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 Martyrdom of St Maurice | Saints John the Evangelist and Francis | The Baptism of Christ | The Agony in the Garden | Portrait of Jorge Manuel Theotocopoulos |
Related Artists:
Akseli Gallen-Kallela
April 26, 1865 C March 7, 1931) Gallen-Kallela was a Finnish artist and designer closely associated with notions of National Romanticism, especially relating to the region of Karelia, also a source of inspiration for the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Of particular influence was the collection of folk poems formed in the middle of the 19th century by Elias Lonrot. Following a national competition in 1891 Gallen-Kallela illustrated this national epic known as the Kaleval, the vivid images of which soon became widely known throughout Finland. He also made a significant contribution to the Finnish Pavilion at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900 in which he painted frescoes on Kalevala themes in the main dome, as well as designing textiles and furniture. His furniture designs were made by the Iris company, founded by a close friend, Louis Sparre. Like many other ventures associated with Arts and Crafts, the Iris company was concerned with the production of well-designed, well-made furniture and ceramics. Gallen-Kallela designs at Paris 1900 attracted considerable attention leading to the award of a number of Gold and Silver Medals at the exhibition. He worked in a wide range of design media, including ryiji rugs, which he modernized using geometric motifs derived from the Finnish landscape. His distinctive contribution to Finnish culture is preserved in the Gallen-Kallela Museum, which was originally built by him as a studio and family home between 1911 and 1913 and now contains a large body of his work, including paintings, graphics, textiles, jewellery, stained glass, and architectural designs.
daniel mytens
1629 collection the duke of hamilton
thomas malton
Thomas Malton (1748 - 7 March 1804), the younger, was an English painter of topographical and architectural views, and an engraver. J M W Turner and Thomas Girtin were amongst his pupils. He is designated the younger to differentiate him from his father Thomas Malton the elder. Malton was born in London, the son of Thomas Malton the elder, a notable architectural draughtsman and writer on geometry. He was with his father during the latter's residence in Dublin, Ireland, and then passed three years in the office of James Gandon the architect, in London. In 1774 Malton received a premium from the Society of Arts. He entered the Royal Academy and in 1782 gained a gold medal for his design for a theatre. In 1773 he sent the Academy a view of Covent Garden, and was afterwards a constant exhibitor, chiefly of views of London streets and buildings, drawn in Indian ink and tinted. In these there is little attempt at pictorial effect, but their extreme accuracy in the architectural details renders them of great interest and value as topographical records. They are enlivened with groups of figures, in which Malton is said to have been assisted by Francis Wheatley. After leaving Ireland, Malton appears to have always lived in London - with the exception of a brief stay at Bath in 1780. From 1783 to 1789 he resided in Conduit Street (London), and at an evening drawing class which he held there, received as pupils Thomas Girtin and young J M W Turner, whose father brought him to be taught perspective. Turner paid tribute to him in later life by saying My real master was Tom Malton. In 1791 Malton removed to Great Titchfield Street, and finally, in 1796, to Long Acre. He made a few of the drawings for Watts's Seats of the Nobility and Gentry published in 1779, and executed some large aquatints of buildings in both London and Bath, being one of the first to avail himself of the newly introduced art of aquatinta for the purpose of multiplying copies of his views. He also painted some scenes for Covent Garden Theatre. In 1792 Malton published the work by which he is now best known, A Picturesque Tour through the Cities of London and Westminster, illustrated with a hundred aquatint plates. Between 1798 -1800 he produced Views from Cambridge, and at the time of his death was engaged upon a similar series of views of Oxford, some of which appeared in parts in 1802, and were reissued with others in 1810. Malton died in Long Acre, London on 7 March 1804, leaving a widow and six children. His portrait, painted by Gilbert Stuart, was engraved by William Barney in 1806. A portrait of his son Charles, when a child, drawn by Sir Thomas Lawrence, was engraved by F C Lewis. Malton's brother James Malton was also a notable artist, draughtsman and engraver.