Italian Early Renaissance Painter, 1267-1337
Italian painter and designer. In his own time and place he had an unrivalled reputation as the best painter and as an innovator, superior to all his predecessors, and he became the first post-Classical artist whose fame extended beyond his lifetime and native city. This was partly the consequence of the rich literary culture of two of the cities where he worked, Padua and Florence. Writing on art in Florence was pioneered by gifted authors and, although not quite art criticism, it involved the comparison of local artists in terms of quality. The most famous single appreciation is found in Dante's verses (Purgatory x) of 1315 or earlier. Exemplifying the transience of fame, first with poets and manuscript illuminators, Dante then remarked that the fame of Cimabue, who had supposed himself to be the leader in painting, had now been displaced by Giotto. Ironically, this text was one factor that forestalled the similar eclipse of Giotto's fame, which was clearly implied by the poet. Related Paintings of GIOTTO di Bondone :. | Last Judgment | Decorative band with figures | Last Judgment | The Devils Cast our of Arezzo | Dream of the Palace | Related Artists:
Valentine Cameron Prinsep PrintsIndian-born British Pre-Raphaelite Painter, 1838-1904
Henry Prinsep was an intimate friend of G. F. Watts, under whom his son first studied. Val Prinsep also worked in Paris in the atelier Gleyre; and 'Taffy' in his friend George du Maurier's novel Trilby, is said to have been sketched from him. He was an intimate friend of John Everett Millais and of Burne-Jones, with whom he travelled in Italy. He had a share with Rossetti and others in the decoration of the hall of the Oxford Union.
Prinsep first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1862 with his Bianca Capella, his first picture, which attracted marked notice, being a portrait (1866) of General Gordon in Chinese costume. Princep lent the costume to Millais who used it in his own painting Esther.
The best of his later exhibits were A Versailles, The Emperor Theophilus chooses his Wife, The Broken Idol and The Goose Girl. He was elected A.R.A. in 1879 and R.A. in 1894. In 1877 he went to India and painted a huge picture of the Delhi Durbar, exhibited in 1880, and afterwards hung at Buckingham Palace.
Gerhard von KugelgenFranz Gerhard von Kegelgen (February 26, 1772 - March 27, 1820) was a German painter, noted for his portraits and history paintings. He was a professor at the Academy of Arts in Dresden and a member of both the Prussian and Russian Academies of Arts. His twin brother, Karl von Kegelgen, was also a painter of note.
Gerhard von Kegelgen was born at Bacharach am Rhein. After leaving school in 1789, he studied painting in Koblenz. Beginning in 1791, he worked in Bonn, where he painted portraits of Elector Archduke Maximilian Franz of Austria, minister Ferdinand August von Spiegel zum Desenberg, and the Earl of Waldstein. Afterwards, Gerhard von Kegelgen and his brother undertook an educational journey to Rome, Munich and Riga, which was financed by Maximilian Franz of Habsburg.
In 1800, Kegelgen married Helene Marie Zoege von Manteuffel. They had three children together. His first son, Wilhelm was born in Saint Petersburg in 1802, and also grew up to become a painter. The other children were Gerhard (born 1806), and Adelheid (born 1808).
RUYSCH, RachelDutch Baroque Era Painter, 1664-1750
Dutch painter. She specialized in still-lifes of flowers and fruits and still-lifes in outdoor settings, the large majority signed, with dated examples from 1681 to 1747 providing a sound chronology. She is widely regarded as the most gifted woman in the history of the subject and among the greatest exponents of either sex. Ruysch came from a distinguished and wealthy background. Her father, Frederik Ruysch (1638-1731), was an eminent professor of anatomy and botany, who published his fine collection of natural curiosities. He was also a gifted amateur painter. Her mother was the daughter of the architect Pieter Post. At the age of 15 Ruysch became a pupil of Willem van Aelst until his death in 1683. In 1693 she married the portrait painter Juriaen Pool (1665-1745), a happy union that produced ten children. In 1709 the couple moved to The Hague, where both artists joined the Guild of St Luke. From 1708 to 1713 they were both court painters to the Elector Palatine, John William, at D?sseldorf, for whom they continued to work until his death in 1716. In that year they returned to Amsterdam, where Ruysch continued working until at least the age of 83.