1.
Rembrandt
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Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was a Dutch draughtsman, painter, and printmaker. A prolific and versatile master across three media, he is considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art. Having achieved youthful success as a painter, Rembrandts later years were marked by personal tragedy. Yet his etchings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high, Rembrandts portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible are regarded as his greatest creative triumphs. His self-portraits form a unique and intimate biography, in which the artist surveyed himself without vanity and his reputation as the greatest etcher in the history of the medium was established in his lifetime, and never questioned since. Few of his paintings left the Dutch Republic whilst he lived, but his prints were circulated throughout Europe, because of his empathy for the human condition, he has been called one of the great prophets of civilization. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born on 15 July 1606 in Leiden, in the Dutch Republic and he was the ninth child born to Harmen Gerritszoon van Rijn and Neeltgen Willemsdochter van Zuijtbrouck. His family was quite well-to-do, his father was a miller, religion is a central theme in Rembrandts paintings and the religiously fraught period in which he lived makes his faith a matter of interest. His mother was Roman Catholic, and his father belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church, unlike many of his contemporaries who traveled to Italy as part of their artistic training, Rembrandt never left the Dutch Republic during his lifetime. He opened a studio in Leiden in 1624 or 1625, which he shared with friend, in 1627, Rembrandt began to accept students, among them Gerrit Dou in 1628. In 1629, Rembrandt was discovered by the statesman Constantijn Huygens, as a result of this connection, Prince Frederik Hendrik continued to purchase paintings from Rembrandt until 1646. He initially stayed with an art dealer, Hendrick van Uylenburgh, Saskia came from a good family, her father had been a lawyer and the burgemeester of Leeuwarden. When Saskia, as the youngest daughter, became an orphan, Rembrandt and Saskia were married in the local church of St. Annaparochie without the presence of Rembrandts relatives. In the same year, Rembrandt became a burgess of Amsterdam and he also acquired a number of students, among them Ferdinand Bol and Govert Flinck. In 1635 Rembrandt and Saskia moved into their own house, renting in fashionable Nieuwe Doelenstraat, in 1639 they moved to a prominent newly built house in the upscale Breestraat, today known as Jodenbreestraat in what was becoming the Jewish quarter, then a young upcoming neighborhood. The mortgage to finance the 13,000 guilder purchase would be a cause for later financial difficulties. Rembrandt should easily have been able to pay the house off with his income, but it appears his spending always kept pace with his income. It was there that Rembrandt frequently sought his Jewish neighbors to model for his Old Testament scenes, in 1640, they had a second daughter, also named Cornelia, who died after living barely over a month
2.
Oil painting
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Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. Commonly used drying oils include linseed oil, poppy seed oil, walnut oil, the choice of oil imparts a range of properties to the oil paint, such as the amount of yellowing or drying time. Certain differences, depending on the oil, are visible in the sheen of the paints. An artist might use different oils in the same painting depending on specific pigments and effects desired. The paints themselves also develop a particular consistency depending on the medium, the oil may be boiled with a resin, such as pine resin or frankincense, to create a varnish prized for its body and gloss. Its practice may have migrated westward during the Middle Ages, Oil paint eventually became the principal medium used for creating artworks as its advantages became widely known. In recent years, water miscible oil paint has come to prominence and, to some extent, water-soluble paints contain an emulsifier that allows them to be thinned with water rather than paint thinner, and allows very fast drying times when compared with traditional oils. Traditional oil painting techniques often begin with the artist sketching the subject onto the canvas with charcoal or thinned paint, Oil paint is usually mixed with linseed oil, artist grade mineral spirits, or other solvents to make the paint thinner, faster or slower-drying. A basic rule of oil paint application is fat over lean and this means that each additional layer of paint should contain more oil than the layer below to allow proper drying. If each additional layer contains less oil, the painting will crack. This rule does not ensure permanence, it is the quality and type of oil leads to a strong. There are many media that can be used with the oil, including cold wax, resins. These aspects of the paint are closely related to the capacity of oil paint. Traditionally, paint was transferred to the surface using paintbrushes. Oil paint remains wet longer than other types of artists materials, enabling the artist to change the color. At times, the painter might even remove a layer of paint. This can be done with a rag and some turpentine for a time while the paint is wet, Oil paint dries by oxidation, not evaporation, and is usually dry to the touch within a span of two weeks. It is generally dry enough to be varnished in six months to a year, art conservators do not consider an oil painting completely dry until it is 60 to 80 years old
3.
Canvas
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Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items for which sturdiness is required. It is also used by artists as a painting surface. It is also used in such objects as handbags, electronic device cases. The word canvas is derived from the 13th century Anglo-French canevaz, both may be derivatives of the Vulgar Latin cannapaceus for made of hemp, originating from the Greek κάνναβις. Modern canvas is made of cotton or linen, although. It differs from other cotton fabrics, such as denim. Canvas comes in two types, plain and duck. The threads in duck canvas are more tightly woven, the term duck comes from the Dutch word for cloth, doek. In the United States, canvas is classified in two ways, by weight and by a number system. The numbers run in reverse of the weight so a number 10 canvas is lighter than number 4, canvas has become the most common support medium for oil painting, replacing wooden panels. One of the earliest surviving oils on canvas is a French Madonna with angels from around 1410 in the Gemäldegalerie, however, panel painting remained more common until the 16th century in Italy and the 17th century in Northern Europe. Mantegna and Venetian artists were among those leading the change, Venetian sail canvas was readily available, as lead-based paint is poisonous, care has to be taken in using it. Early canvas was made of linen, a sturdy brownish fabric of considerable strength, linen is particularly suitable for the use of oil paint. In the early 20th century, cotton canvas, often referred to as cotton duck, linen is composed of higher quality material, and remains popular with many professional artists, especially those who work with oil paint. Cotton duck, which stretches more fully and has an even, mechanical weave, the advent of acrylic paint has greatly increased the popularity and use of cotton duck canvas. Linen and cotton derive from two different plants, the flax plant and the cotton plant, respectively. Gessoed canvases on stretchers are also available and they are available in a variety of weights, light-weight is about 4 oz or 5 oz, medium-weight is about 7 oz or 8 oz, heavy-weight is about 10 oz or 12 oz. They are prepared with two or three coats of gesso and are ready for use straight away, artists desiring greater control of their painting surface may add a coat or two of their preferred gesso
4.
