If you think that all great artists are in the past, then you have no idea how wrong you are. In this article, you will learn about the most famous and talented artists modernity. And, believe me, their works will sit in your memory no less deeply than the works of the maestro from past eras.
Wojciech Babski
Wojciech Babski - modern Polish artist. He graduated from the Silesian Polytechnic Institute, but connected himself with. Lately he has been painting mostly women. Focuses on the manifestation of emotions, seeks to obtain the greatest possible effect by simple means.
Loves color, but often uses shades of black and gray to achieve the best impression. Not afraid to experiment with new techniques. Recently, he has been gaining more and more popularity abroad, mainly in the UK, where he successfully sells his works, which can already be found in many private collections. In addition to art, he is interested in cosmology and philosophy. Listens to jazz. Currently lives and works in Katowice.
Warren Chang
Warren Chang - modern American artist. Born in 1957 and raised in Monterey, California, he graduated with honors from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena in 1981 with a bachelor's degree. fine arts in area . For the next two decades, he worked as an illustrator for various companies in California and New York before starting his career as a professional artist in 2009.
His realistic paintings can be divided into two main categories: biographical interior paintings and paintings depicting working people. His interest in this style of painting is rooted in the work of the 16th-century painter Jan Vermeer, and extends to objects, self-portraits, portraits of family members, friends, students, studio, classroom and home interiors. Its purpose is to realistic paintings create mood and emotion through light manipulation and the use of muted colors.
Chang became famous after the transition to traditional visual arts. Over the past 12 years, he has earned numerous awards and honors, the most prestigious being the Master Signature from the Oil Painters of America, the largest oil painting community in the United States. Only one person out of 50 is honored with the opportunity to receive this award. Currently, Warren lives in Monterey and works in his studio, he also teaches (known as a talented teacher) at the San Francisco Academy of the Arts.
Aurelio Bruni
Aurelio Bruni is an Italian artist. Born in Blair, October 15, 1955. Graduated with a degree in scenography from the Art Institute in Spoleto. As an artist, he is self-taught, as he independently “built the house of knowledge” on the foundation laid back in school. He began painting in oils at the age of 19. Currently lives and works in Umbria.
Bruni's early painting is rooted in surrealism, but over time he begins to focus on the closeness of lyrical romanticism and symbolism, reinforcing this combination with the exquisite sophistication and purity of his characters. Animate and inanimate objects acquire equal dignity and look almost hyper-realistic, but at the same time, they do not hide behind a curtain, but allow you to see the essence of your soul. Versatility and sophistication, sensuality and loneliness, thoughtfulness and fruitfulness are the spirit of Aurelio Bruni, nourished by the splendor of art and the harmony of music.
Aleksander Balos
Alkasandr Balos is a contemporary Polish artist specializing in oil painting. Born in 1970 in Gliwice, Poland, but since 1989 he has been living and working in the USA, in the city of Shasta, California.
As a child, he studied art under the guidance of his father Jan, a self-taught artist and sculptor, so from early age, artistic activity received full support from both parents. In 1989, at the age of eighteen, Balos left Poland for the United States, where his schoolteacher and part-time artist Cathy Gaggliardi encouraged Alcasander to enroll in art school. Balos then received a full scholarship to the University of Milwaukee Wisconsin, where he studied painting with philosophy professor Harry Rosin.
After completing his studies in 1995 with a bachelor's degree, Balos moved to Chicago to study at the School of Fine Arts, whose methods are based on the work of Jacques-Louis David. figurative realism and portrait painting were most works of Balos in the 90s and early 2000s. Today, Balos uses the human figure to highlight features and show imperfections. human being without offering any solutions.
The plot compositions of his paintings are intended to be independently interpreted by the viewer, only then the canvases will acquire their true temporal and subjective meaning. In 2005, the artist moved to Northern California, since then the scope of his work has expanded significantly and now includes freer methods of painting, including abstraction and various multimedia styles that help express the ideas and ideals of being through painting.
Alyssa Monks
Alyssa Monks - modern American artist. She was born in 1977 in Ridgewood, New Jersey. She became interested in painting when she was still a child. Studied at the New School in New York and State University Montclair, and graduated from Boston College in 1999, received a bachelor's degree. At the same time, she studied painting at the academy Lorenzo Medici in Florence.
Then she continued her studies under the program for a master's degree at the New York Academy of Art, in the Department of Figurative Art, graduating in 2001. She graduated from Fullerton College in 2006. For some time she lectured at universities and educational institutions throughout the country, teaching painting at the New York Academy of Art, as well as Montclair State University and Lyme Academy College of Art.
“Using filters such as glass, vinyl, water and steam, I distort the human body. These filters allow you to create large areas abstract design, with islands of color peeking through them - parts of the human body.
My paintings change the modern look at the already established, traditional poses and gestures of bathing women. They could tell an attentive viewer a lot about such seemingly self-evident things as the benefits of swimming, dancing, and so on. My characters are pressed against the glass of the shower cabin window, distorting their own body, realizing that they thereby influence the notorious male look at a naked woman. Thick layers of paint are mixed together to mimic glass, steam, water and flesh from afar. However, up close, delightful physical properties oil paint. By experimenting with layers of paint and color, I find the moment when abstract strokes become something else.
When I first started painting the human body, I was immediately fascinated and even obsessed with it and felt that I had to make my paintings as realistic as possible. I "professed" realism until it began to unravel and deconstruct itself. Now I am exploring the possibilities and potential of a style of painting where representational painting and abstraction meet – if both styles can coexist at the same moment in time, I will do it.”
