French Fauvist Painter and Sculptor, 1869-1954
Henri Matisse is considered the most important French artist of the 20th century and, along with Pablo Picasso, one of the most influential modernist painters of the last century. Matisse began studying drawing and painting in the 1890s. A student of the masters of Post-Impressionism, Matisse later made a reputation for himself as the leader of a group of painters known as Les Fauves. An ironic label given to them by a critic, the name reflected Matisse's aggressive strokes and bold use of primary colors. In 1905 Matisse gained sudden fame with three paintings, including Woman with the Hat, purchased by the wealthy American ex-patriot Gertrude Stein. Beyond painting, he worked with lithographs and sculpture, and during World War II he did a series of book designs. Later in his career he experimented with paper cutouts and designed decorations for the Dominican chapel in Vence, France. Along with Picasso, Related Paintings of Henri Matisse :. | Hat woman | Studio | A woman sitting | Nude | Tree of Life | Related Artists:
Theodore GericaultFrench Romantic Painter, 1791-1824
was a profoundly influential French artist, painter and lithographer, known for The Raft of the Medusa and other paintings. Although he died young, he became one of the pioneers of the Romantic movement. Born in Rouen, France, Gericault was educated in the tradition of English sporting art by Carle Vernet and classical figure composition by Pierre-Narcisse Guerin, a rigorous classicist who disapproved of his student's impulsive temperament, but recognized his talent.[1] Gericault soon left the classroom, choosing to study at the Louvre instead, where he copied from paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, Titian, Diego Velezquez, and Rembrandt for about six years, from 1810 to 1815.
Helen Allingham,R,W.S1848-1926
Studies of Flowers
Studies of Flowers .was a well-known watercolour painter and illustrator of the Victorian era. Helen Mary Elizabeth Paterson was born in Swadlincote in Derbyshire,[1] England. Her sister and her father, a doctor, died of diphtheria in 1862, and the rest of the family went to live in Birmingham. In 1867 she went to study art at the "Female School of Art", a section of what became the Royal College of Art in London, and became an illustrator of children's books. She was a great friend of Kate Greenaway. On 22 August 1874, she married William Allingham, who was almost twice her age. At the time, she was employed in illustrating some of the novels of Thomas Hardy, and they were attracted to one another when they met. Helen Allingham illustrated several books, including Six to sixteen: a story for girls (1876), Happy England (1903) and The homes of Tennyson (1905), written with her brother Arthur Paterson. After her marriage to Allingham, she became a watercolour painter, and she was the first woman to become a full member of the Royal Watercolour Society. As well as landscapes, she completed several portraits, including one of Thomas Carlyle.
Hans Bollongier(1600-idem, 1645) was a Dutch Golden Age still life flower painter.
Bollongier was born in Haarlem. According to the RKD little is known of his early life. He became a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke in 1623, and in 1675 his younger brother Horatio was named as his beneficiary. He was a specialist in bouquets of blooms. Paintings attributed to him that are not flower- or fruit still lifes are likely the work of his brother Horatio.He was an important influence on the later flower painters known as the monogrammist JF and Anthony Claesz II. He painted during a period of great productivity for Haarlem painters, during the decades after Karel van Mander published his Schilderboeck there. In Karel van Mander's book, there were a set of rules to follow to create good paintings and good drawings. Bollongier developed his own style and still observed all of these rules. His paintings were very popular, but his work was not regarded as such by contemporary Haarlem painters. As a genre, still life painting was considered inferior to historical allegories.
His work today is considered part of the proof that Tulip Mania took place, although there is reason to believe that this is also just part of early Haarlem tourist propaganda. Even as early as the 17th century, gentry from Amsterdam, Leiden, and places farther away enjoyed visiting the tulip fields of Haarlem in the Spring, and paintings of tulips were as popular as the bulbs.