National Gallery of Art
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The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D. C. located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was established in 1937 for the American people by a joint resolution of the United States Congress. Andrew W. Mellon donated an art collection and funds for construction. The Gallery often presents temporary special exhibitions spanning the world and the history of art and it is one of the largest museums in North America. In 1930 Mellon formed the A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, when quizzed by Abbot, he explained that the project was in the hands of the Trust and that its decisions were partly dependent on the attitude of the Government towards the gift. Designed by architect John Russell Pope, the new structure was completed and accepted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on behalf of the American people on March 17,1941. Neither Mellon nor Pope lived to see the completed, both died in late August 1937, only two months after excavation had begun. At the time of its inception it was the largest marble structure in the world, as anticipated by Mellon, the creation of the National Gallery encouraged the donation of other substantial art collections by a number of private donors. The Gallerys East Building was constructed in the 1970s on much of the land left over from the original congressional joint resolution. It was funded by Mellons children Paul Mellon and Ailsa Mellon Bruce, designed by famed architect I. M. Pei, the contemporary structure was completed in 1978 and was opened on June 1 of that year by President Jimmy Carter. The new building was built to house the Museums collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures. The design received a National Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects in 1981, the final addition to the complex is the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden. Completed and opened to the public on May 23,1999, the National Gallery of Art is supported through a private-public partnership. The United States federal government provides funds, through annual appropriations, to support the museums operations, all artwork, as well as special programs, are provided through private donations and funds. The museum is not part of the Smithsonian Institution, noted directors of the National Gallery have included David E. Finley, Jr. John Walker, and J. Carter Brown. Rusty Powell III is the current director, entry to both buildings of the National Gallery of Art is free of charge. From Monday through Saturday, the museum is open from 10 a. m. –5 p. m. it is open from 11 –6 p. m. on Sundays and it is closed on December 25 and January 1. The museum comprises two buildings, the West Building and the East Building linked by an underground passage
5.
Washington, D.C.
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Washington, D. C. formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D. C. is the capital of the United States. The signing of the Residence Act on July 16,1790, Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress and the District is therefore not a part of any state. The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, named in honor of President George Washington, the City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. In 1846, Congress returned the land ceded by Virginia, in 1871. Washington had an population of 681,170 as of July 2016. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the population to more than one million during the workweek. The Washington metropolitan area, of which the District is a part, has a population of over 6 million, the centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States are in the District, including the Congress, President, and Supreme Court. Washington is home to national monuments and museums, which are primarily situated on or around the National Mall. The city hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of international organizations, trade unions, non-profit organizations, lobbying groups. A locally elected mayor and a 13‑member council have governed the District since 1973, However, the Congress maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. D. C. residents elect a non-voting, at-large congressional delegate to the House of Representatives, the District receives three electoral votes in presidential elections as permitted by the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961. Various tribes of the Algonquian-speaking Piscataway people inhabited the lands around the Potomac River when Europeans first visited the area in the early 17th century, One group known as the Nacotchtank maintained settlements around the Anacostia River within the present-day District of Columbia. Conflicts with European colonists and neighboring tribes forced the relocation of the Piscataway people, some of whom established a new settlement in 1699 near Point of Rocks, Maryland. 43, published January 23,1788, James Madison argued that the new government would need authority over a national capital to provide for its own maintenance. Five years earlier, a band of unpaid soldiers besieged Congress while its members were meeting in Philadelphia, known as the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, the event emphasized the need for the national government not to rely on any state for its own security. However, the Constitution does not specify a location for the capital, on July 9,1790, Congress passed the Residence Act, which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River. The exact location was to be selected by President George Washington, formed from land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of the federal district was a square measuring 10 miles on each side, totaling 100 square miles. Two pre-existing settlements were included in the territory, the port of Georgetown, Maryland, founded in 1751, many of the stones are still standing
6.
Self-portraits by Rembrandt
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The dozens of self-portraits by Rembrandt were an important part of his oeuvre. This was a high number for any artist up to that point. By comparison, the highly prolific Rubens only produced seven self-portrait paintings, the self-portraits create a visual diary of the artist over a span of forty years. They were produced throughout his career at a steady pace. However, there is a gap in paintings between 1645 and 1652, the last three etchings date to 1648, c. 1651, and 1658, whereas he was painting portraits in 1669. At one time about ninety paintings were counted as Rembrandt self-portraits, in others he is pulling faces at himself. Together they give a clear picture of the man, his appearance and his psychological make-up. Both seem to have often been bought by collectors, and while some of the etchings are very rare, no self-portraits were listed in the famous 1656 inventory, and only a handful of the paintings remained in the family after his death. Rembrandts self-portraits were created by the artist looking at himself in a mirror, in the etchings the printing process creates a reversed image, and the prints therefore show Rembrandt in the same orientation as he appeared to contemporaries. This is one reason why the hands are usually omitted or just cursorily described in the paintings, one may have been bought about 1652 and then sold in 1656 when he went bankrupt. In 1658 he asked his son Titus to arrange delivery of another one and these are B7, B19, B21 and B22, stretching between 1631 and 1648. There are a number of what seem to be abandoned attempts at such portraits around the same times, while the earliest etchings are very rare, many others that are not official portraits survive in large numbers, and certainly reached the market of collectors. As noted above, there are only two sketchy etchings after 1648, and there are no etched equivalents of the great painted self-portraits of the 1550s and 1560s. The number of drawings now accepted is far smaller, in single figures, the standing portrait, if indeed by it is Rembrandt, may have been done for someone elses friendship album, keeping these was common in artistic and literary circles. The Washington red chalk drawing, perhaps the most finished example, is close to the etching B2 in many ways, since these were exclusive to aristocratic circles, it was probably invented like a piece of costume. A short film from 1956 by Bert Haanstra showed a sequence of the paintings, with the eyes always in the same position. There is also Le miroir des paradoxes, autoportraits, film by Alain Jaubert from the Palettes series
7.
Andrew Mellon
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Andrew William Mellon was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. From the wealthy Mellon family of Pennsylvania, he established a vast business empire before transitioning into politics. He served as United States Secretary of the Treasury from March 9,1921 to February 12,1932, presiding over the years of the 1920s. Leaving office after the onset of the Great Depression, he served as the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. A conservative Republican, Mellon lowered taxes and government spending in the aftermath of World War I, Mellon was born in Pennsylvania on March 24,1855. His name is listed on the 1860 Census as William A. Mellon and his father was Thomas Mellon, a banker and judge who was a Scots-Irish immigrant from County Tyrone, Ireland, his mother was Sarah Jane Negley Mellon. He had three brothers, Thomas A. James R. and Samuel, and he also had a younger brother named Richard B. He was educated at the Western University of Pennsylvania and left before graduating, in 1872 his father set him up in a lumber and coal business, which he soon turned into a profitable enterprise. He joined his fathers banking firm, T, Mellon & Sons, in 1880 and two years later had ownership of the bank transferred to him. In 1889, Mellon helped organize the Union Trust Company and Union Savings Bank of Pittsburgh and he also branched into industrial activities, oil, steel, shipbuilding, and construction. Areas where Mellons backing created giant enterprises included aluminum, industrial abrasives, Mellon financed Charles Martin Hall, whose refinery grew into the Aluminum Company of America. He became the partner of Edward Goodrich Acheson in manufacturing silicon carbide and he created an entire industry through his help to Heinrich Koppers, inventor of coke ovens which transformed industrial waste into usable products such as coal-gas, coal-tar, and sulfur. He also became an investor in the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. Mellon was one of the wealthiest people in the United States, while he served as Secretary of the U. S. Treasury Department his wealth peaked at around $300–$400 million in 1929–1930. Mellon was a member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, along with his closest friends Henry Clay Frick and Philander Knox, Mellon served as a director of the Pittsburgh National Bank of Commerce. Mellon also was one-third owner with Frick and one Charles W. Mauck in the Old Overholt whiskey distillery in West Overton, at the time, Old Overholt was one of the largest and most respected whiskey producers in the country. In 1907, as prohibition became more popular across the country, Frick and Mellon removed their names from the distilling license and it is believed that Mellons connections in the Treasury Department are what allowed the company to secure a medicinal permit during Prohibition. This permit allowed Overholt to sell existing whiskey stocks to druggists for medicinal use, when Frick died in December 1919, he left his share to Mellon
8.