Antonio Finelli
Italian artist - time watcher” – Antonio Finelli was born on February 23, 1985. Currently lives and works in Italy between Rome and Campobasso. His works have been exhibited in several galleries in Italy and abroad: Rome, Florence, Novara, Genoa, Palermo, Istanbul, Ankara, New York, and they can also be found in private and public collections.
Pencil drawings " Watcher of time” Antonio Finelli send us on an eternal journey through inner world human temporality and the rigorous analysis of this world associated with it, the main element of which is the passage through time and the traces it causes on the skin.
Finelli paints portraits of people of any age, gender and nationality, whose facial expressions indicate the passage through time, and the artist also hopes to find evidence of the ruthlessness of time on the bodies of his characters. Antonio defines his works as one, common name: “Self-portrait”, because in his pencil drawings he not only depicts a person, but allows the viewer to contemplate real results passage of time within a person.
Flaminia Carloni
Flaminia Carloni is a 37-year-old Italian artist, the daughter of a diplomat. She has three children. Twelve years she lived in Rome, three years in England and France. Received a degree in art history from the BD School of Art. Then she received a diploma in the specialty restorer of works of art. Before finding her calling and devoting herself entirely to painting, she worked as a journalist, colorist, designer, and actress.
Flaminia's passion for painting arose as a child. Her main medium is oil because she loves “coiffer la pate” and also plays with the material. She learned a similar technique in the works of the artist Pascal Torua. Flaminia is inspired by the great masters of painting such as Balthus, Hopper, and François Legrand, as well as various artistic movements: street art, Chinese realism, surrealism and renaissance realism. Her favorite artist is Caravaggio. Her dream is to discover the therapeutic power of art.
Denis Chernov
Denis Chernov is talented Ukrainian artist, was born in 1978 in Sambir, Lviv region, Ukraine. After graduating from Kharkov art school in 1998 he stayed in Kharkov, where he currently lives and works. He also studied at Kharkov state academy design and arts, department of graphics, graduated in 2004.
He regularly participates in art exhibitions, on this moment there were more than sixty of them, both in Ukraine and abroad. Most of Denis Chernov's works are kept in private collections in Ukraine, Russia, Italy, England, Spain, Greece, France, USA, Canada and Japan. Some of the works were sold at Christie's.
Denis works in a wide range of graphics and painting techniques. Pencil drawings are one of his favorite painting methods, the list of topics of his pencil drawings is also very diverse, he paints landscapes, portraits, nudes, genre compositions, book illustrations, literary and historical reconstructions and fantasies.
Today we present to your attention twenty paintings that are worthy of attention and recognition. These pictures were painted famous artists, and they should be known not only by the person who is engaged in art, but also by ordinary mortal people, since art paints our life, aesthetics deepens our view of the world. Give art its due place in your life...
1. "The Last Supper". Leonardo Da Vinci, 1495 - 1498
Monumental painting by Leonardo da Vinci depicting the scene of the last meal of Christ with his disciples. Created in the years 1495-1498 in the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.
The painting was commissioned by Leonardo from his patron, Duke Lodovico Sforza and his wife Beatrice d'Este. The coat of arms of Sforza is painted on the lunettes above the painting, formed by a ceiling with three arches. The painting was begun in 1495 and completed in 1498; work was intermittent. The date of commencement of work is not exact, because "the archives of the monastery were destroyed, and an insignificant part of the documents that we have dated 1497, when the painting was almost completed."
The painting became a milestone in the history of the Renaissance: the correctly reproduced depth of perspective changed the direction of development of Western painting.
It is believed that many secrets and hints are hidden in this picture - for example, there is an assumption that the images of Jesus and Judas are written off from one person. When Da Vinci painted the picture, in his vision, Jesus personified goodness, while Judas was pure evil. And when the master found “his Judas” (a drunkard from the street), it turned out that, according to historians, this drunkard had served as a prototype for painting the image of Jesus a few years before. Thus, we can say that this picture captured a person in different periods of his life.
2. "Sunflowers". Vincent van Gogh, 1887
Title of two cycles of paintings Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. The first series was made in Paris in 1887. It is dedicated to lying flowers. The second series was completed a year later, in Arles. She depicts a bouquet of sunflowers in a vase. Two Parisian paintings were acquired by van Gogh's friend Paul Gauguin.
The artist painted sunflowers eleven times. The first four paintings were created in Paris in August-September 1887. Large cut flowers lie like some strange creatures dying before our eyes.
3. "The ninth wave". Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky?, 1850.
One of the most famous paintings Russian marine painter Ivan Aivazovsky, kept in the Russian Museum.
The painter depicts the sea after the strongest night storm and people who were shipwrecked. The rays of the sun illuminate the huge waves. The largest of them - the ninth shaft - is ready to fall on people trying to escape on the wreckage of the mast.
Despite the fact that the ship is destroyed and only the mast remains, the people on the mast are alive and continue to fight against the elements. The warm tones of the picture make the sea not so harsh and give the viewer hope that people will be saved.
Created in 1850, the painting "The Ninth Wave" immediately became the most famous of all his marinas and was acquired by Nicholas I.
4. "Nude Maja". Francisco Goya, 1797-1800
Painting Spanish artist Francisco Goya, painted around 1797-1800. Pairs with the painting "Maja dressed" (La maja vestida). The paintings depict maja - a Spanish townswoman of the 18th-19th centuries, one of the artist's favorite objects of the image. Maja Nude is one of the early works of Western art depicting a completely naked woman without mythological or negative connotations.
