The tragedy of the author of the most famous portrait of Chekhov: How he lost his family and paintings, and why he got to Solovki Osip Braz
Over several centuries of development, Russian culture has presented the world with a galaxy of brilliant painters, whose works are included in the world treasury of fine art. Among them…

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19th Century Girl Albums: Entertainment for Bored Aristocrats or a Separate Genre in Art?
The young ladies of the 19th century were not so different from the modern ones: they also needed attention, recognition, evidence of sympathy from friends and, of course, a cordial…

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What is special about the landscapes that are called the most Italian: Veduta and Capriccio
History did not preserve the name of the tourist that the first one wanted to take away from Italy a picturesque "postcard" in memory of the trip and thereby laid…

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quantitative terms

Sentimental paintings about the village children of Frederick Morgan

Today, lovers of sentimental painting are given the opportunity to get acquainted with the magnificent gallery of genre paintings by the English artist Frederick Morgan, who worked at the turn of the last two centuries and created a number of paintings dedicated to rural children.

The theme of children in the 18th century was very winning. These paintings diverged from the collections of wealthy art lovers with enviable speed. How could you not admire the images of cute angels: blue eyes, a sugar smile, sincerity, the desire to imitate adults in everything. And the fact that the plot canvases depicting the children of an English painter were very popular during his lifetime was quite natural.

Frederick Morgan was born in London in 1847. His father John Morgan was also an artist. At one time he graduated from the school of design, and later becoming a member of the Society of British Artists, he painted paintings on historical and biblical themes. Continue reading

Secret meanings of Brueghel’s visual “Flemish proverbs: Reflection of the essence of man and being

Northern Renaissance Master Brueghel the Elder is a Dutch Renaissance artist and engraver known for landscapes and peasant scenes. He was sometimes called the “peasant Brueghel.” He portrayed his incredible Dutch proverbs more than 450 years ago. This painting, also known as “The World Upside Down,” is a detailed masterpiece visually representing more than 100 Dutch proverbs.

The plot of the picture
The canvas of the XVI century, painted in oil on oak and measuring 64 by 46 inches, is spelled out with many miniature men, women, children and animals who perform a number of unusual and bizarre actions in their village. Individual scenes are played side by side, without direct dependence on each other. The background for all this diverse activity consists of a rural house, dilapidated huts, a stone bridge with columns and a tower, a village square in the center and a manor among corn fields. In the distance, the open sea shining in the sun is visible. The old name of the painting “The World Upside Down” comes from the globe, standing on a symbolic head. This is intended to illustrate that people are in a world in which everything is not as it should be. Continue reading

What are the secret meanings of the image of a parrot in the paintings of great artists of different eras

For artists of the Gothic, Early Renaissance and High Renaissance, birds were part of a rich visual symbolism. In a society with limited literacy, allegorical images were vital for the spiritual enlightenment and education of ordinary people. For many centuries, artists assigned special roles to the images of parrots on their canvases. First of all, this is caused by the unusual features of parrots: their spectacularly colored plumage and the ability to imitate human speech. What is the hidden meaning of this bird?

Since the Middle Ages, the parrot has been an attribute of the birth of Christ by the Virgin Mary or acted as a witness to the fall. It has also been noted as the pet of wealthy families. This bird was more noticeable in the Dutch scenes of ordinary life. The parrot often appears in still lifes and portraits, sometimes posing as people or replacing them, playing the role of a woman’s beloved or taunting the stupidities of human behavior. Continue reading

Fantastic take-off and the tragic end of the discoverer of Russian porcelain Dmitry Vinogradov
Russia has always been famous for outstanding talents, however, the indisputable fact is that these people did not always have sweet and free in their homeland. Russian history remembers many…

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Other worlds in pastel-candy paintings with mysterious subjects
Syd Bee is an artist from Seattle whose work seems to have been torn straight from the world of dreams. Bee uses rich, pink tones in many of his works,…

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Unknown portrait of Da Vinci’s brush: Did the great master really write “Princess Leonardo” and whom he portrayed
It may seem that the legacy of Leonardo da Vinci has many paintings - this artist, who died five hundred years ago, is mentioned too much and too often in…

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