Albert Bierstadt
German-born American Hudson River School Painter, 1830-1902
Bierstadt was born in Solingen, Germany. His family moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1833. He studied painting with the members of the D??sseldorf School in D??sseldorf, Germany from 1853 to 1857. He taught drawing and painting briefly before devoting himself to painting.
Bierstadt began making paintings in New England and upstate New York. In 1859, he traveled westward in the company of a Land Surveyor for the U.S. government, returning with sketches that would result in numerous finished paintings. In 1863 he returned west again, in the company of the author Fitz Hugh Ludlow, whose wife he would later marry. He continued to visit the American West throughout his career.
Though his paintings sold for princely sums, Bierstadt was not held in particularly high esteem by critics of his day. His use of uncommonly large canvases was thought to be an egotistical indulgence, as his paintings would invariably dwarf those of his contemporaries when they were displayed together. The romanticism evident in his choices of subject and in his use of light was felt to be excessive by contemporary critics. His paintings emphasized atmospheric elements like fog, clouds and mist to accentuate and complement the feel of his work. Bierstadt sometimes changed details of the landscape to inspire awe. The colors he used are also not always true. He painted what he believed is the way things should be: water is ultramarine, vegetation is lush and green, etc. The shift from foreground to background was very dramatic and there was almost no middle distance
Nonetheless, his paintings remain popular. He was a prolific artist, having completed over 500 (possibly as many as 4000) paintings during his lifetime, most of which have survived. Many are scattered through museums around the United States. Prints are available commercially for many. Original paintings themselves do occasionally come up for sale, at ever increasing prices. Related Paintings of Albert Bierstadt :. | Departure of an Indian War Party | Albert Bierstadt Conway Meadows New Hampshire | Autumn Woods | Beach at Nassau | Oregon Trail | Related Artists: Balthasar Denner (15 November 1685 in Altona - 14 April 1749 in Rostock) was a German painter, highly-regarded as a portraitist. He painted mostly half-length and head-and-shoulders portraits and a few group portraits of families in interiors. Usually Denner concentrated on the face; clothes and paraphernalia were done by other painters or later his daughter. CIGNANI, CarloItalian Baroque Era Painter, 1628-1719
Italian painter and draughtsman. He was the leading master in Bologna during the later decades of the 17th century, commanding a position of authority comparable to that of Carlo Maratti in Rome. He bore the title of Conte, and his biographer Giovan Pietro Zanotti wrote that he 'always worked for glory, not for need'. Zanotti's emphasis on Cignani's 'new manner' refers to the reflective, intimate mood of his art, presaged in the later pictures of Guido Reni and Guercino, and in those of Simone Cantarini. This gentle manner, which prevailed in the second half of the 17th century, HERRERA, Francisco de, the ElderSpanish painter (b. ca. 1590, Sevilla, d.
1656, Madrid).
Spanish painter. His early works are in the Mannerist style. Under the influence of Francisco Zurbaron, he developed the naturalistic style seen in his four scenes from the life of St. Bonaventure (1627). About 1650 he moved to Madrid. His last documented work, a painting of St. Joseph (1648) influenced by Anthony Van Dyck, features elongated forms and elaborate draperies. He achieved considerable fame in Sevilla, where Diego Velezquez was briefly his pupil.
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