5. "Flight of lovers." Marc Chagall, 1914-1918
Work on the painting “Above the City” began in 1914, and the master applied the finishing touches only in 1918. During this time, Bella turned from a beloved not only into an adored spouse, but also the mother of their daughter Ida, forever becoming the main muse of the painter. The union of a rich daughter of a hereditary jeweler and a simple Jewish youth, whose father made a living by unloading herring, can only be called a misalliance, but love was stronger and overcame all conventions. It was this love that inspired them, lifting them to heaven.
Karina depicts Chagall's two loves at once - Bella and dear Vitebsk. The streets are presented in the form of houses, separated by a high dark fence. The viewer will not immediately notice a goat grazing to the left of the center of the picture, and a simple man with his pants down in the foreground - a humor from the painter, breaking out of the general context and romantic mood of the work, but this is the whole Chagall ...
6. "The face of war." Salvador Dali, 1940
Painting by Spanish artist Salvador Dali, painted in 1940.
The painting was created on the way to the USA. Impressed by the tragedy that broke out in the world, the bloodthirstiness of politicians, the master starts work on the ship. Located in the Boijmans-van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam.
Having lost all hope for a normal life in Europe, the artist leaves his beloved Paris for America. War covers the Old World and seeks to take over the rest of the world. The master does not yet know that staying in the New World for eight years will make him truly famous, and his works - masterpieces of world art.
7. "Scream". Edvard Munch, 1893
The Scream (Norwegian Skrik) is a series of paintings created between 1893 and 1910 by the Norwegian Expressionist painter Edvard Munch. They depict a human figure screaming in despair against a blood-red sky and a highly generalized landscape background. In 1895, Munch created a lithograph on the same subject.
The red, fiery hot sky covered the cold fjord, which, in turn, gives rise to a fantastic shadow, similar to a certain sea monster. Tension distorts space, lines break, colors don't match, perspective is destroyed.
Many critics believe that the plot of the picture is the fruit of a sick fantasy of a mentally ill person. Someone sees in the work a premonition of an ecological catastrophe, someone solves the question of what kind of mummy inspired the author to do this work.
8. "Girl with a pearl earring." Jan Vermeer, 1665
The painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (Dutch. "Het meisje met de parel") was written around 1665. IN given time stored in the Mauritshuis Museum, The Hague, the Netherlands, and is calling card museum. The painting, nicknamed the Dutch Mona Lisa, or Mona Lisa of the North, is written in the Tronie genre.
Thanks to the 2003 film Girl with a Pearl Earring by Peter Webber, a huge number of people who are far from painting have learned about the wonderful Dutch artist Jan Vermeer, as well as his most famous painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring.
9. "Tower of Babel". Pieter Brueghel, 1563
Famous painting by Pieter Brueghel. The artist created at least two paintings on this subject.
The painting is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
There is a story in the Bible about how the people of Babylon tried to build high tower to reach the sky, but God made them speak on various languages, ceased to understand each other, and the tower remained unfinished.
10. "Algerian women." Pablo Picasso, 1955
"Women of Algeria" - a series of 15 paintings created by Picasso in 1954-1955 based on the paintings of Eugene Delacroix; the paintings are distinguished by the letters assigned by the artist from A to O. "Version O" was written on February 14, 1955; for some time it belonged to the famous American art collector of the 20th century, Victor Ganz.
Pablo Picasso's "Women of Algiers (version O)" was sold for $180 million.
11. "New planet". Konstantin Yuon, 1921
Russian Soviet painter, master of landscape, theater artist art theorist. Academician of the Academy of Arts of the USSR. People's Artist THE USSR. Laureate Stalin Prize first degree. Member of the CPSU since 1951.
This amazing, created in 1921 and not at all characteristic of the realist artist Yuon, the painting “New Planet” is one of the brightest works that embodied the image of the changes that in the second decade of the 20th century became October Revolution. New system, a new way and a new way of thinking of the newly born Soviet society. What awaits humanity now? Bright future? This was not yet thought about then, but the fact that Soviet Russia and the whole world is entering an era of change is obvious, as is the rapid birth of a new planet.
12. "Sistine Madonna". Raphael Santi, 1754
Painting by Raphael, which has been in the Old Masters Gallery in Dresden since 1754. Belongs to the generally recognized peaks of the High Renaissance.
Huge in size (265 × 196 cm, as the size of the painting is indicated in the catalog of the Dresden Gallery) the canvas was created by Raphael for the altar of the church of the monastery of St. Sixtus in Piacenza, commissioned by Pope Julius II. There is a hypothesis that the painting was painted in 1512-1513 in honor of the victory over the French, who invaded Lombardy during the Italian Wars, and the subsequent incorporation of Piacenza into the Papal States.
13. "Penitent Mary Magdalene". Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), painted around 1565
A painting painted around 1565 by the Italian artist Titian Vecellio. Belongs to the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Sometimes the date of creation is given as "1560s".
The model of the painting was Giulia Festina, who struck the artist with a shock of golden hair. The finished canvas greatly impressed the Duke of Gonzaga, and he decided to order a copy of it. Later, Titian, changing the background and posing of the woman, painted a couple more similar works.
14. Mona Lisa. Leonardo Da Vinci, 1503-1505
Portrait of Mrs. Lisa del Giocondo, (ital. Ritratto di Monna Lisa del Giocondo) - a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, located in the Louvre (Paris, France), one of the most famous works painting in the world, which is believed to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of the Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo, painted around 1503-1505.
According to one of the put forward versions, "Mona Lisa" is a self-portrait of the artist.
15. “Morning in a pine forest”, Shishkin Ivan Ivanovich, 1889.
Painting by Russian artists Ivan Shishkin and Konstantin Savitsky. Savitsky painted the bears, but the collector Pavel Tretyakov erased his signature, so one painting is often listed as the author.
