1.
Belgium
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
2.
Printmaking
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Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints that have an element of originality, except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable of producing multiples of the same piece, which is called a print. Each print produced is not considered a copy but rather is considered an original, a print may be known as an impression. Printmaking is not chosen only for its ability to multiple impressions. Prints are created by transferring ink from a matrix or through a screen to a sheet of paper or other material. Screens made of silk or synthetic fabrics are used for the screenprinting process, other types of matrix substrates and related processes are discussed below. Multiple impressions printed from the matrix form an edition. Prints may also be printed in book form, such as illustrated books or artists books, Printmaking techniques are generally divided into the following basic categories, Relief, where ink is applied to the original surface of the matrix. Relief techniques include woodcut or woodblock as the Asian forms are known, wood engraving. Intaglio, where ink is applied beneath the surface of the matrix. Intaglio techniques include engraving, etching, mezzotint, aquatint, planographic, where the matrix retains its original surface, but is specially prepared and/or inked to allow for the transfer of the image. Planographic techniques include lithography, monotyping, and digital techniques, stencil, where ink or paint is pressed through a prepared screen, including screenprinting and pochoir. Other types of printmaking techniques outside these groups include collagraphy and viscosity printing, collagraphy is a printmaking technique in which textured material is adhered to the printing matrix. This texture is transferred to the paper during the printing process, Contemporary printmaking may include digital printing, photographic mediums, or a combination of digital, photographic, and traditional processes. Many of these techniques can also be combined, especially within the same family, for example, Rembrandts prints are usually referred to as etchings for convenience, but very often include work in engraving and drypoint as well, and sometimes have no etching at all. Woodcut, a type of print, is the earliest printmaking technique. It was probably first developed as a means of printing patterns on cloth, woodcuts of images on paper developed around 1400 in Japan, and slightly later in Europe. These are the two areas where woodcut has been most extensively used purely as a process for making images without text, the artist draws a design on a plank of wood, or on paper which is transferred to the wood
3.
Romanticism
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Romanticism was characterized by its emphasis on emotion and individualism as well as glorification of all the past and nature, preferring the medieval rather than the classical. It was embodied most strongly in the arts, music, and literature, but had a major impact on historiography, education. It elevated folk art and ancient custom to something noble, Romanticism assigned a high value to the achievements of heroic individualists and artists, whose examples, it maintained, would raise the quality of society. It also promoted the individual imagination as a critical authority allowed of freedom from classical notions of form in art, there was a strong recourse to historical and natural inevitability, a Zeitgeist, in the representation of its ideas. In the second half of the 19th century, Realism was offered as a polar opposite to Romanticism, the decline of Romanticism during this time was associated with multiple processes, including social and political changes and the spread of nationalism. Defining the nature of Romanticism may be approached from the point of the primary importance of the free expression of the feelings of the artist. The importance the Romantics placed on emotion is summed up in the remark of the German painter Caspar David Friedrich that the feeling is his law. Samuel Taylor Coleridge and others believed there were laws that the imagination—at least of a good creative artist—would unconsciously follow through artistic inspiration if left alone. As well as rules, the influence of models from other works was considered to impede the creators own imagination, so that originality was essential. The concept of the genius, or artist who was able to produce his own work through this process of creation from nothingness, is key to Romanticism. This idea is called romantic originality. Not essential to Romanticism, but so widespread as to be normative, was a strong belief, however, this is particularly in the effect of nature upon the artist when he is surrounded by it, preferably alone. Romantic art addressed its audiences with what was intended to be felt as the voice of the artist. So, in literature, much of romantic poetry invited the reader to identify the protagonists with the poets themselves. In both French and German the closeness of the adjective to roman, meaning the new literary form of the novel, had some effect on the sense of the word in those languages. It is only from the 1820s that Romanticism certainly knew itself by its name, the period typically called Romantic varies greatly between different countries and different artistic media or areas of thought. Margaret Drabble described it in literature as taking place roughly between 1770 and 1848, and few dates much earlier than 1770 will be found. In English literature, M. H. Abrams placed it between 1789, or 1798, this latter a very typical view, and about 1830, however, in most fields the Romantic Period is said to be over by about 1850, or earlier
4.
