Johannes Vermeer | Baroque Era painter

The life and art of Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) are closely associated with the city of Delft.

He was born in Delft in 1632 and lived there until his death in 1675. His father, Reynier Vermeer, was a silk weaver who produced caffa, a fine satin fabric, but in 1631 he also registered in the Saint Luke’s Guild in Delft as a master art dealer.

By 1641 he was sufficiently prosperous to purchase a large house, the “Mechelen”, which contained an inn on the market square in Delft and from which he probably also sold paintings.

Johannes Vermeer | The Girl with a Pearl Earring, 1665

Girl with a Pearl Earring / Meisje met de parel is Vermeer’s most famous painting.

It is not a portrait, but a ‘tronie’ - a painting of an imaginary figure. Tronies depict a certain type or character; in this case a girl in exotic dress, wearing an oriental turban and an improbably large pearl in her ear.

Johannes Vermeer was the master of light. This is shown here in the softness of the girl’s face and the glimmers of light on her moist lips. And of course, the shining pearl. | © Mauritshuis Museum in Hague

Michelangelo Buonarroti: "Non ha l'ottimo artista alcun concetto" | Sonetto 151

Non ha l’ottimo artista alcun concetto

c’un marmo solo in sé non circonscriva

col suo superchio, e solo a quello arriva

la man che ubbidisce all’intelletto.

Vincent Giarrano, 1960 | Life in the city

American painter Vincent Giarrano, also known as Vince Giarrano, was born in Buffalo, New York.

Giarrano started drawing at an early age, teaching himself by studying other artists.

Following his degree in Fine Art from State University, New York, 1982 and his Masters in Fine Art from Syracuse University, 1985, he chose to pursue a career in illustration working, amongst others, for the large publishers DC Comics and Marvel Comics.

Henri Matisse | Legacy / L'eredità

The first painting of Henri Matisse🎨 (31 December 1869 - 3 November 1954) acquired by a public collection was Still Life with Geraniums (1910), exhibited in the Pinakothek der Moderne.

Today, a Matisse painting can fetch as much as US $17 million.

In 2002, a Matisse sculpture, Reclining Nude I (Dawn), sold for US $9.2 million, a record for a sculpture by the artist.

Matisse's daughter Marguerite often aided Matisse scholars with insights about his working methods and his works. She died in 1982 while compiling a catalog of her father's work.

Matisse's son, Pierre Matisse, (1900-1989) opened an important modern art gallery in New York City during the 1930s.

The Pierre Matisse Gallery which was active from 1931 until 1989 represented and exhibited many European artists and a few Americans and Canadians in New York often for the first time.

He exhibited Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Alberto Giacometti, Jean Dubuffet, André Derain, Yves Tanguy, Le Corbusier, Paul Delvaux, Wilfredo Lam, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Balthus, Leonora Carrington, Zao Wou Ki, Sam Francis, sculptors Theodore Roszak, Raymond Mason and Reg Butler, and several other important artists, including the work of Henri Matisse.

Henri Matisse's grandson, Paul Matisse, is an artist and inventor living in Massachusetts.

Matisse's great granddaughter Sophie Matisse is active as an artist in 2008.

Il primo dipinto di Matisse acquisito da una collezione pubblica era Still Life with Geraniums (1910), esposto nella Pinakothek der Moderne.

Oggi, un dipinto di Matisse può arrivare fino a 17 milioni di dollari.

Nel 2002, una scultura di Matisse, Reclining Nude I (Dawn), ha venduto per US $ 9,2 milioni, un record per una scultura dell'artista.

La figlia di Matisse, Marguerite, spesso aiutava gli studiosi di Matisse a comprendere i suoi metodi di lavoro e le sue opere. Morì nel 1982 mentre compilava un catalogo del lavoro di suo padre.

Il figlio di Matisse, Pierre Matisse, (1900-1989) aprì un'importante galleria d'arte moderna a New York negli anni '30.

La Galleria Pierre Matisse, attiva dal 1931 al 1989, rappresentava e esponeva per la prima volta molti artisti europei e pochi americani e canadesi a New York.

Ha esposto Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Alberto Giacometti, Jean Dubuffet, André Derain, Yves Tanguy, Le Corbusier, Paul Delvaux, Wilfredo Lam, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Balthus, Leonora Carrington, Zao Wou Ki, Sam Francis, scultori Theodore Roszak, Raymond Mason e Reg Butler e molti altri artisti importanti, tra cui il lavoro di Henri Matisse.

Il nipote di Henri Matisse, Paul Matisse, è un artista e inventore che vive in Massachusetts. La pronipote di Matisse Sophie Matisse è attiva come artista nel 2008.