The idea for the painting was suggested to Shishkin by Savitsky, who later acted as a co-author and depicted the figures of cubs. These bears, with some differences in posture and number (at first there were two of them), appear in preparatory drawings and sketches. The animals turned out so well for Savitsky that he even signed the painting together with Shishkin.
16. "We didn't wait." Ilya Repin, 1884-1888
Painting by Russian artist Ilya Repin (1844-1930), painted in 1884-1888. It is part of the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery.
Painting shown at XII traveling exhibition, is included in the narrative cycle dedicated to the fate of the Russian populist revolutionary.
17. Ball at the Moulin de la Galette, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1876.
The picture painted French artist Pierre Auguste Renoir in 1876.
The place where the painting is located is the Musée d'Orsay. The Moulin de la Galette is an inexpensive tavern in Montmartre where the students and working youth of Paris gathered.
18. Starry night. Vincent van Gogh, 1889
De sterrennacht- a painting by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh, written in June 1889, with a view of the predawn sky over a fictional town from the east window of the artist's dwelling in Saint-Remy-de-Provence. Since 1941 kept in the Museum contemporary art in NYC. Considered one of the best works Van Gogh and one of the most significant works of Western painting.
19. "Creation of Adam". Michelangelo, 1511.
Fresco by Michelangelo, painted around 1511. The fresco is the fourth of nine central compositions on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
The Creation of Adam is one of the most outstanding mural compositions in the Sistine Chapel. In endless space, God the Father flies, surrounded by wingless angels, with a fluttering white tunic. The right hand is extended towards Adam's hand and almost touches it. Lying on a green rock, Adam's body gradually begins to move, awakens to life. The whole composition is concentrated on the gesture of two hands. The hand of God gives impulse, and the hand of Adam receives it, giving the whole body vital energy. By the fact that their hands do not touch, Michelangelo emphasized the impossibility of connecting the divine and the human. In the image of God, according to the artist, not a miraculous principle prevails, but a gigantic creative energy. In the image of Adam, Michelangelo sings of the strength and beauty of the human body. In fact, it is not the very creation of man that appears before us, but the moment at which he receives a soul, a passionate search for the divine, a thirst for knowledge.
20. "Kiss in the starry sky." Gustav Klimt, 1905-1907
Painting by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt, painted in 1907-1908. The canvas belongs to the period of Klimt's work, called "golden", last work the author in his "golden period".
On a rock, on the edge of a flower meadow, in a golden aura, lovers stand completely immersed in each other, fenced off from the whole world. Due to the uncertainty of the place of what is happening, it seems that the couple depicted in the picture is moving into a cosmic state that is not subject to time and space, beyond all historical and social stereotypes and cataclysms. Complete solitude and the man's face turned back only emphasize the impression of isolation and detachment in relation to the observer.
Source - Wikipedia, muzei-mira.com, say-hi.me
The most famous and significant for the history of art pictures of the world for your inspiration.
The immortal paintings of great artists are admired by millions of people. Art, classical and modern, is one of the main sources of inspiration, taste and cultural education of any person, and even more creative.
There are certainly more world-famous paintings than 33. There are several hundred of them, and all of them would not fit in one review. Therefore, for ease of viewing, we have selected a few that are most significant for world culture and are often copied. Each work is accompanied interesting fact, an explanation of the artistic meaning or the history of its creation.
Raphael "Sistine Madonna" 1512
Stored in the Old Masters Gallery in Dresden.
The painting has little secret: the background, which from a distance seems like clouds, upon closer examination, turns out to be the heads of angels. And the two angels depicted in the picture below have become the motif of numerous postcards and posters.
Rembrandt "The Night Watch" 1642
Stored in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
The true name of the painting by Rembrandt is "The performance of the rifle company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburg." Art critics who discovered the painting in the 19th century thought that the figures were standing against a dark background, and it was called " The night Watch". Later it turned out that a layer of soot makes the picture dark, and the action actually takes place during the day. However, the picture has already entered the treasury of world art under the name "Night Watch".
Leonardo da Vinci "The Last Supper" 1495-1498
Located in the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.
Over the more than 500-year history of the existence of the work, the fresco was repeatedly destroyed: a doorway was made through the painting, and then a doorway was laid, the refectory of the monastery, where the image is located, was used as an armory, a prison, and bombed. famous fresco restored at least five times, with the last restoration taking 21 years. Today, to view the work of art, visitors must book tickets in advance and can only spend 15 minutes in the refectory.
Salvador Dali "The Persistence of Memory" 1931
According to the author himself, the picture was painted as a result of associations that arose in Dali at the sight of processed cheese. Returning from the cinema, where she went that evening, Gala quite correctly predicted that no one who saw "The Persistence of Memory" once would forget it.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder "Tower of Babel" 1563
Stored at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
According to Brueghel, in the failure that befell the construction Tower of Babel, are not guilty of sudden arising according to biblical story language barriers; and mistakes made during the construction process. At first glance, the huge building seems solid enough, but upon closer inspection, it is clear that all the tiers are laid unevenly, the lower floors are either unfinished or are already collapsing, the building itself is tilting towards the city, and the prospects for the entire project are very sad.
Kazimir Malevich "Black Square" 1915
According to the artist, he painted the picture for several months. Subsequently, Malevich made several copies of the "Black Square" (according to some sources, seven). According to one version, the artist was unable to complete the work on the painting in the right time, so he had to cover up the work with black paint. Subsequently, after the recognition of the public, Malevich painted new "Black Squares" already on blank canvases. Malevich also painted the paintings "Red Square" (two copies) and one "White Square".