Realism (art movement)
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Realism was an artistic movement that began in France in the 1850s, after the 1848 Revolution. Realists rejected Romanticism, which had dominated French literature and art since the late 18th century, Realism revolted against the exotic subject matter and exaggerated emotionalism and drama of the Romantic movement. Instead it sought to portray real and typical contemporary people and situations with truth and accuracy, Realist works depicted people of all classes in situations that arise in ordinary life, and often reflected the changes brought by the Industrial and Commercial Revolutions. The popularity of realistic works grew with the introduction of photography—a new visual source that created a desire for people to produce representations which look objectively real. The Realists depicted everyday subjects and situations in contemporary settings, classical idealism and Romantic emotionalism and drama were avoided equally, and often sordid or untidy elements of subjects were not smoothed over or omitted. Treatments of subjects in a heroic or sentimental manner were equally rejected, Realism as an art movement was led by Gustave Courbet in France. The Realist movement began in the century as a reaction to Romanticism. In favor of depictions of life, the Realist painters used common laborers. The chief exponents of Realism were Gustave Courbet, Jean-François Millet, Honoré Daumier, jules Bastien-Lepage is closely associated with the beginning of Naturalism, an artistic style that emerged from the later phase of the Realist movement and heralded the arrival of Impressionism. Realists used unprettified detail depicting the existence of contemporary life, coinciding in the contemporaneous naturalist literature of Émile Zola, Honoré de Balzac. Courbet was the proponent of Realism and he challenged the popular history painting that was favored at the state-sponsored art academy. His groundbreaking paintings A Burial at Ornans and The Stonebreakers depicted ordinary people from his native region, the paintings were done on huge canvases that would typically be used for history paintings. The French Realist movement had stylistic and ideological equivalents in all other Western countries, the Ashcan School, an art movement largely based in New York City, included such artists as George Bellows and Robert Henri. It helped to define American realism in its tendency to depict the life of poorer members of society. 19th Century French Realism, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, Metropolitan Museum of Art
5.
Antwerp
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Antwerp is a city in Belgium, the capital of Antwerp province in the region of Flanders. With a population of 510,610, it is the most populous city proper in Belgium and its metropolitan area houses around 1,200,000 people, which is second behind Brussels. Antwerp is on the River Scheldt, linked to the North Sea by the Westerschelde estuary, the Port of Antwerp is one of the biggest in the world, ranking second in Europe and within the top 20 globally. Antwerp has long been an important city in the Low Countries, the inhabitants of Antwerp are nicknamed Sinjoren, after the Spanish honorific señor or French seigneur, lord, referring to the Spanish noblemen who ruled the city in the 17th century. The city hosted the 1920 Summer Olympics, according to folklore, notably celebrated by a statue in front of the town hall, the city got its name from a legend about a giant called Antigoon who lived near the Scheldt river. He exacted a toll from passing boatmen, and for those who refused, he severed one of their hands, eventually the giant was killed by a young hero named Silvius Brabo, who cut off the giants own hand and flung it into the river. Hence the name Antwerpen, from Dutch hand werpen, akin to Old English hand and wearpan, a longstanding theory is that the name originated in the Gallo-Roman period and comes from the Latin antverpia. Antverpia would come from Ante Verpia, indicating land that forms by deposition in the curve of a river. Note that the river Scheldt, before a period between 600 and 750, followed a different track. This must have coincided roughly with the current ringway south of the city, however, many historians think it unlikely that there was a large settlement which would be named Antverpia, but more something like an outpost with a river crossing. However, John Lothrop Motley argues, and so do a lot of Dutch etymologists and historians, aan t werp is also possible. This warp is a hill or a river deposit, high enough to remain dry at high tide. Another word for werp is pol hence polders, historical Antwerp allegedly had its origins in a Gallo-Roman vicus. Excavations carried out in the oldest section near the Scheldt, 1952–1961, produced pottery shards, the earliest mention of Antwerp dates from the 4th century. In the 4th century, Antwerp was first named, having been settled by the Germanic Franks, the name was reputed to have been derived from anda and werpum. The Merovingian Antwerp was evangelized by Saint Amand in the 7th century, at the end of the 10th century, the Scheldt became the boundary of the Holy Roman Empire. Antwerp became a margraviate in 980, by the German emperor Otto I, in the 11th century Godfrey of Bouillon was for some years known as the marquis of Antwerp. In the 12th century, Norbert of Xanten established a community of his Premonstratensian canons at St. Michaels Abbey at Caloes
6.
Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp)
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The Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp is an art academy located in Antwerp, Belgium. It is one of the oldest of its kind in Europe and it was founded in 1663 by David Teniers the Younger, painter to the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and Don Juan of Austria. It houses the world-renowned Antwerp Fashion Academy, the Royal Academy developed into an internationally acclaimed institute for Fine Arts, Architecture and Design. From the nineteenth century on, the academy attracted young artists from abroad, irish, German, Dutch, Polish artists looking for a solid classical training found their way to Antwerp. Under the direction of Gustave Wappers and his registrar Hendrik Conscience, the academys significant art collection was exhibited in its own gallery space. By 1890, this gallery would develop into the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, in 1880, a promising young artist Henry Van de Velde enrolled at the Antwerp Academy. He would become one of the pioneering 20th century architects and designers, in 1885 and 1886, Vincent van Gogh was also to spend a short time at the Antwerp academy, prior to his departure to France. In 1885, King Leopold II commissioned the establishment of the National Higher Institute for Fine Arts Antwerp as a unique post graduate program, in 1946, the Architecture program became an independent institute, The National Higher Institute of Architecture. Another key moment in the history of the academy would be 1963, a unique new course ‘Fashion Design’ started. This course was successful from the beginning, but became world leading in the early eighties. “The Antwerp Six” with Dirk Bikkembergs, Walter Van Beirendonck, Marina Yee, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Van Saene, stylistically extremely diverse, these young friends had a huge impact on the contemporary fashion scene. The fashion program attracted more and more talents from all over the globe, with over 130 students its by far the largest program in the visual arts and design department. In 1995, the Flemish higher educational system faced a radical metamorphosis, the Antwerp Academy and the Henry Van de Velde Institute were included as faculties in a bigger college structure, The University College of Antwerp. However, the Higher Institute of Fine Arts was kept independent, the Academy nowadays offers three distinctive programs, Visual Arts and Design, Conservation studies and a one-year dedicated teachers training. A body of 540 students work in the four buildings located in the heart of the city. As of September 2013, the programs are offered by the Artesis Plantijn Hogeschool Antwerpen, shortly after the founding of Antwerp Academy, three large paintings were executed for its meeting hall. Antwerp, Nurse of Painters, by Theodoor Boeyermans, promotes the citys recent artistic past, portraits of Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck watch over students as they practise the arts. At the centre is the allegorical Antverpia pictorum nutrix, chronos accompanies other young students who present their artwork
7.
Ferdinand de Braekeleer the Elder
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Ferdinand de Braekeleer, sometimes spelled as Ferdinand de Braeckeleer, was a Flemish painter. He is known for his paintings and is called the Elder to distinguish him from his son with the same name. Ferdinand was born in a poor family, after his parents died he was admitted to the Art school for orphans of Mathieu Ignace van Brée in Antwerp. He continued his education at the Royal Academy for Fine Arts of Antwerp and his paintings received several prizes in 1809 and 1811. In 1813 he made his reputation at the Salon de Paris with his work Aeneas die Anchises redt uit de brand van Troje. Early on, De Braekeleer decided that he wanted to make a living as a painter, in addition to historical paintings, he also painted religious paintings, such as St. Sebastiaan for the Church of Our Lady of the Vineyard in Wijnegem. At the Antwerp art exhibition of 1819 he exhibited four paintings and this prize provided him with a scholarship that allowed him to study in Italy to improve his skills. He spent 1821 and 1822 in Italy, together with his tutor Van Brée he visited several Italian cities, including Naples, Ancona, Firenze, Bologna and Venice. After his return to Belgium, De Braekeleer lived in his home town Antwerp and he created works inspired by the old Flemish masters. He primarily focused on historical paintings, one of these is the painting De Citadel van Antwerpen na het bombardement van 1832. Partially because of his paintings about the 1832 bombardments by the Dutch and his two sons, Ferdinand the Younger and Henri de Braekeleer followed in their fathers footsteps and also became painters. His nephew Adriaan Ferdinand de Braekeleer, was also a painter, on display in Schlossmuseum Weimar Oude jager met jong meisje,1867, private collection P. & V. Berko, Dictionary of Belgian painters born between 1750 &1875, Knokke 1981, p. 152-155. P. & V. Berko, 19th Century European Virtuoso Painters, Knokke 2011, p.498, illustrations p.442
8.
