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Dutch painter. He specialized in domestic interiors, portraits and city views. His entire life was spent in Delft, where, it has been suggested, he may have been trained by Leonaert Bramer or Carel Fabritius. His work does indeed show an affinity with that of Fabritius, but their relationship remains uncertain. Vermeer was a Master in the Delft painters' guild from 1653, was elected Dean (hoofdman) in 1662-3 and 1670-71, and was highly regarded in his lifetime, although he seems to have never been particularly wealthy, leaving his wife and 11 children in debt at his death. His name and reputation were almost forgotten until 1866 when the art critic Thoré Burger published an essay attributing 66 pictures to him (only 34 paintings are firmly attributed to him today). The few contemporary references to his paintings all relate to surviving works, so it is unlikely that there were ever many more - he may have been a slow worker and probably (like many Dutch painters of this period) had another source of income - a trip to The Hague in 1672 to authenticate some paintings suggests that he may have been a picture dealer.
A chronology of Vermeer's work is complicated by the fact that only three paintings are dated: The Procuress (1656, Dresden, Gemäldegalerie), The Astronomer (1668, private collection), and The Geographer (1669, Frankfurt, Städelsches). Two pictures are generally accepted as earlier than The Procuress; both are history paintings, painted in a warm palette and in a relatively large format for Vermeer - Christ in the House of Mary and Martha (Edinburgh, National Gallery) and Diana and her Companions (The Hague, Mauritshuis). After The Procuress almost all of Vermeer's paintings are of contemporary subjects in a smaller format, with a cooler palette dominated by blues, yellows and greys. It is to this period that practically all of his surviving works belong. They are usually domestic interiors with one or two figures lit by a window on the left. They are characterized by a serene sense of compositional balance and spatial order, unified by an almost pearly light. Mundane domestic or recreational activities become thereby imbued with a poetic timelessness (e.g. Woman Reading a Letter at an Open Window, Dresden, Gemäldegalerie). To this period also have been allocated Vermeer's two townscapes, View of Delft (The Hague, Mauritshuis) and A Street in Delft (Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum). A few of his paintings show a certain hardening of manner and these are generally thought to represent his late works. From this period come The Allegory of Faith (c 1670, New York, Metropolitan Museum) and The Letter (c 1670, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum).
The often discussed sparkling pearly highlights in Vermeer's paintings have been linked to his probable use of a camera obscura, the primitive lens of which would produce halation and, even more noticeably, exaggerated perspective. Such effects can be seen in Lady at the Virginals with a Gentleman (London, Royal Collection). Vermeer's interest in optics is also attested in this work by the accurately observed mirror reflection above the lady at the virginals.
Miro was born as the son of a goldsmith and jewelry maker in Barcelona in Northern Spain. He studied art at the Barcelona School of Fine Arts and at the Academia Gali. His parents would rather have seen him taking a job as a serious businessman. He even took business classes in 1907 parallel to his art classes. Miro worked as an accountant for nearly two years until he had a nervous breakdown. His parents finally accepted their son's choice of a career as an artist without giving him too much support.
In the beginning of his career he dabbled in different painting styles that were fashionable at the turn of the century like Fauvism and Cubism.
In 1920 Miro made the first of a series of trips to Paris. In 1921 he settled permanently in the French capital. He met Pablo Picasso and many of the other great painters and artists living in Paris - the center of arts in the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century.
From 1924 on, Miro joined the circle of the Surrealist theorist Andre Breton. His painting style took a turn to Surrealism. His comrades were Andre Masson and Max Ernst. But he never integrated himself completely into this group dominated by Andre Breton. He remained an outsider.
By 1930 the artist had developed his own style. Miro art is hard to describe. It is characterized by brilliant colors combined with simplified forms that are reminiscent of drawings made by children at the age of five. Joan Miro art integrates elements of Catalan folk art. He liked to compare his visual arts to poetry.
In the 1930s the artist's fame and recognition became international. From 1940 to 1948 he was back in Spain. During this period he experimented in different media; sculpture, ceramics and murals.
In 1947, he came to the United States for the first time. He had several own-man shows. The most important one was a retrospective at the MoMA - The Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1951 and in 1959. In 1954 he won a prize at the Venice Biennale. In 1968 the artist finished a commission for two large ceramic murals at the UNESCO buildings in Paris.
Miro was a disciplined, hard working and modest man. In spite of international recognition, his financial situation was tense. He dreamed of a large studio where he could fulfill the numerous art projects and ideas that he had collected in a little notebook. After World War II his time had finally come. His first trip to the USA pushed his popularity and the market value of his art work. And the modest little man pushed the galleries to give him a fairer share of the sales.