Kuzma Sergeevich Petrov-Vodkin "Bathing the red horse" 1912
Located in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.
Painted in 1912, the picture turned out to be visionary. The red horse acts as the Destiny of Russia or Russia itself, which the fragile and young rider is unable to hold. thus, the artist symbolically predicted with his painting the “red” fate of Russia in the 20th century.
Peter Paul Rubens "The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus" 1617-1618
Stored in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
The painting "The Abduction of the Daughters of Leucippus" is considered the personification of courageous passion and bodily beauty. The strong, muscular arms of young men pick up young naked women to put them on horseback. The sons of Zeus and Leda steal the brides of their cousins.
Paul Gauguin "Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?" 1898
Stored at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
At the direction of Gauguin himself, the picture should be read from right to left - the three main groups of figures illustrate the questions posed in the title. Three women with a child represent the beginning of life; middle group symbolizes the daily existence of maturity; in the final group, according to the artist’s intention, “an old woman approaching death seems reconciled and indulged in her thoughts”, at her feet there is a “strange White bird…represents the futility of words.”
Eugene Delacroix "Liberty Leading the People" 1830
Stored in the Louvre in Paris
Delacroix created a painting based on the July Revolution of 1830 in France. In a letter to his brother on October 12, 1830, Delacroix writes: "If I did not fight for the Motherland, then at least I will write for her." The bare chest of a woman leading the people symbolizes selflessness french people of that time, which with "bare chest" went to the enemy.
Claude Monet "Impression. Rising Sun" 1872
Stored at the Musée Marmottan in Paris.
The title of the piece is "Impression, soleil levant" with light hand journalist L. Leroy became a name artistic direction"impressionism". The painting was painted from nature in the old outport of Le Havre in France.
Jan Vermeer "Girl with a pearl earring" 1665
Stored in the Mauritshuis Gallery in The Hague.
One of the most famous paintings by the Dutch artist Jan Vermeer is often referred to as the Northern or Dutch Mona Lisa. Very little is known about the painting: it is not dated, the name of the depicted girl is not known. In 2003 by novel of the same name Tracey Chevalier was filmed Feature Film"Girl with a Pearl Earring", in which the history of the creation of the canvas is hypothetically restored in the context of biography and family life Vermeer.
Ivan Aivazovsky "The Ninth Wave" 1850
Stored in St. Petersburg in the State Russian Museum.
Ivan Aivazovsky is a world famous Russian marine painter who has dedicated his life to depicting the sea. He created about six thousand works, each of which received recognition during the life of the artist. The painting "The Ninth Wave" is included in the book "100 Great Paintings".
Andrei Rublev "Trinity" 1425-1427
The icon of the Holy Trinity, painted by Andrei Rublev in the 15th century, is one of the most famous Russian icons. The icon is a board in a vertical format. The tsars (Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov, Mikhail Fedorovich) "wrapped" the icon with gold, silver and precious stones. Today the salary is stored in the Sergiev Posad State Museum-Reserve.
Mikhail Vrubel "Seated Demon" 1890
Stored in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.
The plot of the picture is inspired by Lermontov's poem "The Demon". The demon is an image of the strength of the human spirit, internal struggle, doubts. Tragically clasping his hands, the Demon sits with sad, huge eyes directed into the distance, surrounded by unprecedented flowers.
William Blake "The Great Architect" 1794
Stored in the British Museum in London.
The name of the painting "The Ancient of Days" literally translates from English as "Ancient of Days". This phrase was used as the name of God. The main character of the picture is God at the moment of creation, who does not establish order, but limits freedom and marks the limits of the imagination.
Edouard Manet "Bar at the Folies Bergère" 1882
Stored at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.
The Folies Bergère is a variety show and cabaret in Paris. Manet frequented the Folies Bergère and ended up painting this painting, his last before his death in 1883. Behind the bar, in the midst of a crowd of drinking, eating, talking and smoking, a barmaid is absorbed in her own thoughts, watching a trapeze acrobat, which can be seen in the upper left corner of the picture.
Titian "Earthly Love and Heavenly Love" 1515-1516
Stored in the Galleria Borghese in Rome.
It is noteworthy that the modern name of the painting was not given by the artist himself, but began to be used only two centuries later. Until that time, the painting had various titles: "Beauty embellished and unadorned" (1613), "Three types of love" (1650), "Divine and secular women" (1700), and, in the end, "Earthly love and Heavenly love" (1792 and 1833).
Mikhail Nesterov "Vision to the youth Bartholomew" 1889-1890
Stored in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.
The first and most significant work from the cycle dedicated to Sergius of Radonezh. Until the end of his days, the artist was convinced that “The Vision of the Young Bartholomew” was his best work. In his old age, the artist liked to repeat: “It’s not me who will live. The “Young Bartholomew” will live.” Now, if in thirty, fifty years after my death he will still say something to people - that means he is alive, which means that I am also alive ."
Pieter Bruegel the Elder "The Parable of the Blind" 1568
Stored in the Capodimonte Museum in Naples.
Other names of the painting are “The Blind”, “Parabola of the Blind”, “The Blind Leading the Blind”. It is believed that the plot of the picture is based on the biblical parable of the blind: "If the blind lead the blind, then both of them will fall into the pit."
Viktor Vasnetsov "Alyonushka" 1881
Stored in the State Tretyakov Gallery.
The fairy tale "About sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka" is taken as a basis. Initially, Vasnetsov's painting was called "Fool Alyonushka". Orphans were called “fools” at that time. “Alyonushka,” the artist himself later said, “as if she had been living in my head for a long time, but in reality I saw her in Akhtyrka when I met one simple-haired girl who struck my imagination. There was so much longing, loneliness and purely Russian sadness in her eyes ... Some special Russian spirit emanated from her."