Titian
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Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio, known in English as Titian /ˈtɪʃən/, was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno, during his lifetime he was often called da Cadore, taken from the place of his birth. His painting methods, particularly in the application and use of color, would exercise a profound influence not only on painters of the Italian Renaissance, during the course of his long life, Titians artistic manner changed drastically, but he retained a lifelong interest in color. Although his mature works may not contain the vivid, luminous tints of his pieces, their loose brushwork. The exact date of Titians birth is uncertain, when he was an old man he claimed in a letter to Philip II, King of Spain, to have been born in 1474, but this seems most unlikely. Other writers contemporary to his old age give figures that would equate to birthdates between 1473 and after 1482 and he was the son of Gregorio Vecelli and his wife Lucia. His father was superintendent of the castle of Pieve di Cadore, Gregorio was also a distinguished councilor and soldier. Many relatives, including Titians grandfather, were notaries, and the family of four were well-established in the area, at the age of about ten to twelve he and his brother Francesco were sent to an uncle in Venice to find an apprenticeship with a painter. At that time the Bellinis, especially Giovanni, were the artists in the city. There Titian found a group of men about his own age, among them Giovanni Palma da Serinalta, Lorenzo Lotto, Sebastiano Luciani. Francesco Vecellio, his brother, later became a painter of some note in Venice. A fresco of Hercules on the Morosini Palace is said to have one of Titians earliest works. Others were the Bellini-esque so-called Gypsy Madonna in Vienna, and the Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth, now in the Accademia, a Man with a Quilted Sleeve is an early portrait, painted around 1509 and described by Giorgio Vasari in 1568. Scholars long believed it depicted Ludovico Ariosto, but now think it is of Gerolamo Barbarigo, Rembrandt borrowed the composition for his self-portraits. Titian joined Giorgione as an assistant, but many contemporary critics found his work more impressive—for example in exterior frescoes that they did for the Fondaco dei Tedeschi. Their relationship evidently contained a significant element of rivalry, distinguishing between their work at this period remains a subject of scholarly controversy. A substantial number of attributions have moved from Giorgione to Titian in the 20th century, one of the earliest known Titian works, Christ Carrying the Cross in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, depicting the Ecce Homo scene, was long regarded as by Giorgione. In 1507–1508 Giorgione was commissioned by the state to create frescoes on the re-erected Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Titian and Morto da Feltre worked along with him, and some fragments of paintings remain, probably by Giorgione
9.
A Man with a Quilted Sleeve
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A Man with a Quilted Sleeve is a painting of about 1510 by the Venetian painter Titian in the National Gallery, London, measuring 81.2 by 66.3 centimetres. Though the quality of the painting has always praised, there has been much discussion as to the identity of the sitter. By having the large sleeve project slightly beyond the parapet, Titian subverts the usual barrier effect, the turning pose, with the head slightly atilt and an eyebrow appearing raised, exactly halfway across the composition, adds life and drama. The broad spiral motion in depth of the head and arm suggests that Titian had some awareness of developments in painting in Florence. The sleeve is brilliantly painted, and the merging of the portions of the figure with the grey atmospheric background. Is one of the most innovative and influential aspects of the painting, the painting comes from a crucial period in the development of the Italian Renaissance portrait, which was then being led by Venice. To some extent the ardent gaze of this and other figures is adopted from paintings of religious subjects, the pose was borrowed in two self-portraits by Rembrandt, who saw the painting in Amsterdam. Soon after it moved to England via France. It entered the National Gallery in 1904 as NG1944, the works attribution and dating are based on its style, its ambigious signature, and comparison with other Titian works, such as La Schiavona. The dates assigned have all been in the period of about 1509–1512, according to Nicholas Penny, the Man with a Quilted Sleeve may be Titians earliest portrait, apart from a Knight of Malta in the Uffizi. The widely-spaced letters T V appear as though carved into the stone parapet either side of the sleeve and they are usually taken as Titians initials, though there is a second V visible in infra-red reflectography, so the painting once might have carried the mysterious abbreviation VV. Various moral mottos, such as virtus vincit have been proposed as the meaning, VV is not usually regarded as a signature, but TV might be Titians. Before cleaning and restoration the signature had been added to by a hand, so that it read TITIANUS. Like many others, the painting was at times attributed to Giorgione, the painting was cleaned in 1949, when the later parts of the signature were painted over. The blue sleeve is well preserved, parts of the face and the area around the hand are rubbed, scientific imaging reveals only a little very confident underdrawing. From at least the 1630s until the late 19th century it was thought to be a portrait of the poet Ludovico Ariosto, but this is dismissed by all modern critics. Even when it entered the National Gallery in 1904 it was only tentatively so identified, as it not resemble other portraits of Ariosto. The family was then at the height of its power, and had supplied two Doges of Venice in succession from 1485–1501, the Barberigo identification has met with some resistance
10.
Etching
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Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types of material, as a method of printmaking, it is, along with engraving, the most important technique for old master prints, and remains in wide use today. In a number of variants such as microfabrication etching and photochemical milling it is a crucial technique in much modern technology. In traditional pure etching, a plate is covered with a waxy ground which is resistant to acid. The artist then scratches off the ground with an etching needle where he or she wants a line to appear in the finished piece. The échoppe, a tool with an oval section, is also used for swelling lines. The plate is dipped in a bath of acid, technically called the mordant or etchant. The acid bites into the metal where it is exposed, leaving behind lines sunk into the plate, the remaining ground is then cleaned off the plate. The plate is inked all over, and then the ink wiped off the surface, the plate is then put through a high-pressure printing press together with a sheet of paper. The paper picks up the ink from the lines, making a print. The process can be repeated many times, typically several hundred impressions could be printed before the shows much sign of wear. The work on the plate can also be added to by repeating the whole process, Etching has often been combined with other intaglio techniques such as engraving or aquatint. The process as applied to printmaking is believed to have been invented by Daniel Hopfer of Augsburg, Hopfer was a craftsman who decorated armour in this way, and applied the method to printmaking, using iron plates. Apart from his prints, there are two examples of his work on armour, a shield from 1536 now in the Real Armeria of Madrid. The switch to copper plates was made in Italy. On the other hand, the handling of the ground and acid need skill and experience, prior to 1100 AD, the New World Hohokam independently utilized the technique of acid etching in marine shell designs. Jacques Callot from Nancy in Lorraine made important technical advances in etching technique and he developed the échoppe, a type of etching-needle with a slanting oval section at the end, which enabled etchers to create a swelling line, as engravers were able to do. Callot also appears to have responsible for an improved, harder, recipe for the etching ground
11.
