Monday, October 31, 2022

Artist of the Day, October 31, 2022: Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, a Dutch painter (#1687)

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, (1836 – 1912) was a Dutch painter who later settled in the United Kingdom and became a denizen there. Born in the Netherlands, and trained at the Royal Academy of Antwerp, Belgium, he settled in London, England in 1870 and spent the rest of his life there. A classical-subject painter, he became famous for his depictions of the luxury and decadence of the Roman Empire, with languorous figures set in fabulous marbled interiors or against a backdrop of dazzling blue Mediterranean Sea and sky. Alma-Tadema was considered one of the most popular Victorian painters. Though admired during his lifetime for his draftsmanship and depictions of Classical antiquity, his work fell into disrepute after his death, and only since the 1960s has it been re-evaluated for its importance within nineteenth-century British art.

Dutch by birth, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema initially specialized in Merovingian and Egyptian scenes, but after visiting Pompeii in 1863 he turned to archaeologically exact genre paintings of classical Greece and Rome. The British publication Punch called him a "marbellous artist" because of his skill at painting marble. Alma-Tadema moved to London in 1870 after his wife's death, and soon became a British citizen. His paintings are marked by clarity of color, exactness, and smooth finish; he imagined a Rome of splendor, sunlight, and gentle sentiment. Alma-Tadema inspired many followers and imitators, including Hollywood, which has consistently reproduced his vision of the ancient world on film.

Alma-Tadema's paintings offer no moral lessons, and his critics called them lewd and spiritually vacuous, but the public loved them, enabling him to enjoy a sumptuous lifestyle in a house modeled on a Pompeian villa. His second wife, painter Laura Epps, appeared in many paintings. Alma-Tadema became a Royal Academy member in 1879 and received the Order of Merit in 1905. Queen Victoria knighted him in 1899. Like Sir John Everett Millais, Alma-Tadema is buried in St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

© 2022. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
 The Education of the Children of Clovis, 1861
 Egyptian Chess Players, 1865
Flower market in Roman times, with a cactus and two agaves, 1868
 Sappho and Alcaeus, 1881
 The Tepidarium, 1881
 An Oleander, 1882
 Welcome Footsteps, 1883
 A Reading from Homer, 1885
 The Women of Amphissa, 1887
 The Roses of Heliogabalus, 1888
A Dedication to Bacchus, 1889
A Silent Greeting, 1889
An eloquent silence, 1890
 The Frigidarium, 1890
 Portrait of Ignacy Jan Paderewski, 1891
 God Speed!, 1893
 Unconscious Rivals, 1893
 Spring, 1894
 A Coign Of Vantage 1895
 The Colosseum, 1896
 Whispering Noon, 1896
 Caracalla, 1902
 The Years At The Spring All Right With The World, 1902
 The finding of Moses 1904  detail
 The Finding of Moses, 1904
Ask Me No More, 1906
 A Favourite Custom, 1909
Summer Offering, 1911
 When Flowers Return, 1911
Inquisitive
Under the Roof of Blue Ionian Weather

 

Saturday, October 29, 2022

Artists of the Day, October 29, 2022: Artists in support of Ukraine

 Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, artists around the world have created poignant murals to support Ukraine. Here’s how artists have depicted the war across continents

© 2022. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by VisualDiplomacy/Michel Bergeron or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only

Art by © Chris Shaw, Kyiv, Ukraine
Art by © Ukrainian illustrator Nina Dzyvulska
 Art by © Denys Antiukov, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine
"Shoot yourself” in the centre of Kyiv
Ukraine 5- Putin 0  Kyiv, Ukraine
Lviv, Ukraine
KAWU, Poznan, Poland
Gdansk, Poland
Gdansk, Poland
Sofia, Bulgaria
Art by © ChemiS, Prague, Czech Republic
Vilnius, Lithuania
Nairobi, Kenya
Art by © Kelu Abstract and Jeff Aerosol, Paris, france
Art by © Laika, Rome, Italy
Art by © Maupal, Rome, Italy
Art by © Aches, Dublin, Ireland
Art by © Phil Atkinson, Granard, Ireland
Murals of two young Ukrainian victims. Amsterdam, Netherlands
Art by © TvBoy, Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona, Spain
Art by © WOSKerski,  London ,UK.
Bristol, U.K.
London
Cardiff, Wales
Edinburgh, Scotland
Art by © 1GoodHombre, Los Angeles
Art by © Maximiliano Bagnasco, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Art by © Shepard Fairey, Obey Giant Poster
Art by © Lunarticworks
Art by © PaweÅ‚ Jońca
Art by © Stanislav Belovski
Pantone’s Solidarity colors

Art by makeup artist © itsannchovie