Sir Thomas Lawrence | Romantic painter

Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) was the leading British portrait painter of the early 19th century, portraying most of the important personalities of the day in his polished and flattering style.

He was a child prodigy and largely self-taught; at the age of 10 he was making accomplished portraits in crayon.

He was influenced by Sir Joshua Reynolds during his youth; his style developed very little throughout his life.

Canaletto | St Mark's Square, Venice - The drawing room of Europe

St Mark's Square, is the principal public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as la Piazza ("the Square").

All other urban spaces in the city (except the Piazzetta and the Piazzale Roma) are called campi ("fields").

The Piazzetta ("little Piazza/Square") is an extension of the Piazza towards San Marco basin in its south east corner.

Giuseppe Sanmartino | The Veiled Christ, 1753

Placed at the centre of the nave of the Sansevero Chapel, The Veiled Christ is one of the most famous and impressive works of art in the world.

It was the Prince’s wish that the statue be made by Antonio Corradini (Italian🎨 Rococo sculptor🎨, 19 October 1688 - 12 August 1752), who had already done Modesty for him.

However, Corradini died in 1752 and only managed to make a terracotta scale model of the Christ, which is now preserved in the Museo di San Martino.

Caspar David Friedrich | Stile pittorico e temi

«Il pittore non dovrebbe dipingere solo ciò che vede davanti a sé, ma anche ciò che vede dentro di sé. Se dentro di sé non vede nulla, allora eviti anche di dipingere ciò che vede davanti a sé»

- Caspar David Friedrich.

L'innovazione portata avanti da Friedrich si realizzò in chiave paesaggistica: Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) intendeva far evolvere la concezione classica di paesaggio, inteso solo come scenario bello da vedere, aggiungendovi il sentimento del sublime, una riunione con il sé spirituale attraverso la contemplazione della natura.

L'artista fu un personaggio chiave per trasformare il paesaggio, sino ad allora un fondale subordinato al dramma umano, in un soggetto autosufficiente.

Non a caso i dipinti di Friedrich includono spesso una Rückenfigur, ovvero una persona vista di tergo, assorta nella contemplazione del panorama.

Francesco Solimena (1657-1747) | Baroque painter

Francesco Solimena was a prolific Italian painter🎨 of the Baroque era🎨, one of an established family of painters and draughtsmen.

Francesco Solimena was born in Canale di Serino, province Avellino.

He received early training from his father, Angelo Solimena, with whom he executed a Paradise for the cathedral of Nocera (a place where he spent a big part of his life) and a Vision of St. Cyril of Alexandria for the church of San Domenico at Solofra.

Royal Palace of Caserta | A triumph of Italian Baroque

The Royal Palace of Caserta is a former royal residence in Caserta, southern Italy, constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as kings of Naples.

It is one of the largest palaces erected in Europe during the 18th century.

In 1997, the palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site; its nomination described it as "the swan song of the spectacular art of the Baroque, from which it adopted all the features needed to create the illusions of multidirectional space".

William Turner | Mount Vesuvius in Eruption, 1817

Joseph Mallord William Turner’s dramatic representation of Mount Vesuvius is one of numerous artistic iterations of erupting volcanoes from the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth century.

Turner visited Naples and ascended Vesuvius in 1819; however, he never witnessed an eruption firsthand and this composition likely preceded his Italian sojourn.

Jacques-Louis David | Neoclassical painter

Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) was a highly influential French painter in the neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era.

In the 1780-s his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in taste away from Rococo frivolity toward a classical austerity and severity, heightened feeling chiming with the moral climate of the final years of the Ancien Régime.