National Gallery
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The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the century to 1900. The Gallery is a charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media. Its collection belongs to the public of the United Kingdom and entry to the collection is free of charge. It is among the most visited art museums in the world, after the Musée du Louvre, the British Museum, unlike comparable museums in continental Europe, the National Gallery was not formed by nationalising an existing royal or princely art collection. It came into being when the British government bought 38 paintings from the heirs of John Julius Angerstein, after that initial purchase the Gallery was shaped mainly by its early directors, notably Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, and by private donations, which comprise two-thirds of the collection. It used to be claimed that this was one of the few national galleries that had all its works on permanent exhibition, the present building, the third to house the National Gallery, was designed by William Wilkins from 1832 to 1838. Only the façade onto Trafalgar Square remains essentially unchanged from this time, wilkinss building was often criticised for the perceived weaknesses of its design and for its lack of space, the latter problem led to the establishment of the Tate Gallery for British art in 1897. The Sainsbury Wing, an extension to the west by Robert Venturi, the current Director of the National Gallery is Gabriele Finaldi. The late 18th century saw the nationalisation of royal or princely art collections across mainland Europe, great Britain, however, did not emulate the continental model, and the British Royal Collection remains in the sovereigns possession today. In 1777 the British government had the opportunity to buy an art collection of international stature, the MP John Wilkes argued for the government to buy this invaluable treasure and suggested that it be housed in a noble gallery. The twenty-five paintings from that now in the Gallery, including NG1, have arrived by a variety of routes. This offer was declined and Bourgeois bequeathed the collection to his old school, Dulwich College, the collection opened in Britains first purpose-built public gallery, the Dulwich Picture Gallery, in 1814. The British Institution, founded in 1805 by a group of aristocratic connoisseurs, the members lent works to exhibitions that changed annually, while an art school was held in the summer months. However, as the paintings that were lent were often mediocre, some resented the Institution. One of the Institutions founding members, Sir George Beaumont, Bt, in 1823 another major art collection came on the market, which had been assembled by the recently deceased John Julius Angerstein. Angerstein was a Russian-born émigré banker based in London, his collection numbered 38 paintings, including works by Raphael, on 1 July 1823 George Agar Ellis, a Whig politician, proposed to the House of Commons that it purchase the collection. The appeal was given added impetus by Beaumonts offer, which came with two conditions, that the government buy Angersteins collection, and that a building was to be found
12.
Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione
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Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione is a c. 1514–1515 oil painting attributed to the Italian High Renaissance painter Raphael, considered one of the great portraits of the Renaissance, it has an enduring influence. It depicts Raphaels friend, the diplomat and humanist Baldassare Castiglione, the portrait was produced as a result of Raphaels friendship with Castiglione, whose ascent in courtly circles paralleled that of the artist. They were close friends by 1504, when Castiglione made his visit to Urbino. Raphael was commissioned by Guidobaldo da Montefeltro in 1505 to paint a picture for Henry VII and it is possible that Castiglione later served as a scholarly advisor for Raphaels The School of Athens, and that the depiction of Zoroaster in that fresco may be a portrait of the courtier. Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione may have had a practical and intimate purpose, Castiglione left his family behind when he went to Rome, and he wrote a poem in which he imagined his wife and son consoling themselves with the picture during his absence. Its one of only two Raphaels paintings on canvas, copies produced in the 17th century show Castigliones hands in full, suggesting that the picture was subsequently cut by several inches at the bottom. Castiglione is seated against a background and wears a dark doublet with a trim of squirrel fur. The attire indicates that this was painted during the winter, likely that of 1514–1515, when Castiglione was in Rome by appointment of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro to Pope Leo X. The lightest areas are the face seen nearly head-on, a billow of white shirt front at his chest, and his folded hands. Castiglione is seen as vulnerable, possessing a humane sensitivity characteristic of Raphaels later portraits, the soft contours of his clothing and rounded beard express the subtlety of the subjects personality. In his The Book of the Courtier Castiglione argued on behalf of the cultivation of fine manners and he popularized the term sprezzatura, which translates roughly to nonchalant mastery, an ideal of effortless grace befitting a man of culture. The concept eventually found its way into English literature, in the plays of Ben Jonson, the pictures elegance of execution is consistent with the attitude of the subject. For Gowing, The picture has the subtlety of baroque observation but the stillness, the portraits composition and atmospheric quality suggest an homage to the Mona Lisa, which Raphael would have seen in Rome. Notwithstanding shifts in the appraisal of Raphaels work, the painting has enjoyed consistent admiration from other artists. Titian was strongly influenced by this portrait, and may have first viewed it in Castigliones home in Mantua, in 1639 Rembrandt drew a sketch of the painting while it was being auctioned in Amsterdam, and subsequently referenced the composition in several self-portraits. A copy of the painting, now in the Courtauld Institute of Art, was painted by Peter Paul Rubens, both Rembrandts and Rubenss versions display Baroque flourish, quite different from the original paintings sober restraint. At the turn of the 20th century Henri Matisse copied the painting, how well balanced the patches in the unity of the whole
13.
Raphael
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Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, known as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period. Raphael was enormously productive, running a large workshop and, despite his death at 37. Many of his works are found in the Vatican Palace, where the frescoed Raphael Rooms were the central, the best known work is The School of Athens in the Vatican Stanza della Segnatura. After his early years in Rome much of his work was executed by his workshop from his drawings and he was extremely influential in his lifetime, though outside Rome his work was mostly known from his collaborative printmaking. Raphael was born in the small but artistically significant central Italian city of Urbino in the Marche region and his poem to Federico shows him as keen to show awareness of the most advanced North Italian painters, and Early Netherlandish artists as well. In the very court of Urbino he was probably more integrated into the central circle of the ruling family than most court painters. Under them, the court continued as a centre for literary culture, growing up in the circle of this small court gave Raphael the excellent manners and social skills stressed by Vasari. Castiglione moved to Urbino in 1504, when Raphael was no longer based there but frequently visited, Raphael mixed easily in the highest circles throughout his life, one of the factors that tended to give a misleading impression of effortlessness to his career. He did not receive a humanistic education however, it is unclear how easily he read Latin. His mother Màgia died in 1491 when Raphael was eight, followed on August 1,1494 by his father, Raphael was thus orphaned at eleven, his formal guardian became his only paternal uncle Bartolomeo, a priest, who subsequently engaged in litigation with his stepmother. He probably continued to live with his stepmother when not staying as an apprentice with a master and he had already shown talent, according to Vasari, who says that Raphael had been a great help to his father. A self-portrait drawing from his teenage years shows his precocity and his fathers workshop continued and, probably together with his stepmother, Raphael evidently played a part in managing it from a very early age. In Urbino, he came into contact with the works of Paolo Uccello, previously the court painter, and Luca Signorelli, according to Vasari, his father placed him in the workshop of the Umbrian master Pietro Perugino as an apprentice despite the tears of his mother. The evidence of an apprenticeship comes only from Vasari and another source, an alternative theory is that he received at least some training from Timoteo Viti, who acted as court painter in Urbino from 1495. An excess of resin in the varnish often causes cracking of areas of paint in the works of both masters, the Perugino workshop was active in both Perugia and Florence, perhaps maintaining two permanent branches. Raphael is described as a master, that is to say fully trained and his first documented work was the Baronci altarpiece for the church of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino in Città di Castello, a town halfway between Perugia and Urbino. Evangelista da Pian di Meleto, who had worked for his father, was named in the commission
14.
