Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci April (15, 1452 -- May 2, 1519), was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance Man, a man of "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination".
He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived. According to art historian Helen Gardner, the scope and depth of his interests were without precedent and "his mind and personality seem to us superhuman, the man himself mysterious and remote". Marco Rosci points out, however, that while there is much speculation about Leonardo, his vision of the world is essentially logical rather than mysterious, and that the empirical methods he employed were unusual for his time.
Leonardo was and is renowned primarily as a painter. Among his works, the Mona Lisa is the most famous and most parodied portrait and The Last Supper the most reproduced religious painting of all time, with their fame approached only by Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam. Leonardo's drawing of the Vitruvian Man is also regarded as a cultural icon, being reproduced on items as varied as the euro, textbooks, and T-shirts. Perhaps fifteen of his paintings survive, the small number because of his constant, and frequently disastrous, experimentation with new techniques, and his chronic procrastination. Nevertheless, these few works, together with his notebooks, which contain drawings, scientific diagrams, and his thoughts on the nature of painting, compose a contribution to later generations of artists only rivalled by that of his contemporary, Michelangelo.
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci April (15 de abril de 1452 - 2 de mayo de 1519), fue un hombre polifacetico del renacimiento italiano: pintor, escultor, arquitecto, músico, cientifico, matematico, ingeniero, inventor, anatomista, geologo, cartografo, botanico y escritor cuyos Genio, tal vez mas que cualquier otra figura, personifico el ideal humanista del Renacimiento. Leonardo ha sido a menudo descrito como el arquetipo del hombre del Renacimiento, un hombre de "curiosidad inextinguible" y "imaginacion febrilmente inventiva".
El es ampliamente considerado como uno de los mas grandes pintores de todos los tiempos y tal vez la persona mas diversa y talentosa que haya vivido. Segun la historiadora del arte Helen Gardner: El alcance y la profundidad de sus intereses eran sin precedentes y "su mente y personalidad nos parecen superhumanas, un hombre misterioso y remoto". Marco Rosci apunta, sin embargo, que aunque hay muchas especulaciones acerca de Leonardo, su vision del mundo es esencialmente mas logica que misteriosa, y que los metodos empiricos que empleo eran inusuales para su tiempo.
Leonardo fue y es conocido principalmente como pintor. Entre sus obras, la Mona Lisa es el retrato mas famoso y mas parodiado y La Ultima Cena, la pintura religiosa mas reproducida de todos los tiempos, con su fama solo abordada por La Creacion de Adan de Miguel Angel. El dibujo de Leonardo del Hombre de Vitruvio tambien es considerado como un icono cultural, reproduciendose en articulos tan variados como el euro, los libros de texto y las camisetas. Tal vez quince de sus cuadros sobreviven, debido a su constante, y a menudo desastrosa, experimentacion con nuevas tecnicas, y su dilacion cronica. Sin embargo, estas pocas obras, junto con sus cuadernos, que contienen dibujos, diagramas cientificos y sus pensamientos sobre la naturaleza de la pintura, componen una contribucion a generaciones posteriores de artistas que solo rivalizan con la de su contemporaneo, Miguel Angel.
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Johannes, Jan or Johan Vermeer (1632 - December 1675) was a Dutch painter who specialized in exquisite, domestic interior scenes of middle class life. Vermeer was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime.
He seems never to have been particularly wealthy, leaving his wife and children in debt at his death, perhaps because he produced relatively few paintings. Vermeer worked slowly and with great care, using bright colours and sometimes expensive pigments, with a preference for cornflower blue and yellow.
He is particularly renowned for his masterly treatment and use of light in his work. Vermeer painted mostly domestic interior scenes. As Koning points out: "Almost all his paintings are apparently set in two smallish rooms in his house in Delft; they show the same furniture and decorations in various arrangements and they often portray the same people, mostly women".
