Saturday, February 15, 2025

01 work, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Pierre Joseph Dedreux-Dorcy's A young girl, with Footnotes, #140

Pierre Joseph Dedreux-Dorcy (French, 1789-1874)
A young girl
Oil on canvas
18¼ x 15 in. (45.7 x 38.1 cm.), oval
Private collection

Sold for USD 5,625 in Sep 2007

Pierre-Joseph Dedreux-Dorcy (28 April 1789, Paris - 9 October 1874, Bellevue, Switzerland) was a French genre painter. His surname was Dedreux, but he was usually called Dorcy.

He studied for some time under Guérin. His paintings, one of which, called 'Bajazet et le Berger,' is in the Museum of Bordeaux, are in the style of Greuze. He also painted, together with Géricault, a picture called 'La Baigneuse'.

Dedreux-Dorcy was one of the closest friends of Géricault, having met each other in the atelier of Guérin. When Géricault fell ill after a fall of his horse, he stayed with Dorcy for over a year. Dorcy afterwards was one of the few friends of Géricault present when he died on 18 January 1824. After Géricault's death, Dedreux-Dorcy bought his masterpiece The Raft of the Medusa for 6000 francs, while the French government, bidding for the Louvre, wasn't willing to bid more than 5000 Francs. He afterwards declined an offer to resell it to an American for thrice the price he paid, and sold it one week later to the French government for the same 6000 francs, on the condition that it was to be placed in the Louvre. More on Pierre-Joseph Dedreux-Dorcy




Please visit my other blogs: Art CollectorMythologyMarine ArtPortrait of a Lady, The OrientalistArt of the Nude and The Canals of VeniceMiddle East Artists365 Saints365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest and my art stores at  deviantart and Aaroko

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Thursday, February 6, 2025

10 works, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Nell Gwyn (1650-1687), mistress of Charles II of England, with Footnotes. #138

Simon Pietersz Verelst  (1644–1721)
Portrait of Nell Gwyn (1650-1687), mistress of Charles II of England
Oil on canvas
height: 103.2 cm (40.6 in); width: 126.1 cm (49.6 in)
Unidentified location

In this portrait Nell is holding a six-petalled flower which has been identified as jasmine. As a flower painter, Verelst would have been familiar with jasmine’s structure and its traditional inclusion in portraits to signify the amiable nature of a sitter. Jasmine is well-known for its intoxicating scent, and this combined with its almost translucent petals and fragility, allows Verelst to play with the senses of sight, smell and touch, recognised devices characteristic of seventeenth-century Dutch painting. More on this painting

Simon Pietersz Verelst (1644–1721?) was a flower and portrait painter, born at the Hague in 1644, was younger son of Pieter Verelst, a painter, originally of Antwerp. He painted portraits and also small peasant scenes in the manner of Ostade, Sorgh, and other painters, for whose works his pictures have often been mistaken. In 1642 he settled at The Hague, where he became a prominent member of the guild of St. Luke. 

erelst excelled in flower-painting, his works being remarkable for their finish and exactness, and as rivalling those of the famous flower-painter of that date, Rachel Ruysch. He seems to have come to London in 1669, and lodged near Jan Looten [q. v.] in St. James's market, where he was seen by Samuel Pepys. In his diary for 11 April 1669, Pepys says that he visited Looten, who "by accident did direct us to a painter that was then in the house with him, a Dutchman, newly come over, who took us to his lodging close by, and did show us a little flower-pot of his drawing, the finest thing that ever, I think, I saw in my life; so as I was forced again and again to put my finger to it, to feel whether my eyes were deceived or no." He did ask 70l. for it; I had the vanity to bid him 20l. But a better picture I never saw in my whole life, and it is worth going twenty miles to see it.’

Verelst's flower-paintings were quickly the fashion of the day. The second Duke of Buckingham urged him to attempt portraiture, and he painted a small portrait of the duke surrounded with fruit and flowers. The novelty of treatment became fashionable, and Verelst's services were eagerly competed for by the court and nobility. 

Verelst became inordinately vain and conceited, and regarded himself as the god of flowers and a king of painters. Matthew Prior celebrated his paintings in verse. The Earl of Shaftesbury, however, was so much disgusted with Verelst's behaviour that he declined to sit to him. At last Verelst's excessive conceit produced a disordered mind, and he was placed in confinement. Although he recovered partially, he lost his vogue as an artist, and died in Suffolk Street about 1721.  More on Simon Pietersz Verelst

Nell Gwyn, original name Eleanor Gwyn, (born Feb. 2, 1650, London, Eng.—died Nov. 14, 1687, London), English actress and mistress of Charles II, whose frank recklessness, generosity, invariable good temper, ready wit, infectious high spirits, and amazing indiscretions appealed irresistibly to a generation that welcomed in her the living antithesis of Puritanism.