Ludovico Ariosto
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Ludovico Ariosto was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic Orlando Furioso, Ariosto composed the poem in the ottava rima rhyme scheme and introduced narrative commentary throughout the work. Ariosto also coined the term humanism for choosing to focus upon the strengths and potential of humanity, Ariosto was born in Reggio nell’Emilia, where his father Niccolò Ariosto was commander of the citadel. He was the oldest of 10 children and was seen as the successor to the position of his family. From his earliest years, Ludovico was very interested in poetry, after five years of law, Ariosto was allowed to read classics under Gregorio da Spoleto. Ariostos studies of Greek and Latin literature were cut short by Spoletos move to France to tutor Francesco Sforza, shortly after this, Ariostos father died. After the death of his father, Ludovico Ariosto was compelled to forgo his literary occupations and take care of his family, despite his family obligations, Ariosto managed to write some comedies in prose as well as lyrical pieces. Some of these attracted the notice of Cardinal Ippolito dEste, who took the poet under his patronage. Este compensated Ariosto poorly for his efforts, the reward he gave the poet for Orlando Furioso, dedicated to him, was the question, Where did you find so many stories. Ludovico Ariosto and Leonardo da Vinci shared a patron in Cardinal Ippolito dEstes older sister the Marchioness Isabella d’Este, Isabella d’Este appears in Ludovico’s masterpiece, Orlando Furioso. She also appears in Leonardo’s, “Sketch for a Portrait of Isabella d’Este, “A statue no less jocund, no less bright, / Succeeds, and on the writing is impressed, / Lo. ”The cardinal went to Hungary in 1518, and wished Ariosto to accompany him. The poet excused himself, pleading ill health, his love of study, and his excuses were not well-received, and he was denied even an interview. Ariosto and dEste got into an argument, and Ariosto was promptly dismissed from service. The cardinals brother, Alfonso, duke of Ferrara, now took Ariosto under his patronage, by then, Ariosto had already distinguished himself as a diplomat, chiefly on the occasion of two visits to Rome as ambassador to Pope Julius II. On account of the war, his salary of 84 crowns a year was suspended, because of this, Ariosto asked the duke either to provide for him, or to allow him to seek employment elsewhere. He was appointed to the province of Garfagnana, then without a governor, situated on the Apennines, the province was distracted by factions and bandits, the governor had not the requisite means to enforce his authority and the duke did little to support his minister. In 1508 Ariostos play Cassaria appeared, and the next year I suppositi was first acted in Ferrara, a prose edition was published in Rome in 1524, and the first verse edition was published at Venice in 1551. The play was translated by George Gascoigne and acted at Grays Inn in London in 1566 and published in 1573, in 1516, the first version of the Orlando Furioso in 40 cantos, was published at Ferrara
15.
Scottish National Gallery
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The Scottish National Gallery is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, in a building designed by William Henry Playfair. The gallery houses the Scottish national collection of art, including Scottish. The origins of Scotlands national collection lie with the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts in Scotland and it began to acquire paintings, and in 1828 the Royal Institution building opened on The Mound. In 1826, the Scottish Academy was founded by a group of artists as an offshoot of the Royal Institution, a key aim of the RSA was the founding of a national collection. It began to build up a collection and from 1835 rented exhibition space within the Royal Institution building, in the 1840s, plans were put in place for a new building to house the RSA. William Henry Playfair was commissioned to prepare designs, and on 30 August 1850, in 1912 the RSA moved into the Royal Institution building, which remains known as the Royal Scottish Academy Building. At this time, internal remodelling was carried out by William Thomas Oldrieve, when it re-opened, the gallery concentrated on building its permanent collection of Scottish and European art for the nation of Scotland Additional basement galleries were constructed in 1970. Construction took five years and cost £32 million, the new underground space was opened as the Weston Link in August 2004. The Print Room or Research Library can be accessed by appointment, at the heart of the National Gallerys collection is a group of paintings transferred from the Royal Scottish Academy Building. This includes masterpieces by Jacopo Bassano, Van Dyck and Giambattista Tiepolo, the National Gallery did not receive its own purchase grant until 1903
16.
Wayback Machine
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The Internet Archive launched the Wayback Machine in October 2001. It was set up by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, and is maintained with content from Alexa Internet, the service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the archive calls a three dimensional index. Since 1996, the Wayback Machine has been archiving cached pages of websites onto its large cluster of Linux nodes and it revisits sites every few weeks or months and archives a new version. Sites can also be captured on the fly by visitors who enter the sites URL into a search box, the intent is to capture and archive content that otherwise would be lost whenever a site is changed or closed down. The overall vision of the machines creators is to archive the entire Internet, the name Wayback Machine was chosen as a reference to the WABAC machine, a time-traveling device used by the characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, an animated cartoon. These crawlers also respect the robots exclusion standard for websites whose owners opt for them not to appear in search results or be cached, to overcome inconsistencies in partially cached websites, Archive-It. Information had been kept on digital tape for five years, with Kahle occasionally allowing researchers, when the archive reached its fifth anniversary, it was unveiled and opened to the public in a ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley. Snapshots usually become more than six months after they are archived or, in some cases, even later. The frequency of snapshots is variable, so not all tracked website updates are recorded, Sometimes there are intervals of several weeks or years between snapshots. After August 2008 sites had to be listed on the Open Directory in order to be included. As of 2009, the Wayback Machine contained approximately three petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of 100 terabytes each month, the growth rate reported in 2003 was 12 terabytes/month, the data is stored on PetaBox rack systems manufactured by Capricorn Technologies. In 2009, the Internet Archive migrated its customized storage architecture to Sun Open Storage, in 2011 a new, improved version of the Wayback Machine, with an updated interface and fresher index of archived content, was made available for public testing. The index driving the classic Wayback Machine only has a bit of material past 2008. In January 2013, the company announced a ground-breaking milestone of 240 billion URLs, in October 2013, the company announced the Save a Page feature which allows any Internet user to archive the contents of a URL. This became a threat of abuse by the service for hosting malicious binaries, as of December 2014, the Wayback Machine contained almost nine petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of about 20 terabytes each week. Between October 2013 and March 2015 the websites global Alexa rank changed from 162 to 208, in a 2009 case, Netbula, LLC v. Chordiant Software Inc. defendant Chordiant filed a motion to compel Netbula to disable the robots. Netbula objected to the motion on the ground that defendants were asking to alter Netbulas website, in an October 2004 case, Telewizja Polska USA, Inc. v. Echostar Satellite, No.02 C3293,65 Fed. 673, a litigant attempted to use the Wayback Machine archives as a source of admissible evidence, Telewizja Polska is the provider of TVP Polonia and EchoStar operates the Dish Network
17.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
18.