In 1956 Miro could finally move into the villa of his dreams, located in Palma de Majorca. The new home was built in an ultra-modern style typical for the avant-garde architecture of the fifties. In 1992 it was transformed into the Miro Museum open to the public.
Miro was a dedicated print make who worked in lithographs and etchings with carborundum . Miro is among those modern artists like Picasso or Chagall whose works were published in editions targeted at a collector audience, making Miro art available for art lovers around the world.
Henri Matisse was born in 1869, at Cateau-Cambresis, France. He grew up in in Bohain-en-Vermandois, near the Belgian border, the son of a seed merchant. As opposed to most of the artists covered on this site, Matisse did not begin his artist's career at a very young age. In 1889, he studied law to become clerk, but a bad case of appendicitis, and the sojourn in the hospital made him take up painting as a way to occupy his convalescing time, and two years later, he decided to abandon law, and take up art studies.
After a brief stint at the Académie Julian, Matisse enrolled at the prestigious École des Beaux Arts in Paris, where he only stayed for two years due to his disillusionment with the curriculum, and artistic differences with the teachers. After discovering the works of van Gogh, Monet and the impressionists, he decided to make color the central focus of his work. As opposed to the impressionists, Matisse used bright colors, and seldom painted outside.
In 1898, Henri Matisse had married Amélie Parayre, who was also to take care of his illegitimate child, a daughter from a previous liaison. After he left the École des Beaux Arts, Matisse went on to study with French Symbolist painter Eugène Carrière. It was there he met André Derain, and the Fauvist movement was born.
As Monet had become the leader of the Impressionist movement, Matisse would soon take the lead with Fauvism, a style not unlike that of the impressionists, but where vivid colors are substituted for natural ones. Meanwhile, he and Amélie were going through some financial hardships, so she opened a hat store to make ends meet. The shop was successful enough to support the family while Henri continued painting.
During an exhibit at the Salon des Indépendants, where he met another Fauvist visionary, Maurice de Vlaminck. Monet himself continued exploring his bold use of colors, and in 1904, he had enough canvasses to hold his first solo exhibit at the Galerie Vollard, where none, but the most groundbreaking artists had their works shown. The exhibit was a success, and the who's who of art collectors were buying Matisse's paintings.
Matisse was not one to rest on his laurels, and he continued studying various styles including primitive art, and the work of painters in other disciplines. He traveled a lot, recording images of foreign people and places in his mind for further inspiration. Matisse spent time in the south of France, where he could work in a peaceful atmosphere. Matisse not only painted, but he also experimented with sculpture and lithographs.
Merely a decade after his first showing, Matisse was now considered one of the most important artists of the new century, and his talent was appreciated worldwide. He had an exhibit with Pablo Picasso at the Paul Guillaume Gallery in Paris in 1918; he designed costumes for the presentation of Shostakovich's Le Rouge et le Noir by the Ballets Russes; he was awarded the Legion d'Honneur In 1925, and he won first prize at the Carnegie International Exhibition in 1927.
Matisse continued to travel, but focused mainly on shuttling between Paris and the Riviera. It was also around this time that things were turning sour between he and his wife, and the two were soon separated. With World war Two on the horizon, and his own personal problem, Henri Matisse's health took a turn for the worse. Henri Matisse was diagnosed with duodenal cancer.
Henri Matisse was born in 1869, at Cateau-Cambresis, France. He grew up in in Bohain-en-Vermandois, near the Belgian border, the son of a seed merchant. As opposed to most of the artists covered on this site, Matisse did not begin his artist's career at a very young age. In 1889, he studied law to become clerk, but a bad case of appendicitis, and the sojourn in the hospital made him take up painting as a way to occupy his convalescing time, and two years later, he decided to abandon law, and take up art studies.
After a brief stint at the Académie Julian, Matisse enrolled at the prestigious École des Beaux Arts in Paris, where he only stayed for two years due to his disillusionment with the curriculum, and artistic differences with the teachers. After discovering the works of van Gogh, Monet and the impressionists, he decided to make color the central focus of his work. As opposed to the impressionists, Matisse used bright colors, and seldom painted outside.
In 1898, Henri Matisse had married Amélie Parayre, who was also to take care of his illegitimate child, a daughter from a previous liaison. After he left the École des Beaux Arts, Matisse went on to study with French Symbolist painter Eugène Carrière. It was there he met André Derain, and the Fauvist movement was born.