William Powell Frith, RA (British, 1819-1909)
Nell Gwyn, c. 1869
Nell Gwyn the orange seller
Oil on canvas
105 x 87.5cm (41 5/16 x 34 7/16in)
Private collection

Sold for £25,500 in Sep 2022

Taking her place in the pit, and with her back to the orchestra, and selling oranges and pippins with pertinent wit, gratis to liberal fops who would buy the first and return the second with interest. As Rochester assures us, there was a "wondering pit" in the presence of this smartest and most audacious of orange girls. More on this painting

William Powell Frith (Born Aldfield, nr. Ripon, Yorkshire, 9 January 1819; died London, 2 November 1909). English painter. He began his career with literary subjects (from Shakespeare, Scott, and other authors), but in the 1850s he turned to contemporary scenes, with which he had great commercial success. Three of his pictures are particularly renowned—crowded, anecdote-packed scenes that rank among the most familiar images of Victorian life: Life at the Seaside (or Ramsgate Sands) (1854, Royal Coll.), Derby Day (1858, Tate, London), and The Railway Station (1862, Royal Holloway, University of London). Derby Day was so popular when it was shown at the Royal Academy that it had to be railed off from the throng of admirers, a distinction previously accorded only to Wilkie's Chelsea Pensioners in 1822.

Frith's My Autobiography and Reminiscences (1887) and Further Reminiscences (1888) give lively accounts of the art world of his time. His reputation sank after his death but greatly revived as part of the general re-evaluation of Victorian art after the Second World War. More on William Powell Frith

Her father, according to tradition, died in a debtors’ prison at Oxford during Nell’s infancy. Her mother kept a bawdyhouse in the Covent Garden district, where Nell was brought up “to fill strong waters [brandy] to the guests”. In 1664, through the influence of her older sister, Rose, Nell became an orange-girl at the Drury Lane Theatre. Quickly attracting the attention of the theatre’s leading actor, Charles Hart, whose mistress she became, Nell mounted the stage and probably made her first appearance in December 1665.

Charles Landseer (1799–1879)
Nell Gwynn at the Tavern, c.1840
Oil on canvas
H 103 x W 127.6 cm
Walker Art Gallery

Nell Gwyn holding a basket, standing at a table around which men are sitting and standing, in a tavern; one man places a slip of paper into her basket, other slips are hanging over the edge of the basket and she is holding one in her right hand; there is a dog at her feet and a servant is about to enter on the left. The man at the head of the table has risen to his feet to offer a toast. More on this painting

Charles Landseer RA (12 August 1799 – 22 July 1879) was an English painter, mostly of historical subjects.

He was born in London on 12 August 1799. He trained under his father, and the painter Benjamin Robert Haydon. He was awarded the silver palette of the Royal Society of Arts for a drawing of Laocoon in 1815, and in 1816 he entered the Royal Academy Schools where he was taught by Henry Fuseli.

In 1823 he accompanied Sir Charles Stuart de Rothesay on a diplomatic mission to Portugal and Brazil. Many of the drawings he made on the journey were shown at the British Institution in 1828.

He became an associate in of the Royal Academy in 1837, and a full academician in 1845. In 1851, he was appointed Keeper of the Royal Academy, a post requiring him to teach in the "Antique School". He remained in the position until 1873.

Most of his pictures were of subjects from British history, or from literature. He paid close attention to the historical accuracy of the accessories and details in his paintings.

He died in London on 22 July 1879, More on Charles Landseer

From 1666 to 1669 Nell was the leading comedienne of the King’s Company, playing continuously, save for a brief absence in 1667, while she was the mistress of Lord Buckhurst, afterward 6th Earl of Dorset. She created such popular roles as Florimel in John Dryden’s Secret Love, Mirida in James Howard’s All Mistaken, and Jacinta in Dryden’s Evening’s Love. An excellent singer and dancer and much in demand as a speaker of impudent prologues and epilogues, “pretty, witty Nell” was ill-suited to serious parts, yet she was often cast for roles in romantic dramas.

Rowland Holyoake, (British, exh.1880-1911)
Charles II and Nell Gwyn, c. 1900
Oil on canvas laid down
27 9/16 x 39 9/16in
Private collection

Sold for £2,760 in Mar 2010

Rowland Holyoake (probably born between 1855 and 1860), was the son of William Holyoake (1834-1894), a genre painter from Birmingham (UK) and frequent exhibitor at the Royal Society of British Artists. Under Whistler as president, William Holyoake served briefly as vice-president of the Royal Society of British Artists and William was named Curator of one of the Academy schools. The National Gallery in Glasgow has William Holyoake's Front Row of the Opera and another of his paintings, The Sanctuary hangs in the Chapels of Westminster Abbey. Rowland continued in the Victorian genre tradition of his father but he also painted landscapes, portraits and interiors. More on Rowland Holyoake

Edward Matthew Ward (1816–1879)
Charles II (1630–1685), and Nell Gwyn (1650–1687), c. 1854
Oil on canvas
H 34.8 x W 29.8 cm
Victoria and Albert Museum

