John Frederick Lewis | Orientalist painter

John Frederick Lewis | Orientalist painter

John Frederick Lewis RA (London, 1804-1876) was an British painter. He specialized in Oriental and Mediterranean scenes in exquisitely detailed watercolour or oils.
Lewis lived for several years in a traditional mansion in Cairo, and (after his return to England) painted highly detailed works showing both realistic Genre scenes of Middle Eastern life and more idealized scenes in upper class Egyptian interiors with no traces of Western cultural influence yet apparent.


Henri Matisse | Orientalist Odalisque

Henri Matisse | Orientalist Odalisque

In 1917 Matisse relocated to Cimiez on the French Riviera, a suburb of the city of Nice.
His work of the decade or so following this relocation shows a relaxation and a softening of his approach.
This "return to order" is characteristic of much art of the post-World War I period and can be compared with the neoclassicism of Picasso and Stravinsky as well as the return to traditionalism of Derain.


Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema | The Roses of Heliogabalus, 1888

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema | The Roses of Heliogabalus, 1888

"The Roses of Heliogabalus" is an 1888 painting by the Dutch-born British artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912).
It is currently owned by the Spanish-Mexican billionaire businessman and art collector Juan Antonio Pérez Simón.
The painting measures 132.7 × 214.4 centimetres (52.2 × 84.4 in).
It shows a group of Roman diners at a banquet, being swamped by drifts of pink rose petals falling from a false ceiling above.
The Roman emperor Elagabalus reclines on a platform behind them, wearing a golden robe and a tiara, watching the spectacle with other garlanded guests.


Carlo Crivelli | Santa Maria Maddalena, 1480

Carlo Crivelli | Santa Maria Maddalena, 1480

With Carlo Crivelli, the so-called "International Gothic" style experienced its final flowering in Italy.
This perfectly preserved panel was painted towards the end of his career.
It served as the altarpiece of a provincial church dedicated to Mary Magdalene in the sparsely populated rural area of the Marches where Crivelli lived. | Source: © Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Carlo Crivelli | Mary Magdalene, 1480 | Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Odilon Redon | Hommage a Goya, 1885 | The series

Odilon Redon | Hommage a Goya, 1885 | The series

Homage to Goya (Hommage à Goya) is an portfolio of 6 lithographs on chine appliqué reveal Redon's admiration for the Spanish painter and printmaker, who died in 1828.
This series is one of many that Odilon Redon created throughout his career.
Nearly two-thirds of his lithographs took the form of portfolios - prints connected conceptually by a theme or narrative and physically by a folder or binding.

Odilon Redon | Hommage a Goya, 1885 | Scharf Gerstenberg Collection

Raffaello Gambogi | Post-Macchiaioli painter

Raffaello Gambogi | Post-Macchiaioli painter

Raffaello Gambogi (Livorno, 1874-1943) was an Italian painter, mainly of urban landscapes and genre scenes.
In 1891 Gambogi obtained a scholarship to the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence, where he studied under Giovanni Fattori.


Andy Warhol | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1982

Andy Warhol | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1982

Andy Warhol saw the famous portrait of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe by J. H. Wilhelm Tischbein during a visit to the Städel.
As the quintessence of German culture, it inspired him to create this work and other prints, some of which are likewise in the Städel collection.
In 1962 Warhol - a key figure of American Pop Art - began reproducing press photos of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe or Elvis Presley with the silkscreen technique.

Andy Warhol | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1982 | Städel Museum, Frankfurt