The Stoning of Saint Stephen
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The Stoning of Saint Stephen is the first signed painting by Dutch artist Rembrandt, painted in 1625 at the age of 19. It is currently kept in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon and this work is inspired by the martyrdom of Saint Stephen which is recounted in Acts 7. This young deacon in the Christian community of Jerusalem was sentenced to death by stoning, the painting was influenced by the art of Caravaggio and Adam Elsheimer. It represents the moment when Stephen was stoned outside the city by his many tormentors, saul of Tarsus can be seen seated in the background holding in his lap the coats of the stoners. Some inaccuracies in the drawing can be seen, the character behind Stephen seems to be a self-portrait done into a wider composition, as Spanish painter Diego Velázquez did in Las Meninas. John Durham suggests that Rembrandt presents himself as a somewhat alarmed presence, a participant who may be having second thoughts about what was taking place
19.
Self-portrait (Rembrandt, Indianapolis)
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This 1629 self-portrait by Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn is part of the Clowes Fund Collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is among the earliest of over 40 self-portraits by Rembrandt and this is a portrait of studied spontaneity. His parted lips, tilted head, and leaning posture all evoke a moment of surprise and sudden animation and he wears what can best be described as a costume, culled from his collection of studio attire. This includes a scarf, a cap pulled low to give Rembrandt a dramatic shadow over his brow, since Rembrandt never served in the militia, the gorget is sheer affectation. Although he was only twenty-three when he made this painting, Rembrandt utilized an array of artistic techniques to fill it with emotion. Already, his characteristic lighting and dense atmosphere are visible and he used nearly monochromatic hues and incisive brushwork, delineating individual strands of hair by scratching into the wet paint, to create this emotionally charged portrait. Studies such as this enabled him to create his great works of art. At the time of this creation, Rembrandt was still a young, uncelebrated painter in his hometown. Working as the master of his own workshop, he honed his craft. Rembrandts followers endlessly emulated his self-portraits, creating a whole subgenre eagerly sought by collectors, Rembrandt often used his self-portraits as teaching aids for his students, having them produce countless copies and variants both for their own edification and because they sold quite well. There are no fewer than five copies of this particular painting, Art historian Abraham Bredius, who discovered it in a castle near Lvov in 1897, first presented it as an authentic Rembrandt, but his definitive Rembrandt catalogue reversed that opinion in 1969. Other scholars weighed in on both sides, before and after a 1966 cleaning, technical examinations including X-radiography in 1979 settled the matter, and the work is now accepted as Rembrandts own. The X-radiographs revealed extensive pentimenti where Rembrandt altered the angles of his shoulders and head and this indicates that the work is an original composition, rather than a mere copy. There is further evidence in favor of this attribution which does not require advanced equipment to discern. The painting bears the monogram RHL, which was used by Rembrandt during his years in Leiden and these initials were added when the paint was still wet, and do not appear on any of the copies. Furthermore, this portrait includes several blemishes on Rembrandts chin, while he himself always recorded his face with all its wrinkles and imperfections, his students tended to gloss over such evidence of humanity. Clowes purchased this painting in 1951, ending its circulation among the families of Poland. The Clowes family gave it to the IMA in 1959 and it has the accession number C10063 and is currently on view in the Clowes Pavilion
20.
The Raising of Lazarus (Rembrandt)
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The work depicts the Raising of Lazarus as told in the Gospel of John, Chapter 11. It is in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the painting shows the moment Lazarus re-awakens from death and rises from his tomb as Christ calls him. Lazarus is in the half of the painting while the figures at left are far more illuminated than he. Mary and those assembled look on in amazement as Lazarus comes to life, the painting depicts a parable of spiritual life, the miracle of the hardened sinner receiving first grace. Rembrandt used chiaroscuro in painting, with the dark interior of the burial cave. This is one of few religious subjects from the New Testament that Rembrandt painted. Rembrandt painted The Raising of Lazarus early in his career, while he was still in Leiden, Rembrandt made two etchings on the same subject but with differing compositions, one in approximately 1632 and another in 1642. The 1632 etching shows a different point of view while the 1642 etching shows different figures in the cave, the 1642 etching also depicts Christ as more of a healer, rather than the enchanter of this work. The subject of this painting may draw on an undated Jan Lievens etching of the same name, Lievens and Rembrandt were friends and probably worked together. The composition of the painting may derive from a drawing by Rembrandt from the time as the Burial of Christ. Rembrandt would most closely imitate Raising of Lazarus with his 1635/1639 painting The Resurrection, the placement of the figures is similar and a study of drawings indicates that the latter was developed from the former. Raising of Lazarus was owned by Rembrandt for most of his life and it was inventoried as being hung in Rembrandt’s anteroom. The painting passed through various owners in Europe until it was bought by Howard F. Ahmanson, Sr. in 1959, Los Angeles County Museum of Art collection page
21.
Andromeda Chained to the Rocks
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Andromeda Chained to the Rocks is a 34 x 25 oil on panel painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt. It is now in the Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands, Andromeda represents Rembrandts first full length mythological female nude history painting and is taken from a story in Ovids Metamorphoses. In Metamorphoses, Andromeda is the daughter of an Ethiopian king and queen, Cepheus, Cassiopeia was very boastful about her beauty, and asserted that she was more beautiful than Juno, the queen of the gods and the Nereids. Insulted by Cassiopeias assertions, Neptune sent a sea monster to the Ethiopian coast, Neptune then could only be appeased upon the sacrifice of Andromeda, the kings beautiful virgin daughter, to the sea monster. Andromeda was chained naked to rocks by the coast, awaiting the sea monster, Perseus, passing by, had noticed the beautiful girl and made a deal with her parents that he would save her, should he be allowed to have her hand in marriage. The king as queen agree and andromeda was spared and this painting depicts a classic example of the damsel in distress. In this theme a beautiful woman is placed in a perilous situation. The damsel can then only be rescued by a hero, whom of which she ends up marrying. In this painting, Andromeda has a look on her face as she is completely shackled. Many artists such as Titian have depicted this story by showing Andromeda, her rescuer Perseus, and her beauty as described in her source material can be seen in some of these other works, along with Perseus role as her rescuer. In this work, Rembrandt shies away from classical conventions by showing her not as a glamorous beauty, no other figure is included, but her alarmed look out of the picture space to the right creates narrative tension. The painting is an example of Rembrandts rejection of idealized beauty, since he did not believe true beauty existed naturally, he painted women as he saw them, naturally imperfect and flawed. Rembrandts subsequent nude mythological paintings from this period Diana Bathing and Danaë show his evolving portrayal of the nude, other Depictions of Andromeda Ovid, Translated by A. D. Melville, Metamorphoses, Oxford University Press,1998. Clark, Kenneth, Rembrandt and the Italian Renaissance
22.
