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Oswald Achenbach was a German painter associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Though little known today, during his lifetime he was counted among the most important landscape painters of Europe. Through his teaching activities, he influenced the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. His brother, Andreas Achenbach, who was twelve years older, was also among the most important German landscape painters of the 19th century. The two brothers were humorously called "the A and O of Landscapes" (a reference to their initials matching a common German reference to the Alpha and Omega).
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, a Dutch Baroque painter and printmaker, was born on July 15, 1606, in Leiden, Netherlands, and died on October 4, 1669, in Amsterdam. He is celebrated as one of the greatest storytellers in art history, acclaimed for his adept portrayal of human emotions and dramatic narratives. Rembrandt's extensive oeuvre includes portraits, self-portraits, landscapes, genre scenes, allegorical, historical, and biblical themes, as well as animal studies. His artistry shined during the Dutch Golden Age, a period marked by cultural and scientific achievements in the Netherlands.
Rembrandt's education in art began around the age of 10 when he left the Latin School in Leiden to train as an artist. He apprenticed with artists like Jacob van Swanenburg and Pieter Lastman, mastering various aspects of painting. He opened his own studio in Leiden around 1624 or 1625, sharing it with his colleague Jan Lievens. By 1631, he had moved to Amsterdam, where he achieved significant success and trained many important Dutch painters.
Among Rembrandt's notable works are "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp" (1632), "The Night Watch" (1642), and "The Syndics of the Amsterdam Drapers’ Guild" (1662). He was also renowned for his self-portraits, creating around 80 over his lifetime, more than any other artist until the 20th century. These self-portraits were not just artistic endeavors but also experiments with facial expressions and lighting effects. Additionally, Rembrandt was a master etcher, transforming etching from a reproductive technique into an art form.
Rembrandt's painting style is characterized by its dramatic use of light and shadow, known as chiaroscuro. His ability to depict materials realistically was unparalleled; his portrayal of metals and fabrics was so lifelike that they appeared to glow and be tangible. He was also known for his impasto technique, applying paint thickly to the canvas, adding a three-dimensional quality to his works.
Despite his artistic prowess, Rembrandt faced financial difficulties and personal tragedies throughout his life. He declared bankruptcy in 1656, a downfall attributed partly to his extensive collection of art objects and curiosities. His masterpieces, however, continued to garner appreciation and influence generations of artists that followed.
For collectors and experts in art and antiques, Rembrandt's works represent a pinnacle of artistic achievement in the Dutch Golden Age. His mastery in portraying the human condition and his innovative techniques in painting and etching make his works highly prized and influential in the art world.
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John White Alexander was an American portrait, figure, and decorative painter and illustrator.
Maurice Brazil Prendergast was an American post-Impressionist painter known for the vibrant and saturated colors he used in his work, mostly in the genre of landscape and urban life. In 1886 Prendergast moved to Paris, where he studied at the École Julien under the tutelage of the masters of Impressionism, including Paul Cézanne, who had a great influence on Prendergast's style.
After his return to the United States in 1891, Prendergast became a popularizer of Impressionism in the United States. His work became brighter and more saturated in color than other American artists of the time, and he began to use a dotted style similar to the technique of divisionism. His paintings became similar to tapestries or mosaics.
Prendergast became a member of a group of artists known as the Founders of American Art, who advocated the use of bright and saturated colors instead of the muted and earthy tones adopted in traditional American art. Prendergast left behind a legacy that laid the foundation for the development of Post-Impressionism and Modernism in American art.
Karl Gussow or Carl Gussow was a German realist painter of the 19th century.
Gussow began his painting studies at the Saxon Art School in Weimar and traveled to Italy. He later worked with the Belgian painter-historian Ferdinand Pauwels, who greatly influenced his style.
Gussow was active as a genre and portrait painter. Over time, his work became characterized by an almost photographic realism, which was not only admired but also criticized, as it was a completely new direction.
Karl Gussow lived in Karlsruhe and Berlin, where he maintained a private ladies' studio, later founding another private painting school. He obtained a position at the Karlsruhe Academy of Fine Arts, also worked at the Prussian Academy of Fine Arts and taught at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts.
Martin Johnson Heade was an American painter known for his salt marsh landscapes, seascapes, and depictions of tropical birds (such as hummingbirds), as well as lotus blossoms and other still lifes. His painting style and subject matter, while derived from the romanticism of the time, are regarded by art historians as a significant departure from those of his peers.
William Rothenstein was an English painter, printmaker, draughtsman, lecturer, and writer on art. Emerging during the early 1890s, Rothenstein continued to make art right up until his death. Though he covered many subjects – ranging from landscapes in France to representations of Jewish synagogues in London – he is perhaps best known for his work as a war artist in both world wars, his portraits, and his popular memoirs, written in the 1930s. More than two hundred of Rothenstein's portraits of famous people can be found in the National Portrait Gallery collection. The Tate Gallery also holds a large collection of his paintings, prints and drawings. Rothenstein served as Principal at the Royal College of Art from 1920 to 1935. He was knighted in 1931 for his services to art.
Emanuel Leutze was an American and German painter of the mid-nineteenth century. He is known as a painter who worked in the historical genre and is considered a representative of the Düsseldorf School of painting.
Emanuel Leutze was born in Germany and moved to America at the age of nine. He received his art education in Philadelphia, then, returning to Germany, at the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts. His most famous painting, "Washington Crossing the Delaware," was painted in his native country, with views of the Delaware River taken from Rhenish landscapes. Returning to the United States in 1859, the artist decorated the Washington Capitol with his historical paintings. His work is highly regarded in America for its patriotic orientation.
In Germany, Leutze was one of the founders of the Association of Artists "Malkasten", the Association of German Artists, headed the Union of Mutual Aid of Düsseldorf artists.
Paul Decker the Younger was a German painter and engraver.
He created engravings of biblical subjects, architectural landscapes and battle scenes.
The Besançon illuminator was a French miniaturist painter from Besançon who worked in that city in the 1440s-1470s, decorating mainly the Books of Hours.
