smallest detail
Riddles “Pilgrimage to the island of Kythira” Watteau: Why the artist renamed the painting
On Saturday, August 28, 1717, Antoine Watteau presented a painting for which he was admitted to the French Academy. The canvas depicting a gallant celebration quickly received the approval of its members and gave birth to a new genre in painting of the era. But then something went wrong, in any case, the artist changed the name of his canvas.
Antoine Watteau, the French Rococo artist and founder of the” gallant festival”, made the main object of his painting the love island of Greek mythology, visible in the background and inhabited by countless cupids. Continue reading
What secrets about the young virgin Mary revealed by a medieval artist:” the Boyhood of our lady ” by Surbaran
“The boyhood of the mother of God” is a painting by Francisco de Surbaran from 1658-1660, now in the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg. An ordinary Spanish girl is actually a prototype of the young mother of God. And the prototype of the portrait was the artist’s daughter.
About the artist
Francisco de Surbaran (baptised 7 November 1598-27 August 1664) was a Spanish artist known for his religious paintings of monks, nuns and martyrs, as well as still lifes. Surbaran earned the nickname “Spanish Caravaggio” due to the powerful and realistic use of chiaroscuro. This is a unique artist, deeply original, whose work is connected with all the roots of Spain. Continue reading
An artist from the Russian hinterland writes extraordinary paintings that are difficult to distinguish from coinage
Today, the visual arts, as never before, have an unlimited degree of freedom in the choice of themes, ideas, designs, and artistic means. However, not many masters manage to surprise the viewer with their non-standard and harmonious combination of form and content. About one talented artist from Bryansk, who managed to achieve this in full – our today’s review. And how vividly and interestingly Sergey Kustarev embodied his idea of imitating three-dimensional coinage through oil painting-you, our readers, can judge. Continue reading