Giuseppe Arcimboldo - a phenomenal artist of the 16th century
This year marks almost 430 years since the death of Giuseppe Arcimboldo, an Italian artist known for his original portraits of fruits, vegetables, flowers and fish. Giuseppe so skillfully portrayed…

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Paintings of an artist who has loved one woman and one city for 60 years
It is not often that fate favors artists with benefits at the same time in all areas of life. Few people manage to walk a life and career on a…

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Skillful fakes that museums took for originals
Artistic fakes are a very real threat that museums constantly have to contend with. Fake artifacts appear in many museums from time to time, which can be displayed for several…

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their marriage

Two brides for one groom: The riddle of a picturesque plot about the mystical betrothal of St. Catherine

Among the works of Renaissance masters and later periods in the history of painting, there are often those that depict “the mystical betrothal of St. Catherine.” At the same time, the essence of what is happening may seem vague – after all, betrothal in the usual sense of modern man does not occur on canvas. It turns out that two different women could be brides in such paintings, but the groom is always alone.

First bride – St. Catherine of Alexandria

St. Catherine of Alexandria lived in Egypt in the 3rd century AD. Before the adoption of Christianity, she bore the name of Dorothea and was the daughter of the ruler of Alexandria. The girl was famous for her extraordinary beauty, wisdom, spiritual qualities, and was, of course, an enviable bride, but in grooms she wanted only the most worthy – the one who will surpass her in everything. Then Catherine’s mother took her to the old hermit, who was praying in a cave near the city. He told the girl that he knew the one who is better in everything. Continue reading

Why did the famous socialist realist Heliy Korzhev begin to write mutant-turliks and paintings on biblical motifs

In recent years, in the world of art, interest in the work of Soviet artists has revived. And there was a time when their work was written off to a landfill, and their names were vilified by newfangled critics and art historians of a new formation. From the Soviet period, the legacy of only a few artists remained untouched, among which the name of Helium Korzhev, who had an amazing gift of vision and was able to masterfully convey in one gesture, in the expression on his face, what the whole generation was thinking.

A bit about the artist

Helium – in translation the God of the Sun. His parents wanted to name their son Tractor, but since he was born in a sultry summer, he was named Helios. And if more officially, then Heliy Korzhev is a Soviet painter, teacher, professor, a bright representative of the “severe style”. As well as an academician of the Academy of Arts of the USSR, a national artist, a laureate of several State Prizes. Continue reading

As an apprentice carpenter and an orphan became a world famous salon painter: Mihai Munkachi

Recently, in the Western world of art, a trend has begun to be traced more clearly, which fundamentally changes the priorities of styles. And no matter how adherents of abstractionism and modernism resisted, finally there was a turn in the direction of figurative painting – meaningful and realistic. The audience was much more impressed by the plot canvases, which can tell a lot for themselves. And today I would like to open to the reader the name of the amazing 19th-century Hungarian painter Mihai Munkachi, whose painting in our time has become in demand like 150 years ago.

The life path of each artist is always complicated and ambiguous. So Mihai Munkachi, walking along it, experienced stunning ups and downs. But, as is known from history, only strong-willed masters, clashing with adversity and misfortune, contrary to all laws of logic, temper their art, giving it a true fortress. Continue reading

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…

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How Peter Konchalovsky managed to avoid repression and why the artist was called the Soviet Cezanne
Not many painters who disobeyed the socialist regime in times of bloody repression managed to escape punishment. Today I would like to recall the name of one of them -…

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The riddle and curse of the “Crying Boy”: Why Amadio was called the devil painter
The Italian painter Bruno Amadio, who worked under the pseudonym Giovanni Bragolin, is considered to be the most dramatic and sinister artist in the history of art of the 20th…

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