His father was a reverend, so his childhood was filled with culture and religion. Vincent van Gogh, one of the most well-known post-Impressionist painters, used color as his primary means of expression. Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890) Nationality 1660) by Johannes Vermeer Johannes Vermeer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Vermeer died of depressive episodes and insanity in December 1675. Nevertheless, when Vermeer died, he was heavily indebted, in part due to the fact that his art-dealing business had incurred during the Dutch economic downturn in the early 1670s. Many of his works of art are thought to be focused on the collection of a patron in that community who appears to have had a close relationship with the painter. The only supposed portrait of Johannes Vermeer, from his painting The Procuress (1656) Johannes Vermeer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Outside of Delft, Vermeer’s few works – roughly 35 – were little known.

Luke in 1662, exposing him to a slew of Delft painters, patrons, and collectors, initiating his Mature Period. Vermeer then went on to become the head of the Guild of St. Vermeer had become his father’s assistant painter when he was a teenager, and his early career is thought to have been influenced by Carel Fabritius. His mother, who could only sign an ‘X’ on the marriage license, was an uneducated housewife. His father was a cloth weaver who later became an art dealer. In 1632, Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer was born Delft to a slightly lower-class family. Johannes Vermeer (1632 – 1675) Nationality The Night Watch (1642) by Rembrandt van Rijn Rembrandt, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Rather, he believed that he could understand everything he needed to know from the art that was available in his home country. Rembrandt, exceptionally, did not heed the directions given to young artists to travel to Italy and study Italian art firsthand. Rembrandt quickly established himself as a painter of historical subjects. As a result, artists were forced to concentrate on private commissions.

Just after the Protestant Reformation, neighborhood congregations no longer paid artists commissions in the same way that the Catholic church did in other countries. In 1631, he then moved to Amsterdam, where he generated popular mythical and religious artworks. Self-portrait (1659) by Rembrandt van Rijn Rembrandt, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons He took his first students when he was only 22 years old, one of whom was the famous Gerrit Dou. He quickly departed to pursue art with Jacob van Swanenburch, and then a bit later on with Pieter Lastman, sheer boredom. He received excellent tuition, starting his education at the Latin School and then enrolling at the University of Leiden when he was around 14 years of age. Rembrandt van Rijn was born on the 15th of July, 1606, the son of a modestly wealthy miller in Leiden, Holland. Rembrandt van Rijn (1606 – 1669) Nationality Portrait of Mona Lisa del Giocondo (between 15) by Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Due to two of his most popular artworks, The Last Supper (1498) and The Mona Lisa (1503), he is regarded as arguably one of the finest artists in history.Ī few of the artist’s most well-known artworks include: 1512 Leonardo da Vinci, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commonsįrom around 14 years of age, he became Verrocchio’s trainee, where he discovered to paint, sketch, and perform other tasks. Presumed self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci, c.

While little is known about da Vinci’s childhood, his father was wealthy and married multiple times. Because of da Vinci’s many skills and abilities, the term Renaissance Man was conceptualized, and he set the benchmark for subsequent creatives. He is one of history’s most talented and intelligent people. Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance scientist, innovator, and artist. Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519) Nationality Painters started to revisit figuration in the 1980s and 1990s, pushing the age-old genre of painting portraits into uncharted territory. History, on the other hand, has consistently proven them wrong. They claimed that by this time photographers would have already discovered something about portraiture in a greater sense beyond what the normal artist was able to capture, and painters would no longer be interested in mastering the art of painting portraits. 2.2 Who Are Some Well-Known Portrait Painting Artists?ĭuring the early 20th century, some art historians predicted that portrait paintings would become obsolete.

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