Vincent van Gogh Starry Night 1889
Stored at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Unlike most of the artist's paintings, Starry Night was painted from memory. Van Gogh was at that time in the Saint-Remy hospital, tormented by bouts of insanity.
Karl Bryullov "The Last Day of Pompeii" 1830-1833
Stored in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
The painting depicts the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. e. and the destruction of the city of Pompeii near Naples. The image of the artist in the left corner of the picture is a self-portrait of the author.
Pablo Picasso "Girl on a ball" 1905
Stored in Pushkin Museum, Moscow
The painting ended up in Russia thanks to the industrialist Ivan Abramovich Morozov, who bought it in 1913 for 16,000 francs. In 1918, the personal collection of I. A. Morozov was nationalized. The painting is currently in the collection. State Museum Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin.
Leonardo da Vinci "Madonna Litta" 1491
Stored in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.
The original title of the painting is Madonna and Child. Modern name painting comes from the name of its owner - Count Litt, the owner of the family art gallery in Milan. There is an assumption that the figure of the baby was not painted by Leonardo da Vinci, but belongs to the brush of one of his students. This is evidenced by the baby's pose, which is unusual for the author's manner.
Jean Ingres "Turkish Baths" 1862
Stored in the Louvre in Paris.
Ingres finished painting this picture when he was already over 80 years old. With this picture, the artist sums up a peculiar result of the image of bathers, the themes of which have long been present in his work. Initially, the canvas was in the form of a square, but a year after its completion, the artist turned it into round picture- tondo.
Ivan Shishkin, Konstantin Savitsky "Morning in a pine forest" 1889
Stored in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow
"Morning in pine forest"- a painting by Russian artists Ivan Shishkin and Konstantin Savitsky. Savitsky painted bears, but the collector Pavel Tretyakov, when he acquired the painting, erased his signature, so now only Shishkin is indicated as the author of the painting.
Mikhail Vrubel "The Swan Princess" 1900
Stored in the State Tretyakov Gallery
The picture was painted on the basis of the stage image of the heroine of the opera "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov based on the plot of the fairy tale of the same name by A. S. Pushkin. Vrubel created sketches for the scenery and costumes for the premiere of the opera in 1900, and his wife sang the part of the Swan Princess.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo "Portrait of Emperor Rudolf II in the form of Vertumnus" 1590
Located in Skokloster Castle in Stockholm.
One of the few surviving works of the artist, who made portraits from fruits, vegetables, flowers, crustaceans, fish, pearls, musical and other instruments, books, and so on. "Vertumnus" is a portrait of the emperor, represented as the ancient Roman god of the seasons, vegetation and transformation. In the picture, Rudolph consists entirely of fruits, flowers and vegetables.
Edgar Degas "Blue Dancers" 1897
Located in the Museum of Art. A. S. Pushkin in Moscow.
Degas was a big fan of ballet. He is called the artist of ballerinas. Work " blue dancers" refers to late period Degas' creativity, when his eyesight weakened, and he began to work with large color spots, giving paramount importance to the decorative organization of the surface of the picture.
Leonardo da Vinci "Mona Lisa" 1503-1505
Stored in the Louvre, Paris.
"Mona Lisa" might not have received worldwide fame, if she had not been kidnapped in 1911 by an employee of the Louvre. The picture was found two years later in Italy: the thief responded to an ad in the newspaper and offered to sell the Gioconda to the director Uffizi galleries. All this time, while the investigation was going on, "Mona Lisa" did not leave the covers of newspapers and magazines around the world, becoming an object of copying and worship.
Sandro Botticelli "The Birth of Venus" 1486
Stored in Florence at the Uffizi Gallery
The painting illustrates the myth of the birth of Aphrodite. The naked goddess floats to the shore in an open shell, driven by the wind. On the left side of the picture, Zephyr (the west wind), in the arms of his wife Chlorida, blows on a shell, creating a wind filled with flowers. On the shore, the goddess is met by one of the graces. The Birth of Venus is well preserved due to the fact that Botticelli applied a protective layer of egg yolk to the painting.
Michelangelo "Creation of Adam" 1511
Is in Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.
Famous portraits such as "Portrait of a lady in blue" T. Gainsborough, "Young Man with a Basket of Fruit" Michelangelo Merisi de Caravaggio, "Self-portrait" by K. P. Bryullov, etc. today have become the standard of excellence in fine arts.
For a connoisseur of beauty, famous portraits today are not just canvases that art critics write about and cost fabulous money.
For the connoisseur of each painting is, as it were, the "soul" of the artist - an expression of the worldview, aesthetic credo, manner of execution of the painter. Famous portraits (“Portrait of E. N. Arsenyeva” by V. L. Borovikovsky, “Gioconda” by Leonardo da Vinci, etc.) are so expensive because they evoke something special in the soul of the audience. This is that unique feeling, which is called the feeling of beauty.
Mona Lisa beautiful in her eyes, - it seemed to combine soft femininity, and a smile that is somewhat similar to a man's. Not without reason, many who have seen the real painting by da Vinci claim that if you look at the Gioconda from afar, it seems as if you are looking at a meek, gentle woman. But, if you get closer to the picture, you are convinced that the canvas depicts a man with an almost diabolical, almost cruel grin. Famous portraits are so famous because they have their own uniqueness, "zest".
Portraits of famous artists
Portraits of famous artists are also remarkable. Since their own paintings is a reflection of their worldview, then even in the eyes of the painters you can read something special, characteristic of them and their paintings. It is a special case when portraits of famous artists are created by them themselves.