As Monet had become the leader of the Impressionist movement, Matisse would soon take the lead with Fauvism, a style not unlike that of the impressionists, but where vivid colors are substituted for natural ones. Meanwhile, he and Amélie were going through some financial hardships, so she opened a hat store to make ends meet. The shop was successful enough to support the family while Henri continued painting.
During an exhibit at the Salon des Indépendants, where he met another Fauvist visionary, Maurice de Vlaminck. Monet himself continued exploring his bold use of colors, and in 1904, he had enough canvasses to hold his first solo exhibit at the Galerie Vollard, where none, but the most groundbreaking artists had their works shown. The exhibit was a success, and the who's who of art collectors were buying Matisse's paintings.
Matisse was not one to rest on his laurels, and he continued studying various styles including primitive art, and the work of painters in other disciplines. He traveled a lot, recording images of foreign people and places in his mind for further inspiration. Matisse spent time in the south of France, where he could work in a peaceful atmosphere. Matisse not only painted, but he also experimented with sculpture and lithographs.
Merely a decade after his first showing, Matisse was now considered one of the most important artists of the new century, and his talent was appreciated worldwide. He had an exhibit with Pablo Picasso at the Paul Guillaume Gallery in Paris in 1918; he designed costumes for the presentation of Shostakovich's Le Rouge et le Noir by the Ballets Russes; he was awarded the Legion d'Honneur In 1925, and he won first prize at the Carnegie International Exhibition in 1927.
Matisse continued to travel, but focused mainly on shuttling between Paris and the Riviera. It was also around this time that things were turning sour between he and his wife, and the two were soon separated. With World war Two on the horizon, and his own personal problem, Henri Matisse's health took a turn for the worse. Henri Matisse was diagnosed with duodenal cancer.
Gustav Klimt was born on July 14, 1862, in Baumgarten, Austria, the second seven children, the son of a poor jewelry engraver, It is only at the age of fourteen, after he enters the University of Plastic Arts in Vienna, that he begins developing his talent as an artist; he studied at the University until graduating at the age of twenty, at which time he had been commissioned to create several decorative works, making use of his training in modernist craftsmanship. He then founded the Känstlercompanie (Company of Artists) studio with his brother Ernst, and Franz Matsch, a fellow student. The three found much success as mural painters, getting contracts from museums, theaters, and other decorative artwork for wealthy patrons. The company eventually ceased to exist, following the death of Ernst, and a falling out with Franz Matsch.
During his years as a decorator, Klimt finely honed his personal style, which was a product of his artistic training, and the engraving skills his father had taught him. Klimt's paintings often included gold and silver paint, metal, and ceramics, and as much attention was given to ornamental details as to their subjects. Very few of Klimt's paintings were done on canvases, as he preferred to paint murals. Klimt also found inspiration in Byzantine mosaics, which he discovered while exploring Vienna.
In 1897, Gustav Klimt took an interest in politics and rallied other artists to found the Vienna Sezession, a Art Nouveau movement whose goal was to give young, innovative artists a chance to get exposure, and to revolt against the conservative attitudes of the academic art world. He organized several exhibits, attracting thousands from around the world to view their revolutionary art, and even published "Ver Sacrum", a monthly magazine about the movement and its artists. His own personal style came to represent the movement's aesthetics, and in 1902, he painted the "Beethoven Fries", a mural for the Sezession building.
In 1905, following a series of disagreements with other members of the Sezession several others leave the group, and form a new association called the Kunstschau (Art Show). His famous painting, The Kiss, was created between 1907 and 1908, but it is still associated with the Sezession. Klimt was a very popular artist, but he was also quite controversial. He was renowned for his womanizing, and often used prostitutes as models. Many of his works were considered too sensual for the mores of early 20th Century Vienna, and even his more historical, or mythical works featuring nudes were often criticized for being too erotic. Fortunately, the scandals only served to heighten Klimt's international recognition, if not his notoriety.
In addition to women, Klimt often traveled to the outskirts of Vienna, and the Italian countryside, finding inspiration in nature, particularly autumnal landscapes, which already showed the rich golden hues of his own decorative designs. From the opulence of the Viennese Bourgeoisie to the mythological, from eroticism to the simple beauty of nature, Klimt's artwork always maintained its highly stylized feel, but what remains one of its most fascinating traits is that while concentrating on the superficial, its depth cannot be ignored.
In 1917, he was made an honorary member the Viennese Academy of Fine Arts. On January 11th of the following year, at the age of 55, Gustav Klimt suffered a stroke while working in his apartment. Weakened from the stroke, and suffering from pneumonia, he died less than a month later, on February 6th, 1918.
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