Artists

19th century: William Michael Hartnett

William Michael Hartnett is one of the most renowned late 19th century painters. He was born in Ireland in 1848 and moved to Philadelphia during his early childhood. Studying at the Pennsylvania Academy and also in New York, he began his artistic career with engraving. His earliest works focused mainly on simple, everyday objects such as mugs, newspapers, books, and pipes. These are so realistic that viewers are inclined to touch the painting in order to assure themselves that it is indeed a painting and not actual objects they are looking at. Contemporary artists of his time praised his work while the critics found it boring and ordinary.

In order to further improve upon his techniques, in 1878 at 30 years of age, he went abroad to paint in London and Paris after which he spent four years in Munich. While in Munich, he changed his style by adding more elegent objects to his paintings. Such objects included antique brass, pottery, musical instruments, and guns. When it became apparent that these were not pleasing to the art critics, he left Munich to return to Paris where he exhibited his works in the salons. While the viewers in Paris were fascinated with his work, the critics were very disdainful. Hartnett returned to New York where he found a public who looked at his still life paintings with admiration. These works made use of warm and rich color, sharp and clear edges, and were very successful in their imitation of reality. Though upon his death in 1892 he was forgotten, in modern times, interest in his works resurfaced due its similarity to Surrealism and Cubism.

William Michael Hartnett (1886) The Old Violin

William Michael Hartnett (1888) My Gems

18th century: Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

Paninter and printmaker Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was born in 1696 into a wealthy Venetian family. Although he began his artistic career as a student of Gregorio Lazzarini, it is apparent that his work is most influenced by Paolo Veronese, his predecessor over 100 years earlier. Some of his knowledge also came form his studies of Rembrandt, Durer, and Rubens. His style is of Italian Baroque and Tiepolo has been considered the greatest painter of large-scale decorative frescoes during the 1700s. He was usually commissioned to do work by the old established families of Italy, Germany, Sweden, Russia, the royal houses of Spain, and the religious orders. He died in 1770 at the age of 74 and his decline in popularity is partially due to the rise of Neoclassicism.

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1762-1766)
Apotheosis of Spain in the royal palace of Madrid

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Allegory of the Planets and Continents

 

17th century: Cornelius Gijsbrechts

Born in 1630,Cornelius Gijsbrechts was a Flemish painter who died in 1675. He became Master of the Guild of Saint Luke of Antwerp from 1659-1660. He is most notable for his work as a court painter in the Danish Court in Copenhagen from 1670-1672. Though he is a referred to as the master of illusion, very little is known about the life of Gijsbrechts, including how he achieved his skilled artistic abilities. From his artwork, it can be inferred that he was very aware of the vanity and transience of the world.

Cornelius Gijsbrechts (1669)
Studio Wall and Vanitas Still Life

Cornelius Gijsbrechts (1669)
Fabric and Tools of Painter

16th century: Sanchez Cotan

Sanchez Cotan was born in 1561 in Orgaz, Spain and he studied in Toledo where he established Spanish still life (also known as Baroque Realism) in which the primary focus was on painting vegetables. He studied under Bras del Prado, a famous still life painter and was greatly influenced by the aristocracy and Catholic mysticism which was very popular during his time. In 1603 he entered a monastary in Segovia as a Carthusian lay brother. He was later transferred to Granada in 1612 where he remained until his death in 1627. His works had lasting influences on the works of Francisco de Zurbaran and other Spanish painters that followed him.

Sanchez Cotan (1561)
Still Life with Quince, Cabbage, Melon and Cucumber

Sanchez Cotan (1600)
Hunting Still Life with Birds, Vegetables and Lemons

15th century: Andrea Mantegna

Andrea Mantegna is an Italian High Renaissance artist who was born in Isola di Carturo in 1431. He is the son of Biagio, a carpenter. At eleven years old, Mantegna became the apprentice to Francesco Squarcione, a Padovan artist who taught him the Latin language and encouraged him in the study of Roman sculpture. He was a student of Roman archaeology and experimented much with perspective. At 17 years old Mantegna left Squarcione and in progressing his studies, was influenced by Jacopo Bellini, an Italian painter who was one of the founders of Renaissance style painting. He married Bellini's daughter, Nicolosia in 1453. Mantegna is renowned for his work on frescos. His works influenced Giovanni Bellini, Leonardo da Vinci, and Albrecht Durer.

Andrea Mantegna (1465-1474)
Ceiling Fresco, Roundel with Putti and Ladies Looking Down.
Palazzo Ducale, Mantua, Italy.

Andrea Mantegna (1465-1474)
View of the North and West Walls. Palazzo Ducale, Mantua, Italy.