1580-1666 Frans Hals Galleries In the field of group portraiture his work is equalled only by that of Rembrandt. Hals's portraits, both individual and group, have an immediacy and brilliance that bring his sitters to life in a way previously unknown in the Netherlands. This effect, achieved by strong Baroque designs and the innovative use of loose brushstrokes to depict light on form, was not to the taste of critics in the 18th century and the early 19th, when his work was characterized as lazy and unfinished. However, with the rise of Realism and, later, Impressionism, Hals was hailed as a modern painter before his time. Since then his works have always been popular.  Related Paintings of Frans Hals :. | Portrait of a Man. | Portrait of Tyman Oosdorp | St Luke | Portrait of William Croes | Portrait of a Woman |
Related Artists:
MEULEN, Adam Frans van der
Flemish painter (b. 1632, Bruxelles, d. 1690, Paris). Flemish painter and draughtsman, active also in France. He was the eldest son of the seven children of Pieter van der Meulen and his second wife Marie van Steen Wegen. He went to study with Pieter Snayers, court painter in Brussels, on 18 May 1646, and in 1651 he became a master in the Brussels painters' guild. Probably soon after he married Catherina Huseweel. During the first 15 years of his career, the so-called Brussels period, he painted small-scale genre and history scenes with political and military events in the Baroque style of Sebastiaen Vrancx, Pieter Snayers and Jan Breughel the elder. Typical examples are a Cavalry Battle (1653; Geneva, Mus. A. & Hist.), a Ceremonial Entry into Brussels (1659; Kassel, Gemeldegal.), a General on Campaign (1660; Madrid, Prado) and a Hunting Scene
HALL, Peter Adolf
1739-1793 Swedish painter and collector. In 1753 he attended Uppsala Universitet to study medicine and natural history. In 1755 he went on a study trip abroad, led by his drawing-master Lars Brisman. While in Germany (1756-9) he studied miniature painting with Eichhardt in Berlin and with Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Richard (1725-70) in Hamburg. After this trip, he decided to become a professional portrait painter, and in 1759 he enrolled at the Kungliga Akademi for de Fria Konsterna in Stockholm, studying drawing with the French sculptor Pierre-Hubert Larchaveque (1721-78) and painting with Gustaf Lundberg. He attracted the attention of C. F. Adelcrantz, who in 1766 gained for him a commission for the pastel portrait of Princes Karl and Fredrik Adolf. In that year he also executed a miniature portrait of Crown Prince Gustav on the occasion of his engagement to Princess Sophia Magdalena of Denmark. Also in 1766 he received a royal travel grant to study in Paris, where he developed a completely new technique of miniature painting using sweeping brushwork and a clear and fresh range of colour that allowed for lively characterization. He made exquisite detailed studies of the backgrounds of his paintings, as well as his sitters costumes and their attributes and accessories. His new technique involved applying gouache to the ivory in a manner that allowed the ivory to show through, a method that was particularly successful in depicting drapery. The smooth surface of the ivory also allowed freer brushwork associated with full-scale portraits.
Pavel Fedotov
1815-1852 Realism Russian Russian painter and draughtsman. He was noted for his satirical critique of Russian life of the mid-19th century. He attended the First Moscow Military School (1826-33), then served in St Petersburg in the Finnish Regiment Life-Guards. While earning a reputation as an honest and hard-working officer, he drew a great deal, played the flute and took part in amateur theatrical performances. Having become established as the regimental artist, in 1834 he began to attend evening classes at the St Petersburg Academy of Arts. In November 1843, after a long period of doubt, he resigned his commission in the army in order to become a professional artist. He began to attend the Academy regularly and joined the battle-painting class of Aleksander Zauerveid (1783-1844),