Dutch Post-Impressionist Painter, 1853-1890 Vincent Willem van Gogh (30 March 1853 ?C 29 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist artist. Some of his paintings are now among the world's best known, most popular and expensive works of art. Van Gogh spent his early adult life working for a firm of art dealers. After a brief spell as a teacher, he became a missionary worker in a very poor mining region. He did not embark upon a career as an artist until 1880. Initially, Van Gogh worked only with sombre colours, until he encountered Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism in Paris. He incorporated their brighter colours and style of painting into a uniquely recognizable style, which was fully developed during the time he spent at Arles, France. He produced more than 2,000 works, including around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches, during the last ten years of his life. Most of his best-known works were produced in the final two years of his life, during which time he cut off part of his left ear following a breakdown in his friendship with Paul Gauguin. After this he suffered recurrent bouts of mental illness, which led to his suicide. The central figure in Van Gogh's life was his brother Theo, who continually and selflessly provided financial support. Their lifelong friendship is documented in numerous letters they exchanged from August 1872 onwards. Van Gogh is a pioneer of what came to be known as Expressionism. He had an enormous influence on 20th century art, especially on the Fauves and German Expressionists.  Related Paintings of Vincent Van Gogh :. | The Sower (nn04) | Huts surrounded by olive trees and cypresses | Weaver,Seen from the Front (nn04) | Olive Picking (nn04) | The Green Parrot (nn04) |
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CERQUOZZI, Michelangelo
Italian Baroque Era Painter, ca.1602-1660 Italian painter. He was a painter of bambocciate (low-life subjects), battles, small religious and mythological works and still-lifes. He was born of Roman parents, baptized in the parish of S Lorenzo in Lucina and spent his entire life in his native city. A member of the Accademia di S Luca since 1634, Cerquozzi attended meetings of the society as late as 1652. His friends included Domenico Viola, Pietro da Cortona and Giacinto Brandi. More significant were his associations with foreign residents in Rome. According to Baldinucci, Cerquozzi had special affection for the Spanish, owing to the patronage he received from the major-domo of the Spanish Embassy as a youth, and would often don Spanish attire as a sign of his sentiment. His Spanish connections may partly account for the many commissions he later received from patrons identified with Rome's pro-Spanish political faction (Haskell). Cerquozzi enjoyed equally good rapport with northern European residents of Rome. He is documented as having quartered with artists from beyond the Alps, including Paulus Bor and Cornelis Bloemaert, for the bulk of his career.
KEUNINCK, Kerstiaen
Flemish painter (b. 1560, Kortrijk, d. 1632/3, Antwerpen) Flemish painter. Although from Courtrai, from an early age he lived in Antwerp. He was listed in 1577 as one of the recipients of the Poor-box (armenbus) of the Antwerp Guild of St Luke, where he was received as master in 1580. He married in 1585. De Keuninck took on Carel de Ferrara as an apprentice in 1599. His son Kerstiaen de Keuninck the younger (d 1642-3) became a master in 1613.
RUYSCH, Rachel
Dutch 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.