Michelangelo | San Giovannino di Ubeda, 1495-1496

The biographies of Michelangelo by Vasari (1550) and Condivi (1553) recount that following the artist’s return to Florence from Bologna in 1495, his first commission was for a marble sculpture of a “San Giovannino” for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’Medici (cousin of Lorenzo the Magnificent), now identified as the present work. Rather than following the model of Donatello’s Saint John the Baptist (Florence, Museo del Bargello) as other Florentine sculptors had done, Michelangelo depicted the Baptist as much younger, no more than a boy of six or seven.

Michelangelo | Pietà for Vittoria Colonna, 1538-44

"The Pietà for Vittoria Colonna" is a black chalk drawing on cardboard (28.9×18.9 cm) by Michelangelo Buonarroti, dated to about 1538-44 and kept at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

History

Michelangelo became acquainted with Vittoria Colonna (1492-1547, marchioness of Pescara, was an Italian noblewoman and poet) around 1538.

Their lively friendship gained Michelangelo admission to her social circles, and he became acquainted with issues of church reform.

For Colonna, Michelangelo executed several paintings in the fifth decade of the sixteenth century.

All of them are now lost or of controversial attribution, but several sketches and copies by students and admirers of Michelangelo have been preserved.

Apart from a famous Crucifixion, Michelangelo's most notable work for Vittoria Colonna is a Pietà, of which a remarkable drawing is exhibited at Boston.

Giorgio Vasari racconta Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1550

Mentre gli industriosi et egregii spiriti col lume del famosissimo Giotto e de gli altri seguaci suoi si sforzavano dar saggio al mondo de ’l valore che la benignità delle stelle e la proporzionata mistione degli umori aveva dato a gli ingegni loro e, desiderosi di imitare con la eccellenzia della arte la grandezza della natura, per venire il piú che e’ potevano a quella somma cognizione che molti chiamano intelligenzia, universalmente, ancora che indarno si affaticavano, il benignissimo Rettor del Cielo volse clemente gli occhi a la terra e, veduta la vana infinità di tante fatiche, gli ardentissimi studii senza alcun frutto e la opinione prosuntuosa degli uomini, assai piú lontana da ’l vero che le tenebre da la luce, per cavarci di tanti errori si dispose mandare in terra uno spirito, che universalmente in ciascheduna arte et in ogni professione fusse abile, operando per sé solo a mostrare che cosa siano le difficultà nella scienza delle linee, nella pittura, nel giudizio della scultura e nella invenzione della veramente garbata architettura.

Charles Edward Perugini | Victorian Era painter

Charles Edward Perugini (1839-1918) was an Italian-born British painter of the Victorian era.

Perugini was born in Naples, but lived with his family in England from the ages of six to 17.

He trained in Italy under Giuseppe Bonolis and Giuseppe Mancinelli, and in Paris under Ary Scheffer. He became a protégé of Lord Leighton, who brought him back to England in 1863.

Kal Gajoum, 1968 | Cityscape painter

Kal Gajoum🎨 is an artist from Tripoli, Libya who currently resides in British Columbia, Quebec, Canada.

Kal Gajoum lived for extended periods of time in Malta, England and Paris before moving to Vancouver, British Columbia.

During these periods he earnestly studied fine art at the knee of some of the greatest teachers in Europe where he fell in love with the post-impressionist style.

For more biographical notes -in english and italian- and other works by Gajoum see:

• Kal Gajoum, 1968 | Cityscape / Palette Knife painter🎨

Giacomo Ceruti | Baroque / Genre / Portrait painter

Giacomo Antonio Melchiorre Ceruti (October 13, 1698 - August 28, 1767) was an Italian🎨 late Baroque painter🎨, active in Northern Italy in Milan, Brescia, and Venice. He acquired the nickname Pitocchetto (the little beggar) for his many paintings of peasants dressed in rags.

He was born in Milan, but worked primarily in Brescia. He may have been influenced early by Antonio Cifrondi and/or Giacomo Todesco (Todeschini), and received training from Carlo Ceresa. While he also painted still-life paintings and religious scenes, Ceruti is best known for his genre paintings, especially of beggars and the poor, whom he painted realistically and endowed with unusual dignity and individuality.

Ceruti gave particular attention to this subject matter during the period 1725-1740, and about 50 of his genre paintings from these years survive.

Arturo Ricci | Genre painter

Arturo Ricci was born in Florence 19th April 1854. He studied in Florence under Tito Conti (1842-1924), a painter of genre renowned for "… the grace of his figures, precision of drawing and strength of his colours", Ricci was to surpass his master in all facets of his work.

Painting figurative subjects, genre scenes and scenes from family life, Ricci soon established himself as one of the foremost artists in Europe in the field of historical costume genre.

Fellow artists in this specific field included Vittorio Reggianini born 1858 in Modena, and Charles Frederick Soulacroix (1825-1879) in Paris.

Tomasz Alen Kopera, 1976 | Magic Surrealism painter

Polish painter🎨 Tomasz Alen Kopera was born in Kożuchów, Poland. He attended the University of Technology in Wrocław, where he gained a degree in construction engineering.

His artistic talent came to light already in early childhood. Tomasz paints in oil on canvas. Human nature and the mysteries of the Universe are his inspiration.

His paintings permeate with symbols that often relate to human psyche and man’s relation with the surrounding world. His paintings are dark and mysterious.

The technique, developed over many years, testifies to the artist’s great sensitivity and talent. Tomasz is celebrated for his acute attention to detail and mastery of colour.

“In my work I try to reach to the subconscious. I want to keep the viewer’s attention for a longer moment. Make him want to reflect, contemplate”.

In 2005, the artist moved to Northern Ireland where he lives now.

From 2010 he has been a member of Libellule Group formed by Lukas Kandl.

Tintoretto | 500th anniversary of the birth of the Venetian painter

In celebration of the 500th anniversary of the birth of Jacopo Tintoretto (1519-1594), the National Gallery of Art, Washington and the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia with the special cooperation of the Gallerie dell’Accademia, will organize a major exhibition on the Venetian master.

• Following its opening at the Palazzo Ducale, Venice, beginning in September 2018, Tintoretto: Artist of Renaissance Venice will travel to the Gallery - its only other venue - from March 10 through July 7, 2019.

As the first retrospective of the artist in North America, the exhibition will include many significant international loans traveling to the U.S. for the first time.

Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio | Renaissance painter

Born in Milan, Boltraffio (1467-1516), sometimes called Giovanni Antonio Beltraffio, was a painter of the High Renaissance said to work with Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519).

This is partially confirmed by the biographer, Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) and also from Leonardo’s note of a Gian Antonio working in his studio. There is also the evidence that Boltraffio painted closely to the style of da Vinci at the time.

His pieces showing the influence of da Vinci include his Madonna and Child, among his other depictions of the Virgin and child, as well as in his portrait work. They clearly show the use of a common da Vinci trait, the smoky blend of color and tone to create depth in the image, a method called Sfumato.