pop culture
Thomas Bayrle is a contemporary German conceptual artist.
William Nelson Copley was an American painter, writer, gallerist, collector, patron, publisher and art entrepreneur. His works as an artist have been classified as late Surrealist and precursory to Pop Art.
John Wesley was an American painter, known for idiosyncratic figurative works of eros and humor, rendered in a precise, hard-edged, deadpan style. Wesley's art largely remained true to artistic premises that he established in the 1960s: a comic-strip style of flat shapes, delicate black outline, a limited matte palette of saturated colors, and elegant, pared-down compositions. His characteristic subjects included cavorting nymphs, nudes, infants and animals, pastoral and historical scenes, and 1950s comic strip characters in humorously blasphemous, ambiguous scenarios of forbidden desire, rage or despair.
Jeffrey Lynn Koons is an American artist recognized for his work dealing with popular culture and his sculptures depicting everyday objects, including balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror-finish surfaces. He lives and works in both New York City and his hometown of York, Pennsylvania. His works have sold for substantial sums, including at least two record auction prices for a work by a living artist: US$58.4 million for Balloon Dog (Orange) in 2013 and US$91.1 million for Rabbit in 2019.
Critics are sharply divided in their views of Koons. Some view his work as pioneering and of major art-historical importance. Others dismiss his work as kitsch, crass, and based on cynical self-merchandising. Koons has stated that there are no hidden meanings and critiques in his works.
Werner Berges is a contemporary German artist and graphic artist, a representative of Pop Art.
Typical of him are bright colours and sharp outlines, the use of spot painting and the strips that give his works the character of reproductions. The heroes of his paintings are pop and film stars, advertising types of women and photo-models, whose erotic poses and captivating glances Werner Berges emphasizes with a powerful combination of colours, points, stripes and collage. At the core of his drawing is a "graphic framework" that exists independently of the overlay of colours on the canvas. The artist tries to show himself to be completely independent and impartial about what he has created and only signs his work on the back of the canvas.
Zhang Xiaogang (Chinese: 张晓刚, pinyin Zhāng Xiǎogāng) is a famous contemporary Chinese surrealist painter and sculptor. He gained his literary youth during the Cultural Revolution in China, which has had a profound influence on his work. Among his best-known works are his series of paintings entitled Ancestry, Amnesia and Memory, and Tiananmen Square. Since 1997 his works have been exhibited in New York, Paris, Tokyo, Prague and other cities.
Jean-Léon Gérôme was a prominent 19th-century French painter, a representative of the academic school of painting. His paintings are notable for their impeccable composition and exquisite colour palette.
Jean-Léon Gérôme did not accept the work of the Impressionists, whom he considered to be the ignominy of French art. This has earned him a controversial reputation as a fierce supporter of academism and a persecutor of new movements.
Philip Guston, born Phillip Goldstein, was a Canadian American artist, muralist, printmaker and draftsman. He was one of the most important exponents of abstract expressionism. He is considered a forerunner of the New Figurative Painting.
Philip Gaston was a member of the New York School, which included many representatives of abstract expressionism, such as Jackson Pollock and Willem De Kooning.
Philip Guston, born Phillip Goldstein, was a Canadian American artist, muralist, printmaker and draftsman. He was one of the most important exponents of abstract expressionism. He is considered a forerunner of the New Figurative Painting.
Philip Gaston was a member of the New York School, which included many representatives of abstract expressionism, such as Jackson Pollock and Willem De Kooning.
William Dunlap was an American playwright, theater director, artist, and historian.
William Dunlap was a pioneer of the young country's theater. He directed two of New York City's earliest and most famous theaters, the John Street Theater and the Theater in the Park. During his lifetime he directed over sixty plays, most of which were adaptations or translations of French and German works. But among them were some original ones based on American themes with American characters.
In 1832 Dunlap published A History of the American Theater in two volumes. In 1825, Dunlap co-founded the National Academy of Design and taught at its school. Even today, Dunlap is best known for his encyclopedic three-volume History of the Origin and Progress of the Art of Design in the United States. The book was published in 1834 and is now an invaluable source of information about artists, collecting, and artistic endeavors in the country of that historical period.
Cy Twombly, birth name Edwin Parker Twombly, was an American artist renowned for his contributions to painting, sculpture, and photography. Embracing a unique blend of classical references and graffiti-like elements, Twombly's work stands out in the art world for its distinctive, emotive scribbles and use of historical and literary themes. His art, often categorized within the realms of Abstract Expressionism and minimalism, diverges significantly in its lyrical sensitivity and intellectual depth, making it a subject of fascination and study among art collectors and experts.
Twombly's career, which spanned over six decades, was marked by a relentless pursuit of innovation and an intimate engagement with the materials of his art. His paintings, characterized by their gestural brushstrokes and cryptic symbols, evoke a range of emotions and ideas, bridging the gap between the personal and the universal. Notable works such as "Fifty Days at Iliam" displayed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and his series inspired by the seasons, showcase his ability to transform classical narratives into contemporary masterpieces. These pieces not only reflect Twombly's profound understanding of history and literature but also his capacity to reinterpret them within a modern context.
Furthermore, Twombly's sculptures, often overlooked next to his paintings, provide a tangible connection to the ancient world through their use of classical forms and unconventional materials. His work in this medium further emphasizes his fascination with the past, while simultaneously asserting the relevance of historical themes in contemporary art.
For collectors and experts in art and antiques, Cy Twombly's oeuvre represents an intriguing blend of poetic grace and intellectual rigor. His works, found in major museums and galleries worldwide, continue to inspire and challenge audiences with their enigmatic beauty and depth.
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Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian humanist scholar, writer and poet of the Early Renaissance.
Boccaccio was the son of a Tuscan merchant who sent him to Naples to study business and law. Giovanni revolved in aristocratic circles there and became acquainted with Petrarch's work. In Naples he wrote his first works of poetry, raising the poetry of Italian minstrelsy to literature. Returning to Florence in 1341, Boccaccio, in addition to the famous book of witty short stories "Decameron" (1348-1353), created many poems, allegories and prose works.
In 1350 at Bocaccio's house in Florence, he met Petrarch, which developed into a friendship. In the last years of his life he concentrated on scholarly works in Latin, including writing De montibus, silvis, fontibus, lacubus..., - this alphabetical list of mountains, forests, rivers and lakes was based on the writings of ancient poets. His other Latin works include the philosophical and historical De claris mulieribus (a collection of biographies of famous women, 1360-74) and De casibus virorum illustrium (On the Fates of Famous Men, 1355-74).
Giovanni Boccaccio had a significant influence on the development of all European culture through his work. Together with Petrarch, he laid the foundations of Renaissance humanism and raised popular literature to the level and status of the ancient classics.