illustration
Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova (Russian: Ната́лья Серге́евна Гончаро́ва) was a pivotal Russian avant-garde artist, painter, costume designer, writer, illustrator, and set designer, celebrated for her groundbreaking contributions to several art movements including Rayonism, Futurism, and Cubism. Born in Russia in 1881, Goncharova's artistic journey was marked by her vibrant exploration of Eastern and Western traditions, making her a leading figure in Russian modernism before she relocated to Paris in 1921, where she continued her artistic endeavors until her death in 1962.
Goncharova's work was distinguished by her engagement with the avant-garde, notably through her involvement with movements and groups such as Jack of Diamonds, Donkey's Tail, and Der Blaue Reiter. Her innovative approach blended Primitivism with Russian folk art (luboks), iconography, and modern European styles, making her work highly influential and controversial in its time. For instance, her series "Mystical Images of War" showcased her unique method of merging contemporary events with traditional forms.
Her later years in Paris were characterized by a continued pursuit of innovation, as evidenced by her designs for ballet costumes and sets, further cementing her legacy in the art world. Goncharova's collaborations with notable figures such as her partner Mikhail Larionov and her contributions to the Ballets Russes highlight her versatile talent and enduring influence on both Russian and French avant-garde art scenes.
For collectors and experts in art and antiques, Goncharova's work offers a rich exploration of avant-garde movements and the blending of cultural traditions. Her bold experimentation and pioneering spirit make her pieces highly sought after in the art community.
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![Illustrations of Constantinople, [1838], first edition, deluxe issue, contemporary portfolio](/assets/image/picture_3108867/b9192/m3vzmgv28tglz3nsnnwspanj2jjgnulrozx9k55lakpceqcza1f5vumhq8ma8vr1694157518jpg__fix_374_244.jpeg)
![Illustrations of Constantinople, [1838], first edition, deluxe issue, contemporary portfolio](https://veryimportantlot.com/assets/image/picture_3108867/b9192/m3vzmgv28tglz3nsnnwspanj2jjgnulrozx9k55lakpceqcza1f5vumhq8ma8vr1694157518jpg__fix_374_244.jpeg)
John Frederick Lewis was an English Orientalist painter. He specialized in Oriental and Mediterranean scenes in detailed watercolour or oils, very often repeating the same composition in a version in each medium. He lived for several years in a traditional mansion in Cairo, and after his return to England in 1851 he specialized in highly detailed works showing both realistic genre scenes of Middle Eastern life and more idealized scenes in upper-class Egyptian interiors with little apparent Western influence.
John Milton was a British poet and writer-publicist, intellectual and politician of the English Revolutionary period.
Milton first planned to become a priest, studied at Cambridge University, and then abandoned this activity. Several years he spent reading and self-education, learning many languages. In 1638 Milton traveled around the continent for about a year and a half, spending much time in Italy, primarily in Rome and Florence. He befriended young Italian literati, and his encounter with Galileo further influenced his writing.
Milton became best known for his poem Paradise Lost in Ten Books, which declares its purpose to justify the ways of God to man, but also touches on both universal and personal themes. Milton was the first author to use the word "cosmos" in our modern sense of "outer space," and his space epic takes place in a confidently Copernican universe.
In his prose works, Milton advocated the abolition of the Church of England and the execution of Charles I. From the outbreak of the English Civil Wars in 1642 and long after the restoration of Charles II as king in 1660, he spoke out against tyranny and state-sanctioned religion in all his works. As a Protestant, Milton was often in conflict with the Roman Catholic Church. As a civil servant, Milton became the voice of the English Commonwealth after 1649 and then under Oliver Cromwell, conducting international correspondence and defending the government against polemical attacks from abroad.
John Milton is considered the most important English writer after William Shakespeare. Author of political pamphlets and religious treatises, he is one of the most famous writers of the 1650s, the vibrant era of the English Revolution (Civil War).
Publius Ovidius Naso, known as Ovidius (Ovid), was an ancient Roman poet who lived during the reign of Emperor Augustus.
Most of the information about the life and work of Ovid, scholars have drawn from his own works, as well as from the works of Seneca the Elder and Marcus Fabius Quintilianus. Ovid was from a fairly high class of "horsemen", studied rhetoric at the maestros of oratory of the ancient Roman Empire, and then went traveling, visiting Athens, Asia Minor and Sicily. As a young man, Ovid held minor public offices, was a member of the college of civil affairs, and served in an office that performed spiritual and secular duties at the state level.
However, Ovid was much more attracted to poetry, and he resigned and about 29-25 BC joined the circle of those chosen under the patronage of Marcus Valerius Messala Corvinus. After publishing Amores, a collection of love-erotic lyrics, around 15-16 BC, Ovid became one of Rome's most popular poets. He became famous for his works in the genre of elegy, as well as for his epic poem Metamorphoses (8 AD), which became one of the most important sources in the study of classical mythology.
For reasons unknown to us, in 8 A.D. Ovid was disgraced and exiled for the rest of his life to Tomes on the Black Sea, where he wrote his "Mournful Elegies" and a poem cycle entitled "Letters from Pontus". A contemporary of Virgil and Horace, Ovid was one of the three canonical representatives of Latin literature.