pictorial art
René Boylesve, birth name René Marie Auguste Tardiveau, is a French writer and literary critic, a member of the Académie Française.
Boylesve was educated at Poitiers, Tours, and Paris, studying humanities and fine arts, natural sciences, and law. Ten years later, under his mother's maiden name, he wrote his first novel, The Physician of the Lady of Nean (1894). These were followed by other books, and then came the series known as the "Touraine novels": "Mademoiselle Cloke" (1899), "Beke" (1901), "The Child at the Balustrade" (1903), "The Educated Girl" (1909) and others. In these works, the author expertly depicts the mores of the provincial petty bourgeoisie. With a richly detailed style and characteristic irony Boylesve tells about the triumph of conventional values over artistic and spiritual aspirations.
In 1918 René Boylesve was elected a member of the French Academy.
Giovanni (Gio) Ponti was an Italian architect, industrial designer, furniture designer, artist, teacher, writer and publisher.
Samuel Johannes Holland was a Dutch-born British military engineer, surveyor and cartographer, and the first Inspector General of British North America.
He began his military career in 1745 in the Dutch artillery, moving to England in 1754 and becoming a lieutenant in the Royal American Army. In early 1756 Holland traveled with the British army to North America, where he created the first maps of New York State, worked as a military engineer, surveyed Louisbourg, Halifax, and Fort Fredericton, and participated in the siege of Quebec in 1759.
In 1764 Holland was appointed inspector general of the Northern District of North America and was appointed to the Quebec Council. From 1764 to 1767, he surveyed Prince Edward Island, the Madeleine Islands, and Cape Breton. He then mapped the northeast coast for the British army and helped negotiate provincial and state boundaries in the northeast. In 1779, Samuel Holland was appointed a member of the Legislative Council of Quebec and continued to serve as Inspector General for the rest of his life.
Jan Siberechts was a Flemish landscape painter whose career spanned both his native land and England. Initially, Siberechts developed a personal style of landscape painting in Antwerp, emphasizing Flemish countryside and country life. His work was influenced by Dutch Italianate landscape painters such as Nicolaes Berchem and Karel Dujardin, reflecting a blend of local and Italianate elements. This phase of his career was marked by vivid depictions of the Flemish rural life, with robust country girls in bright attire becoming a signature motif of his paintings.
Siberechts moved to England around 1672, where he significantly contributed to the English landscape tradition. In England, he painted decorations for the Duke's Cliveden House and later, traveled extensively, completing commissions for aristocratic clients. His English landscapes maintained their Flemish character but also started to focus more on universal themes, with less emphasis on figures and more on the scenery itself. These works are characterized by powerful trees, soft light on distant hills, and a relatively dark foreground to highlight the illuminated vistas in the background.
Siberechts is credited as the 'father of British landscape' for his pioneering country house portraits, blending detailed naturalistic views of stately homes into atmospheric landscapes. This innovative approach had a lasting influence on English landscape painting. His work, such as the views of Longleat and the Belsize Estate, represents an important step in the development of topographical painting, merging Flemish influences with the emerging English landscape tradition.
For collectors and experts in art and antiques, Siberechts' oeuvre offers a unique window into the transnational flow of artistic ideas in the 17th century, blending Flemish traditions with the nascent English landscape genre. His paintings, celebrated for their detail and historical topographical interest, can be found in prestigious collections such as the Tate Gallery London and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
For updates on exhibitions, sales, and auction events related to Jan Siberechts' work, art enthusiasts are encouraged to sign up for dedicated newsletters. This ensures that they remain informed about the latest opportunities to explore and appreciate the contributions of this influential Flemish artist to the landscape painting genre.
William Shakespeare was a British poet and playwright and writer.
William's father, John Shakespeare, was a merchant and official in Stratford. There are reports that he was a sailor for a time before joining a theater company in London. Beginning in the 1590s, Shakespeare began writing plays, and in 1593 he published a poem, Venus and Adonis, which became popular. He dedicated it to the Duke of Southampton, who was a philanthropist and patron of talent, and soon his business was booming.
From 1592 to 1600 Shakespeare wrote his dramas and romantic comedies "Richard III", "The Taming of the Shrew", "Romeo and Juliet", "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Merchant of Venice", as well as the comedies "Much Ado About Nothing", "Twelfth Night" and the tragedy "Julius Caesar". The playwright's business was so successful that he even bought a large house in Stratford. In 1599, Shakespeare became one of the owners, playwright and actor of the new theater "Globe". In 1603 King James took Shakespeare's troupe under his direct patronage. In the mature period, the great playwright turned to tragedies, there were "Hamlet", "Othello", "King Lear", "Macbeth" and others.
Although in the 19th century researchers had some doubts about the authorship of many of these works, William Shakespeare is considered the greatest English playwright, one of the best playwrights in the world. His plays have been translated into all major languages and to this day form the basis of the world theatrical repertoire, most of them have been screened many times. According to the Guinness Book of Records, Shakespeare remains the world's best-selling playwright, and his plays and poems have sold more than 4 billion copies in the nearly 400 years since his death.
William Shakespeare was a British poet and playwright and writer.
William's father, John Shakespeare, was a merchant and official in Stratford. There are reports that he was a sailor for a time before joining a theater company in London. Beginning in the 1590s, Shakespeare began writing plays, and in 1593 he published a poem, Venus and Adonis, which became popular. He dedicated it to the Duke of Southampton, who was a philanthropist and patron of talent, and soon his business was booming.
From 1592 to 1600 Shakespeare wrote his dramas and romantic comedies "Richard III", "The Taming of the Shrew", "Romeo and Juliet", "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Merchant of Venice", as well as the comedies "Much Ado About Nothing", "Twelfth Night" and the tragedy "Julius Caesar". The playwright's business was so successful that he even bought a large house in Stratford. In 1599, Shakespeare became one of the owners, playwright and actor of the new theater "Globe". In 1603 King James took Shakespeare's troupe under his direct patronage. In the mature period, the great playwright turned to tragedies, there were "Hamlet", "Othello", "King Lear", "Macbeth" and others.
Although in the 19th century researchers had some doubts about the authorship of many of these works, William Shakespeare is considered the greatest English playwright, one of the best playwrights in the world. His plays have been translated into all major languages and to this day form the basis of the world theatrical repertoire, most of them have been screened many times. According to the Guinness Book of Records, Shakespeare remains the world's best-selling playwright, and his plays and poems have sold more than 4 billion copies in the nearly 400 years since his death.