Recognized during his lifetime in Delft and The Hague, his modest celebrity gave way to obscurity after his death; he was barely mentioned in Arnold Houbraken's major source book on 17th century Dutch painting (Grand Theatre of Dutch Painters and Women Artists), and was thus omitted from subsequent surveys of Dutch art for nearly two centuries. In the 19th century Vermeer was rediscovered by Gustav Friedrich Waagen and Th?ophile Thor?-B?rger, who published an essay attributing sixty-six pictures to him, although only thirty-four paintings are universally attributed to him today. Since that time Vermeer's reputation has grown, and he is now acknowledged as one of the greatest painters of the Dutch Golden Age.
Johannes, Jan o Johan Vermeer (1632 - diciembre de 1675) fue un pintor holandes que se especializo en exquisitas escenas domesticas interiores de la vida de clase media. Vermeer fue un pintor provincial de genero moderadamente exitoso en su vida.
Parece que nunca ha sido particularmente rico, dejando a su esposa ya sus hijos endeudados a su muerte, tal vez porque produjo relativamente pocas pinturas. Vermeer trabajo lentamente y con gran cuidado, utilizando colores brillantes y pigmentos a veces caros, con una preferencia por el azul y el amarillo.
El es particularmente famoso por su tratamiento magistral y el uso de la luz en su trabajo. Vermeer pinto escenas domesticas de interiores. Como lo sapunta Koning: "Casi todas sus pinturas estan aparentemente colocadas en dos habitaciones modestas de su casa en Delft, muestran los mismos muebles y decoraciones en diversos arreglos y suelen retratar a las mismas personas, en su mayoria mujeres".
Reconocido durante su vida en Delft y La Haya, su modesta celebridad dio paso a la oscuridad luego de su muerte; Apenas se mencionado en el libro principal de Arnold Houbraken sobre la pintura holandesa del siglo XVII (Gran Teatro de pintores y artistas femeninos holandeses) y, por lo tanto, omitido en las encuestas posteriores del arte holandes durante casi dos siglos. En el siglo XIX Vermeer fue redescubierto por Gustav Friedrich Waagen y Thophile Thor-Burger, que publico un ensayo que le atribuyo sesenta y seis cuadros, aunque solo se le atribuyen actualmente 34 pinturas universales. Desde entonces, la reputacion de Vermeer ha crecido, y ahora es reconocido como uno de los mas grandes pintores de la Edad de Oro holandesa.
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Jacques-Louis David (30 August 1748 -- 29 December 1825) was an influential French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in taste away from Rococo frivolity toward a classical austerity and severity, heightened feeling
chiming with the moral climate of the final years of the Ancien Regime.
David later became an active supporter of the French Revolution and friend of Maximilien Robespierre (1758 - 1794), and was effectively a dictator of the arts under the French Republic. Imprisoned after Robespierre's fall from power, he aligned himself with yet another political regime upon his release, that of Napoleon I. It was at this time that he developed his Empire style, notable for its use of warm Venetian colours. David had a huge number of pupils, making him the strongest influence in French art of the early 19th century, especially academic Salon painting.
Jacques-Louis David (30 de agosto de 1748 - 29 de diciembre de 1825) fue un influyente pintor frances de estilo neoclasico, considerado el pintor mas destacado de la epoca. En la decada de 1780, su marca cerebral de la pintura de la historia marco un cambio de gusto, lejos de la frivolidad del Rococo, hacia una austeridad y una severidad clasicas, un sentimiento intensificado que resono con el clima moral de los ultimos momentos del Antiguo Regimen.
David se convirtió mas tarde en un activo partidario de la Revolucion Francesa y amigo de Maximilien Robespierre (1758 - 1794), fue efectivamente un dictador de las artes bajo la Republica Francesa. Encarcelado despues de la caida de Robespierre del poder, se alineo con otro regimen politico despues de su liberacion, el de Napoleón I. Fue en este momento que desarrollo su estilo Imperio, notable por su uso de calidos colores venecianos. David tuvo un gran numero de alumnos, lo que le hizo la influencia más fuerte en el arte frances de principios del siglo XIX, especialmente la pintura academica de Salon.
