What impact do paintings of Savrasov, Levitan and other famous landscape painters have on people
To understand these landscapes, one does not need any art education, no general erudition, or even knowledge of the name of the artist. The painting itself appeals to the viewer,…

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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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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…

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diverse activity

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

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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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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Secrets of "Ladies with an Ermine": What does the cute animal in the painting of Leonardo da Vinci hide
"The Lady with the Ermine" (1489-1490) is one of the most important works of all Western art, the subject of the greatest rarity of the genius Leonardo da Vinci and…

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