Mattheus Ignatius van Bree
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Mattheus Ignatius van Bree was a Belgian painter. He was one of the founders of the school of painting in Belgium. He was first trained from the age of 10 in the art academy. One of his teachers was Petrus Johannes van Regemorter and he became assistant-professor at the Academy and got his own studio in 1794. He left for Paris in 1797 where he studied with François-André Vincent and he participated that year in the Paris Salon and won second prize in the Prix de Rome with his painting The death of Cato in Utica. He returned to Antwerp in 1804 and became a professor at the Antwerp Academy which had just been reopened after its closure by the French occupiers. Van Bree was after the end of French occupation in 1813 a member of the responsible for recovering works of art confiscated by the French and was able to retrieve many works by Rubens. In 1821 he traveled to Italy and visited Florence and Rome with his former pupil Ferdinand de Braekeleer the Elder, in Florence he made in the Uffizi drawings after portraits by Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael. In the same year he published his views on art in Leçons de dessin. In 1827 he became director of the Antwerp Academy after the resignation of Willem Jacob Herreyns and he was a member of several overseas art institutions such as the academies of Amsterdam, Rome, Munich and New York. Egide Linnig who studied under van Bree was not happy with the placed on history painting by van Bree. His style also became more reminiscent of Rubens in its use of looser brushwork and his historical paintings were often of large dimensions and earned him a high reputation in his lifetime. He also painted more small-scale and colourful oil sketches and it is these works that are now most esteemed and he also made a few sculptures. Among his most important works are The Patriotism of the Burgomaster Van der Werft, in the city hall of Leyden, and The Death of Rubens, in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp
9.
Peplos
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A peplos is a body-length garment established as typical attire for women in ancient Greece by 500 BC. It was a long, tubular cloth with the top folded down about halfway, so that what was the top of the tube was now draped below the waist. The garment was gathered about the waist and the folded top edge pinned over the shoulders. The folded-down top of the tube provided the appearance of a piece of clothing. The peplos was draped and open on one side of the body and it should not be confused with the Ionic chiton, which was a piece of fabric folded over and sewn together along the longer side to form a tube. The Classical garment is represented in Greek vase painting from the 5th century BC, spartan women continued to wear the peplos much later in history than other Greek cultures, causing other Greeks to call them phainomērídes the thigh-showers. They had to weave a theme of Athenas defeat of Enkelados, the peplos of the statue was changed each year during the Plynteria. The peplos played a role in the Athenian festival of the Great Panathenaea, nine months before the festival, at the arts and crafts festival titled Chalkeia, a special peplos would begin to be woven by young women. This peplos was placed on the statue of Athena during the festival procession, the peplos had myths and stories woven into its material and usually consisted of purple and saffron yellow cloth. Chiton Clothing in ancient Greece Clothing in the ancient world Peplos Greek Dress Peplum dresses
10.
Gustaf Wappers
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Egide Charles Gustave, Baron Wappers was a Belgian painter. His work is considered to be Flemish and he signed his work with the Flemish form of his name. He studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, the Romantic movement with its new ideas about art and politics was astir in France. While political, this remarkable work revolutionized the direction of Flemish painters, Wappers was invited to the court at Brussels, and was favoured with commissions. In 1832 the city of Antwerp appointed him Professor of Painting and he exhibited his masterpiece, Episode of the Belgian Revolution of 1830 or rather Episode of the September Days of 1830 on the Grand Place of Brussels, at the Antwerp Salon in 1834. He was subsequently appointed painter to Leopold, King of the Belgians, at the death of Matthieu-Ignace Van Brée in 1839 he was elevated to director of the Antwerp Academy. Louis Philippe gave him a commission to paint a painting for the gallery at Versailles. He finished the work in 1844, the year that he received the title of baron from Belgian king Leopold I. After retiring as director of the Antwerp Academy, he settled in 1853 in Paris, media related to Gustave_Wappers at Wikimedia Commons
Media related to Henri Leys at Wikimedia Commons