Famous portraits sometimes appear as images of the appearance of their author. In a self-portrait, the artist can express his own vision of his appearance. Eg "Self-portrait" by I. I. Levitan created in the 1890s. The painting depicts Isaac Levitan in full dress. The artist himself is depicted in a more relaxed pose, but his figure is surrounded by a gray-brown haze, as if foreshadowing something bad, fatal. And his other self-portrait, dated 1880, appears completely different. Shown here is a young Beautiful face painter, smiling slyly. Here the figure of Levitan is on a blue background, cheerful and positive. The influence of the picture on the viewer often depends on the assessment of the painter's own appearance. Portraits of famous artists give a person the opportunity to look at the genius who created this or that picture. Who would not want to look at the face of the one who portrayed the Demon from the work of M. Yu. Lermontov? Or look at the person who created image unfortunate Alyonushka, who lost her brother?
Portraits of famous women
A special place in the galaxy of great paintings is occupied by portraits. famous women. Women's famous portraits most often tell about the beauty of those depicted. But it also happened that a woman was a painter herself, and could herself give an interpretation of her own appearance (self-portrait) and the appearance of those around her.
famous painting Louise Vigee-Lebrun "Self-portrait with daughter"
shows not only the beauty of its creator, but also Louise's affection for her daughter: they hug each other so tenderly. Louise's brush belongs to a series of portraits depicting Marie Antoinette. The great portrait painter A. G. Warnek (1782–1843) created magnificent portraits of famous women. These were such well-known portraits as the Portrait of E. M. Olenina in Priyutino, the mistress of the literary salt. Also, the master’s brushes belong to such canvases as “ portrait Kolosova Evgenia Ivanovna" - famous ballerina, one of the hundred great masters of ballet. The painting depicts a young beautiful girl, with her hair tied up, and with a quiver of arrows in her hands. The woman in such portraits became equal to the man.
Portraits of famous people
portraits famous people allow descendants to see the real appearance of writers, musicians, politicians, etc. For example, a portrait of the famous Soviet writer A. N. Tolstoy, made by P. D. Kokorin, gives us not only an image of the writer’s face. The picture conveys Tolstoy's thoughtfully gloomy gaze, turned to the side. IN right hand pictured is holding smoking pipe but the fingers are tight wooden surface, which speaks of the concentration of Alexei Tolstoy. Portraits of famous people can convey the main essence of the activities depicted.
This is how another portrait is made - portrait of F. I. Chaliapin(1905. Canvas, charcoal, chalk) by V. A. Serov. Here the sad look of Fyodor Chaliapin is fully expressed. Chaliapin is wearing a tailcoat, but the wings of his nose rise excitedly, as if famous singer just finished another aria.
Perhaps only a strong woman can be the wife of an artist: endure his ups and downs, experience his failures as her own. Portraits of women by famous artists, painted by the painters themselves, serve as proof of love and gratitude. One of such strong, but at the same time soft women was Nadezhda Ivanovna Zabala-Vrubel. It was famous Opera singer, which at first sight fell in love with Mikhail Vrubel, the creator of the famous "Demon". It was Nadezhda Zabela who served as the prototype famous character paintings Vrubel "The Swan Princess".
It was beautiful woman who loved her husband, even despite the fact that Mikhail Alexandrovich had a very bad character. The great portraits of women by famous artists include a series of paintings by Gala, painted by Salvador Dali. In 1929, Gala (Elena Dyakonova), together with her first husband Paul Eluard, visited the young Catalan painter Salvador Dali. Salvador and Elena fell in love immediately, even though Dyakonova was ten years older than the artist and had a daughter from her first marriage, Cecile. Gala (as Dali called it) became the first and the only love, muse and wife. She built the schedule of the artist's work, and became his "producer".
Elena Dyakonova painted such famous portraits as: “Portrait of Gala with two lamb ribs”, “Gala in the form of Leda”, etc. Salvador Dali wrote about his beloved in the dedication in his biography “The Diary of a Genius”: “I I dedicate this book to my genius, my victorious Gala Gradiva, my Helen of Troy, my Saint Helena, my resplendent as the surface of the sea, Gala Galatea the Serene.”
Notable female portraits
Even the most famous female portraits can not be compared in importance and fame with the painting by Leonardo da Vinci "La Gioconda". This picture struck many with its dissimilarity to other well-known portraits. She became so famous also because there was an opinion that Leonardo himself portrayed himself in it. And indeed, as mentioned above, some art historians think that the Mona Lisa's smile is truly masculine. Famous portraits of women are sometimes symbols of femininity and beauty.
These are such famous female portraits as "Portrait of N. N. Pushkina" A. P. Bryullov(Watercolor, 1831), and a portrait of Nina Chavchavadze by N. Iankoshvili. Both young girls are shown in the prime of their youth and beauty. Both of them are spouses of great Russian writers. In both of these girls there is something bright, pure, sublime, they are depicted as the muses of A. S. Griboyedov and A. S. Pushkin. The girls are dressed in light gauze dresses, as if sparkling in the rays innocent beauty their owners. These are famous portraits of not just women, but inspirers of writers.
The most famous portraits
The most famous portraits are, perhaps, those that were produced on the audience greatest impression. Such well-known portraits attract either by the unusual colors, the originality of the plot, etc. This is how the portrait of A. S. Pushkin, made by Orest Kiprensky, is perceived.