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp
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The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is a 1632 oil painting on canvas by Rembrandt housed in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, the Netherlands. Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is pictured explaining the musculature of the arm to medical professionals, some of the spectators are various doctors who paid commissions to be included in the painting. The painting is signed in the top-left hand corner Rembrandt and this may be the first instance of Rembrandt signing a painting with his forename as opposed to the monogramme RHL, and is thus a sign of his growing artistic confidence. The spectators are appropriately dressed for this social occasion and it is thought that the uppermost and farthest left figures were added to the picture later. It was his first major commission in Amsterdam, each of the men included in the portrait would have paid a certain amount of money to be included in the work, and the more central figures probably paid more, even twice as much. Rembrandts image is a fiction, in an anatomy lesson. One person is missing, the Preparator, whose task was to prepare the body for the lesson, in the 17th century an important scientist such as Dr. Tulp would not be involved in menial and bloody work like dissection, and such tasks would be left to others. It is for this reason that the picture shows no cutting instruments, instead we see in the lower right corner an enormous open textbook on anatomy, possibly the 1543 De humani corporis fabrica by Andreas Vesalius. The corpse is that of the criminal Aris Kindt, who was convicted for armed robbery and he was executed earlier on the same day of the scene. The face of the corpse is partially shaded, a suggestion of umbra mortis, Kindt was discussed in the 1999 novel The Rings of Saturn by W. G. Sebald, and plays a significant role in Laird Hunts 2006 novel The Exquisite. Medical specialists have commented on the accuracy of muscles and tendons painted by the 26-year-old Rembrandt and it is not known where he obtained such knowledge, it is possible that he copied the details from an anatomical textbook. However, in 2006 Dutch researchers recreated the scene with a male cadaver and it is the common extensor origin that originates at the lateral epicondyle. In a 2007 study, the American artist and anatomist David J, the Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Deijman, painted by Rembrandt in 1656, was intended to be displayed in the Anatomical Hall in Amsterdam alongside The anatomy lesson of Tulp. Deijman was Tulps immediate successor in the post of praelector chirugic et anatomie, the painting was damaged by fire in 1723, and only a central fragment survives. Around 1856 Édouard Manet visited The Hague and made an oil on panel copy of The Anatomy Lesson. Broadly painted in a palette, Manet gave the painting to his physician. A less detailed copy of The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp by an unknown artist hangs in Edinburgh as part of The University of Edinburgh Fine Art Collection, in 2010, Yiull Damaso created a parody of the painting depicting prominent South Africans. Nelson Mandela was the cadaver, Nkosi Johnson was the instructor, and the students were Desmond Tutu, F. W. de Klerk, Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma, Cyril Ramaphosa, Trevor Manuel, and Helen Zille
23.
Old Man with a Gold Chain
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Old Man with a Gold Chain is a portrait by Rembrandt, painted around 1631 and now in the Art Institute of Chicago. This painting was documented by Hofstede de Groot in 1915, who wrote,675, half-length, without hands, almost life size. He is inclined to the left, but his head and eyes are turned to the right and he wears a dark purple cloak, over which hangs a gold chain with a medallion. Round his neck is a small close-fitting steel gorget, in his right ear is a pearl. He has a short beard, and curly hair covered by a broad-brimmed black hat with two dark ostrich feathers. Signed on the left at foot with the monogram R H L, there are copies, Bode 217, Wb. 6687, ii, Bode, p.413, Dutuit, p.43, Michel, sedelmeyer, Paris, Catalogue of 300 Paintings,1898, No.111. In the collection of W. H. Beers, New York, in the collection of S. Neumann, London. Martineau and others, London, March 10,1902, panel,23 1/2 inches by 19 inches. Causid-Brück of Cassel, Frankfort-on-Main, February 10,1914, No.25, exhibited at Düsseldorf,1912, No.43. M. P. W. Boulton, London, December 9,1911, in the possession of P. and D. Colnaghi and Obach, London. In the possession of Julius Böhler, Munich, marczell von Nemes of Budapest, Paris, June 17,1913, No.60. In the possession of Julius Böhler, Munich, in the possession of Reinhardt, New York. Halffiguur van een man met halsberg en gevederde baret, ca.1631 in the RKD Artic. edu, Old Man with a Gold Chain Artic. edu, Renaissance exhibitions
24.
Jacob de Gheyn III
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Jacob de Gheyn III, also known as Jacob III de Gheyn, was a Dutch Golden Age engraver, son of Jacob de Gheyn II, canon of Utrecht, and the subject of a 1632 oil painting by Rembrandt. The portrait is half of a pair of pendent portraits, the other piece is a portrait of de Gheyns friend Maurits Huygens, wearing similar clothing and facing the opposite direction. De Gheyn learned engraving from his father, who was a favored royal artist who designed a garden in the Hague for the royal family and this was a shared interest with the Huygens family who lived close by. The younger De Gheyn studied in Leiden with Constantijn and Maurits Huygens, excepting tours of London in 1618 with the Huygens brothers and Sweden in 1620, De Gheyn lived in the Hague until 1634, when he moved to Utrecht to become canon of St Marys church. His engravings became known though the writings of Aernout van Buchel who admired his work, the painting of De Gheyn in Dulwich Picture Gallery is smaller than most of Rembrandts works, measuring only 29.9 by 24.9 centimetres. It has been numerous times, and its size is one factor that has contributed to its numerous thefts. Huygens and de Gheyn had commissioned Rembrandt to paint them in identical formats, the friends had agreed that the first of them to die would receive the painting owned by the other, as evidenced by inscriptions on their reverse. They were reunited when de Gheyn died, Maurits Huygens survived De Gheyn by less than a year however, and his brother Constantijn Huygens was so heartbroken that he stopped writing for a long period. Between 14 August 1981 and 3 September 1981 the painting was taken from Dulwich Picture Gallery, a little under two years later a burglar smashed a skylight and descended through it into the art gallery, using a crowbar to remove the painting from the wall. The police arrived within three minutes but were too late to apprehend the thief, the painting was missing for three years, eventually being found on 8 October 1986 in a luggage rack at the train station of a British army garrison in Münster, Germany. The other two times, the painting was found once underneath a bench in a graveyard in Streatham, each time the painting has been returned anonymously with more than one person being charged for its disappearance
25.
Philosopher in Meditation
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Philosopher in Meditation is the traditional title of an oil painting in the Musée du Louvre, Paris, that has long been attributed to the 17th-century Dutch artist Rembrandt. It is signed RHL-van Rijn and dated 1632, at the time of Rembrandts move from Leiden to Amsterdam, recent scholarship suggests that the painting depicts Tobit and Anna waiting for their son Tobias instead. The painting appeared in Paris around the middle of the 18th century, the popularity of the painting may be measured by its presence on the internet, where it is often used as an emblem of philosophy, or interpreted along esoteric or occult lines. Painted in oils on an oak panel measuring about 11 x 13 in, the painting depicts in slightly accelerated perspective two figures in a partially vaulted interior that is dominated by a wooden spiral staircase. The architecture includes stone, brick and wood, with arched elements that create an impression of monumentality, as in the staircase and the basketwork tray at the center of the composition, the curved lines can be said to organize the straight lines. The first figure is that of an old man seated at a table in front of a window, his head bowed, the second figure is that of an old woman tending a fire in an open hearth. As it is, the painting is quite dark due to the aging of the varnish. The panel is signed RHL-van Rijn 163_ at the bottom and left of the center, the signature is traced in light pigment on a dark background and is quite difficult to make out. The last digit is a blob of paint, the form. The type of signature—monogram plus patronymic—would argue for 1632, for the artist used this type of only in this year. This does not mean that the picture was painted in that year or even in Amsterdam, in any case, this type of signature is so rare in Rembrandts oeuvre and date-specific that it argues for authenticity. While the traditional title Philosopher in Meditation has to a large extent been responsible for the paintings popularity, staircases—whether spiral or not—were not an attribute of philosophy in the early 17th century. Similar observations argue against identifying the figure as an alchemist. The objects depicted suggest a setting, yet the improbable architecture speaks more for a history than a genre subject. The French art historian Jean-Marie Clarke argues that the scene is derived from the Book of Tobit. The sole objection to this interpretation is that, apart from the two main figures—the blind Tobit and his wife Anna— there is no identifying attribute, such as Annas spinning wheel. Nevertheless, an interpretation of the scene is Tobit and Anna waiting for the return of their only son, Tobias. This is supported by an 18th-century source identifying a painting of the dimensions by Rembrandt representing a Composition with Tobit
26.
