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 Adoration of the Shepherds | Detail of The Adoration of the Shepherds | virgin with santa ines and santa tecla | Portrait of a Cardinal | The Risen Christ | Related Artists:
George WillisonPortrait painter who was born in Edinburgh in 1741 and returned there to spend his retirement.
He was a pupil of Mengs in Rome, before Mengs left for Madrid in 1761.
He painted "Boswell" in Rome in 1765 which is now in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
Willison was in London from 1767 and exhibited at the Scottish Academy between 1767 - 1770, and at the Royal Academy in 1771 and 1772.
He left London for an opulent retirement in Edinburgh around 1784.
Willem Bastiaan Tholen was a Dutch painter, draftsman and printmaker, born in Amsterdam, 13 Feb 1860, died in The Hague, 5 Dec 1931. He came from an artistic family, who lived in Kampen from 1864. There he developed at an early age a lasting love of the Zuiderzee. In Kampen he became friendly with the young Jan Voerman; they entered the Amsterdam academy together in 1876, where Tholen studied under August Allebe. Subsequently he learned technical drawing at the Polytechnische School in Delft until 1878. Thereafter he spent three months in the studio of Paul Gabriël in Brussels, from whom he received his first real instruction in painting. In the following years Gabriël's advice was of particular importance for Tholen, as they worked together en plein air for many summers near Kampen and Giethoorn, among other places. In Gouda (1878-9) and Kampen (1880-85) he taught draftsmanship in order to support himself but after 1885 concentrated entirely on his own work. From 1887 he lived in The Hague, where he became friendly with the painters of The Hague school. He took an active part in the artistic life of The Hague and was a member of the Pulchri Studio.
James Holworthy (d. 1841)
was a British watercolour artist. Some of Holworthy's art can be seen in the Tate Gallery. Holworthy exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1803 and 1804. In the latter year he was one of the foundation members of the Society of Painters in Water-colours, now known as the Royal Watercolour Society,and he contributed constantly to their exhibitions till 1813. His subjects being drawn from Wales, the Lake district, and Yorkshire. He practised in London till 1822. In 1900, there were two drawings by him at the South Kensington Museum. In 1821, Holworthy was living in Barton in the Beans, Leicestershire. In either 1821[2] or 1824 he married Anne Wright,[3] a niece of John Wright in Derby, and retired to the Brookfield estate, near Hathersage in Derbyshire, which he had purchased. He died in London in 1841