The artist's style, distinguished by its plastic expressiveness of form and truthfulness, managed to convey in one way or another the unique image of the poet. "Portrait of A. S. Pushkin" at one time caused a lot of controversy. Some viewers (Pushkin's contemporaries) talked about the amazing similarity, others stated that there was no such similarity. Here, rather, everything depended on how contemporaries knew Pushkin. The most famous portraits are so great also because they make the viewer feel the reflection of the soul depicted. We can feel the aura of a person who died many years ago, feel his eyes on us. Perhaps even the best photographs can never capture the enchanting magic of famous portraits. In the most famous portraits there is always something from their author - the artist. Two people are involved in creating a portrait - the artist and the character of the picture, one gives the canvas his appearance, and the painter, no matter how realistic the picture is, always brings an echo of his soul into it.
Among the noble works of art that delight the eye and evoke only positive emotions, there are canvases, to put it mildly, strange and shocking. We present to your attention 20 paintings by world famous artists that make you horrified ...
"Losing mind over matter"
Picture painted in 1973 Austrian artist Otto Rapp. He depicted a decaying human head, put on a bird cage, in which lies a piece of flesh.
"Suspended living Negro"
This gruesome creation by William Blake depicts a Negro slave who was hung from the gallows with a hook threaded through his ribs. The work is based on the story of the Dutch soldier Steadman - an eyewitness to such a cruel massacre.
"Dante and Virgil in Hell"
Adolphe William Bouguereau's painting was inspired by a short scene about a battle between two damned souls from Dante's Inferno.
"Hell"
Painting "Hell" German artist Hans Memling, written in 1485, is one of the most terrible artistic creations of his time. She was supposed to push people towards virtue. Memling heightened the scene's horrific effect by adding the caption, "There is no redemption in hell."
"The Great Red Dragon and the Sea Monster"
Famous English poet and artist of the 13th century William Blake in a moment of insight created a series watercolor paintings, depicting the great red dragon from the Book of Revelations. The Red Dragon was the embodiment of the devil.
"Water Spirit"
The artist Alfred Kubin is considered the largest representative symbolism and expressionism and is known for his dark symbolic fantasies. “The Spirit of Water” is one of these works, depicting the powerlessness of man in the face of the sea.
"Necronom IV"
This is a terrible creation. famous artist Hans Rudolf Giger was inspired by the movie Alien. Giger suffered from nightmares and all his paintings were inspired by these visions.
"Flaying Marsyas"
Created by an artist of times Italian Renaissance Titian's painting "The Flaying of Marsyas" is currently in National Museum in Kroměříž in the Czech Republic. The artwork depicts a scene from Greek mythology, where the satyr Marsyas is flayed for daring to challenge the god Apollo.
"The Temptation of Saint Anthony"
Matthias Grunewald portrayed the religious scenes of the Middle Ages, although he himself lived during the Renaissance. Saint Anthony was said to have faced trials of his faith while praying in the wilderness. According to legend, he was killed by demons in a cave, then he resurrected and destroyed them. This painting depicts Saint Anthony being attacked by demons.
"Severed Heads"
The most notable work Théodore Géricault is the "Raft of the Medusa" huge picture written in a romantic style. Gericault tried to break the boundaries of classicism by moving to romanticism. These paintings were initial stage his creativity. For his work, he used real limbs and heads, which he found in morgues and laboratories.
"Scream"
This most famous painting by the Norwegian expressionist Edvard Munch was inspired by a serene evening walk, during which the artist witnessed the blood-red setting sun.
"Death of Marat"
Jean-Paul Marat was one of the leaders French Revolution. Suffering from a skin disease, he spent most of his time in the bathroom, where he worked on his recordings. There he was killed by Charlotte Corday. The death of Marat has been depicted several times, but it is the work of Edvard Munch that is particularly cruel.
"Still life of masks"
Emil Nolde was one of the early expressionist painters, although his fame was overshadowed by others such as Munch. Nolde painted this painting after studying masks in the Berlin Museum. Throughout his life he has been fascinated by other cultures and this work is no exception.
"Gallowgate Lard"
This painting is nothing more than a self-portrait by Scottish author Ken Currie, who specializes in dark, socially realistic paintings. Curry's favorite subject is the drab urban life of the Scottish working class.
"Saturn Devouring His Son"
One of the most famous and sinister works of the Spanish artist Francisco Goya was painted on his house wall in 1820-1823. The plot is based on Greek myth about the titan Chronos (in Rome - Saturn), who feared that he would be overthrown by one of his children and ate them immediately after birth.
"Judith Killing Holofernes"
The execution of Holofernes was portrayed by such great artists as Donatello, Sandro Botticelli, Giorgione, Gentileschi, Lucas Cranach the Elder and many others. On painting by Caravaggio, written in 1599, depicts the most dramatic moment of this story - the decapitation.
"Nightmare"
The painting by the Swiss painter Heinrich Fuseli was first shown at the annual exhibition of the Royal Academy in London in 1782, where it shocked both visitors and critics.
"Massacre of the innocents"
This outstanding work of art by Peter Paul Rubens, consisting of two paintings, was created in 1612, believed to have been influenced by the works of the famous Italian artist Caravaggio.
"Study of the portrait of Innocent X Velazquez"
This terrifying image of one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Francis Bacon, is based on a paraphrase of the famous portrait of Pope Innocent X, painted by Diego Velázquez. Spattered with blood, with a painfully distorted face, the Pope is depicted seated in a metal tubular structure, which, upon closer inspection, is a throne.
"Garden earthly pleasures»
This is the most famous and frightening triptych of Hieronymus Bosch. To date, there are many interpretations of the painting, but none of them has been conclusively confirmed. Perhaps Bosch's work represents the Garden of Eden, the Garden of Earthly Delights and the Punishment that will have to be suffered for mortal sins committed during life.