The Abduction of Europa (Rembrandt)
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Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn’s The Abduction of Europa is one of his rare mythological subject paintings. The piece is oil on canvas and now located in the J. Paul Getty Museum, the inspiration for the painting is Ovid’s Metamorphoses, part of which tells the tale of Zeus’s seduction and capture of Europa. The painting shows a scene with Europa being carried away in rough waters by a bull while her friends remain on shore with expressions of horror. Rembrandt combined his knowledge of literature with the interests of the patron in order to create this allegorical work. The use of an ancient myth to impart a contemporary thought, the Abduction of Europa is Rembrandt’s reinterpretation of the story, placed in a more contemporary setting. He developed an interest in the world early in his life while in Amsterdam. Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam in 1631 because the city was a growing business-oriented center where Rembrandt found work with great success, during this time, the international High Baroque style was popular. Rembrandt did not complete many mythological subject paintings, out of three hundred sixty completed works, five displayed tales from the Metamorphoses, five depicted goddesses, a Carthaginian queen, all of which only five represented myth subjects. Rembrandt occasionally used these mythological paintings as allegory, applying the tale to some Christian theme or a moral tradition, jacques Specx, of the Dutch East India Company, commissioned Rembrandt to complete The Abduction of Europa. Specx had established a center in Japan in 1609, served as the Governor of Batavia. The painting certainly was in Specx’s possession, along with five other portrait pieces, the subject and its allegorical meaning can be attributed to the patron, the artist, and a Belgian art biographer, Karel van Mander, whose theories entertained Rembdrant. Van Mander’s book Het schilder-boeck released an edition in 1618. The book was produced in Amsterdam and included details about many Netherlands painters, Rembrandt surely would have read this book, both because of its importance and its location, and familiarized himself with van Mander’s theories and interpretations of Ovid’s myths. Van Mander commented on Europa’s abduction, with a European spin to it, Ovid’s account of the abduction of Europa is found in Book II 833-75 of Metamorphoses. Europa is a princess of Tyre, who is playing with her court on the coast when a bull appears. Europa mounts the bull, which quickly whisks her away into the ocean, when Europa and her friends notice the bull retreating further into the sea without coming back, the bull transforms into Zeus and carries her to Mount Olympus on the island of Crete. Rembrandt’s painting is set just as Europa is whisked away, as seen by the bull, art historians, like Mariët Westermann and Gary Schwartz interpret the painting as a reference to Specx’ career. The painting includes details from Ovid’s story that strengthen the location of the tale as well as tie it to Specx’ life, the African driver and non-European coach in the shadows to the right allude to the exotic Phoenician coast
27.
Portrait of a Man Rising from His Chair
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Portrait of a Man Rising from His Chair is a painting by the Dutch painter Rembrandt, painted in 1633. It hangs in the Taft Museum of Art of Cincinnati, Ohio, the oil on canvas portrait measures 124 by 99 centimetres. It is signed and dated 1633, and there is no doubt of its authenticity, the pose of the wealthy subject is unusually animated, as he is rising, perhaps to greet a visitor or to introduce him to his wife depicted in a companion painting. The portrait and its pendant, Portrait of a Young Woman with a Fan, have been separated since 1793, occasional exhibitions have reunited the pair. The painting was purchased by Charles P. Taft from the Pourtales family of Paris, although the price paid for the picture was not made public, it was reported in the London Times at the time of the purchase that it cost $500,000
28.
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee
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The painting depicts the miracle of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee, as depicted in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The museum still displays the paintings empty frames in their original locations, on March 18,2013, the FBI announced they knew who was responsible for the crime. Criminal analysis has suggested that the heist was committed by a crime group. There have been no conclusions made public as the investigation is ongoing, in The Blacklist episode Gina Zanetakos, Raymond Reddington has possession of The Storm on the Sea of Galilee and is arranging its sale to a buyer for the buyers wedding. In the Complete First Season DVD, it is disc 2, Episode, Gina Zanetakos,5, the painting is the cover of a book called, Against the Gods, The Remarkable Story of Risk by Peter L. Bernstein. The painting is used as the artwork for The Struggle. Limb explains the Rembrandt is not only a painting but cheaper for the footage. The painting also is displayed hanging without its frame in Episode 3 of Batman, the painting is displayed in Episode 2/ Season 1 of Iron Fist in the penthouse of the supposedly dead Harold Meachum. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, A Companion Guide and History
29.
Flora (Rembrandt, Hermitage)
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Flora or Saskia as Flora is a 1634 painting by Rembrandt, showing his wife Saskia van Uylenburgh as the goddess Flora. It is now in the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg and this painting was documented by Hofstede de Groot in 1915, who wrote,206. She stands, in profile to the left and she turns her face, which has Saskias features, with a slight inclination towards the spectator. In her right hand she holds a staff entwined with flowers diagonally before her and her hair, adorned with a large garland of flowers, falls in long curls down her back. She wears a dress of gay pattern with sleeves, a scarf crossed on her bosom. The light, which is distributed, falls from the left. Thick bushes form a dark background, wrongly called until now The Jewish Bride. Signed on the left below the hand, Rembrandt f. 1634, canvas,50 inches by 40 inches, etched by N. Mossoloff in Les Rembrandts de lErmitage, and in the Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst, viii. Mentioned by Vosmaer, pp.504, etc. by Bode, pp.424,601, by Dutuit, p.37, by Michel, herman Aarentz, Amsterdam, April II,1770, according to Van Eynden and Van der Willigen, iii. Empress of Russia, for the Hermitage, in the Hermitage Palace, Petrograd,1901 catalogue, No.812. Flora in the RKD Flora, in the Hermitage Michael Kitson, Rembrandt
30.
Artemisia (Rembrandt)
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Artemisia Receiving Mausolus Ashes is a painting by the Dutch master Rembrandt. It is housed in the Museo del Prado of Madrid, Spain and it is signed REMBRANDT F,1634. The subject of the picture is still unclear and it portrays a young woman, variously identified as Sophonisba or Artemisia, or a generic queen due to her jewels and rich garments, receiving a cup from a maiden. The cup would contain the ashes of Artemisias husband, King Mausolus, or, in the case of Sophonisba, for the woman, Rembrandt probably used his wife Saskia as model
