-1832) and his uncle was John Shaw Jr (1803-1870) - both architects known for their work at Christ's Hospital and at Ramsgate harbour. Philip Charles trained under his father and also in Edward Blore's office during which time he visited Belgium and Germany. Hardwick exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy between 1848 and 1854. Like his father, Philip Charles was employed in the 'Square Mile' of the City of London, where he became the leading architect of grandiose banking offices, mainly in an Italianate manner, setting the pattern for suburban and provincial designs for almost three decades. He designed five City banks, including Drummond's in Trafalgar Square (1879-81), and was architect to the Bank of England from 1855 to 1883. However, he was more employed outside London, designing branch offices at Hull (1856) and Leeds (1862-65). His best known work was the Great Hall of London's Euston railway station (opened on 27 May 1849). The Great Hall was demolished in 1962 to make way for construction of the current Euston Station building. Philip Charles was the last Hardwick Surveyor to St Bartholomew's Hospital in London and was a major benefactor of the hospital.
Juan van der Hamen y Leon
Spanish Baroque Era Painter, 1596-1631, was a Spanish painter, a master of the still life paintings, also called bodegones. During his lifetime, he was prolific and versatile, painting allegories, landscapes, and large-scale works for churches and convents. However, today he is remembered mostly for his still lifes. In the 1620s, He popularized still life painting in Madrid.Juan van der Hamen y (Gemez de) Leen was born in Madrid in 1596 but he was baptized late on April 8, 1596 in Madrid, therefore, he must had been born there just days before that date. He was the son of Jehan van der Hamen, a Flemish courtier, who had moved to Madrid from Brussels before 1586, and Dorotea Whitman Gemez de Leen, a half-Flemish mother of noble Toledan ancestry [1]. Van der Hamen and his two brothers Pedro and Lorenzo (both of whom were writers) emphasized their Spanish roots by using all or part of their maternal grandmother's family name, Gemez de Leen.. The painter's father, Jan van der Hamen, had come to Spain, as an archer, to the court of Philip II were he settled, married, and his children were born. According to 18th-century sources, the artist's father had also been a painter, but there is no evidence for this. Juan van der Hamen inherited his father's honorary positions at court and also served as unsalaried painter of the king. Van der Hamen's artistic activity in the service of the crown is first recorded on 10 September 1619, when he was paid for painting a still-life for the country palace of El Pardo, to the north of Madrid.