Ciphers, signs and self-portraits: How artists of the past signed their paintings
Not every masterpiece of painting contains the signature of the artist. There were reasons for this, both at the dawn of the Renaissance and in the modern era; they are…

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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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Monet is a spot, Manet is a people: How to distinguish two masters of impressionism
Their acquaintance began with a big conflict, but later they became great friends. Monet — Manet is a story of long-standing friendship based on great respect and mutual assistance. When…

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What snacks are hidden by “Madonna della Loggia” Botticelli

Madonna della Loggia, one of the most discussed works by Sandro Botticelli, will leave his native Uffizi and go on a tour of Russia with three stages:
– from September 4 to 5, Madonna has already visited the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok,
– from September 8 to November 6, it will be presented in the Primorsky State Gallery (also in Vladivostok),
– and, finally, from November 17, 2019 to February 16, 2020, the Madonna can be seen at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.
Madonna dates back to the period when Botticelli, as a young man, left the workshop of Filippo Lippi (circa 1467) and went to the workshop with Andrea del Verrocchio, another great master who played an important role in his training. Continue reading

Did Leonardo da Vinci have a second Mona Lisa: The Riddles of the “Iselworth Mona Lisa”

For many decades, there has been debate about whether the Iselworth Mona Lisa is a genuine, earlier version of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous work, which attracts millions of visitors to the Louvre every year. The opinions of experts, however, vary greatly.

“Mona Lisa”
The portrait of the mystery woman Mona Lisa (or “Mona Lisa”) is the most famous creation of European painting. The canvas is a female waist portrait. A lady sits on the terrace against the backdrop of a foggy landscape. Her shoulders are turned three quarters, her right hand rests on her left (this position of the crossed arms corresponds to all the rules of decency), the smile is barely perceptible, and her eyes look at the viewer. It is traditionally believed that this is a portrait of Lisa Gerardini, wife of the wealthy Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo (hence the second name of the picture). Continue reading

10 years of happiness and 28 years of grief in the life of the artist Vasily Surikov

The personal life of prominent people always attracts the attention of readers, especially if it is full of piquant details, incredible stories, secrets and mysteries. But today we will talk about the personal life of the artist Vasily Surikov, about which not so much is known. But the amazing story of his love will not leave anyone indifferent.

A bit from the biography

Artist Vasily Surikov was born in Krasnoyarsk, his ancestors were from the Don Cossacks who conquered Siberia with Ermak, after the death of which they went up the Yenisei and founded the Krasnoyarsk prison. The artist was born in 1848 in the family of an office clerk who came from an old Yenisei Cossack family. And is it necessary to say that the character of the future painter, formed in the harsh environment of the Siberian region, was just as strong and unshakable. Years later, this power was embodied in the heroic images of his paintings. Continue reading

How Pavel Tretyakov competed with the emperor to create the most famous art gallery in Moscow
Before the revolution, patronage of the arts was considered not only charitable, but also beneficial for the donor himself, and the point here was not taxes at all. According to…

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As in the Sistine Chapel, the shame was also painted over other cases of strange censorship in the history of art
Censorship is sometimes unpredictable. For example, Facebook has been seen more than once in censorship scandals ... naked antique sculptures, once during an advertising campaign for an international exhibition of…

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Ciphers, signs and self-portraits: How artists of the past signed their paintings
Not every masterpiece of painting contains the signature of the artist. There were reasons for this, both at the dawn of the Renaissance and in the modern era; they are…

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