Edward Matthew Ward was an English historical painter. His mother was a sister of James and Horace Smith, the authors of 'Rejected Addresses.' His art proclivities early developed themselves, and in 1830, he obtained the silver palette of the Society of Arts. He was in debted to Chantrey and Wilkie for much valuable advice and encouragement, and in 1835, entered the schools of the Royal Academy. Before he was twenty he produced a series of illustrations to the famous jeu d'esprit of his two uncles. In 1836,he went to Rome, and studied in the Academy of St. Luke, where in 1838, he was awarded the silver medal for historical composition. After a stay of three years in Italy, he made his way to Munich, and worked on fresco painting for a time under the direction of Cornelius. On his return to England he made his appearance on the walls of the Royal Academy in1839, with a picture of 'Cimabue and Giotto.' He soon devoted himself to the class of subjects which has been termed "historical anecdote." More on Edward Matthew Ward

Nell once paid for the King’s dinner. She was attending a performance of George Etheredge’s She Wou’d if She Cou’d at the theatre in Lincoln’s Inn Fields. In the next box was the King, who spent more time flirting with Nell than watching the play. Charles invited her to supper, along with his brother, the Duke of York. Apparently the King discovered that he had no money on him, and neither did his brother the Duke, so Nell had to foot the bill. “Od’s fish!” she is said to have exclaimed, “but this is the poorest company I ever was in!”

After Peter Lely  (1618–1680) 
‘Nell’ Eleanor Gwyn (Gwynne) (1651–1687), c. circa 1675
Oil on canvas
height: 124.4 cm (48.9 in); width: 99.1 cm (39 in)
National Trust

Nell Gwyn is wearing a white decollete robe, with her left arm resting on a lamb on the right, her right fingers touching a garland, in a garden; behind to the right is a fluted column, distant landscape view to the left. More on this painting

Peter Lely, Dutch, British, English (Born Soest, Westphalia, 14 September 1618; died London, 30 November 1680). Painter of Dutch origin who spent almost all his career in England and was naturalized in 1662. His family name was originally van der Faes, and the name Lely is said to have come from a lily carved on the house in The Hague where his father was born. Lely was born in Germany and trained in Haarlem.

He moved to England in the early 1640s, and although he first painted figure compositions in landscapes (Sleeping Nymphs, c.1650, Dulwich Picture Gal., London), he soon turned to the more profitable field of portraiture. 

Fortune shone on him, for within a few years of his arrival the best portraitists in England disappeared from the scene: van Dyck and William Dobson died in 1641 and 1646 respectively, and Cornelius Johnson returned to Holland in 1643. In 1654 he was described as ‘the best artist in England’. Lely portrayed Charles I and his children, Oliver Cromwell and his son Richard, and other leading figures of the Interregnum. With the aid of a team of assistants he maintained an enormous output, and his fleshy, sleepy beauties clad in exquisite silks and his bewigged courtiers have created the popular image of Restoration England. More on Peter Lely

Nell became a mistress of Charles II in 1669. Her last stage appearance was with Hart in Dryden’s Conquest of Granada by the Spaniards (January 1670), the production of which had been postponed several months for her return to the stage after the birth of her first son by the king in 1670.

Simon Verelst, The Hague c.1644 - c.1710 London
Portrait of Nell Gwyn (1650–1687)
Oil on canvas
123.3 x 98.5 cm.; 48½ x 38¾ in.
Private collection

Sold for 189,000 GBP in June 2022

Described by biographers as ‘the real Queen of Restoration England’, few Royal Mistresses can claim greater fame than Nell Gwyn. Actress, muse, patroness and official mistress to King Charles II for a period of seventeen years, Gwyn’s life might be England’s greatest rags to riches story. Charles Beauclerk (b. 1965), heir to the present Duke of St Albans and a descendent of Nell, went as far to describe his forebear as ‘the original people’s princess. 

The present work, showing Nell décolletée, with an open bodice, is one of the few portraits that has been securely identified as Charles’s most famous mistress. Such paintings attest to Nell Gwyn’s fame as a pioneer of celebrity in Britain. More on this painting

Studio of Sir Peter Lely (1618-80)
Portrait of a Courtesan, thought to be Nell Gwynn c.1670s
Oil on canvas laid onto board
30 x 24 5/8 inches 76.2 x 62.5 cm
Private collection

It is extremely rare to see a portrait in such a state of undress. Only a sitter relaxed about her status, and unconcerned about both her class background and received social etiquette, would consent to being painted in this manner. That Nell Gwyn was one of very few subjects thus painted can only help to reinforce this portrait’s traditional identification. More on this painting

Sir Peter Lely (Westphalia 1618-1680 London)
Portrait of a young woman and child, as Venus and Cupid
The young woman almost certainly either Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine, and Duchess of Cleveland (1640-1709), or Nell Gwyn (1650-1687), full-length, naked, beside an urn, a landscape beyond
Oil on canvas
48¾ x 61¾ in. (123.8 x 156.8 cm.)
Unidentified location

This painting by Lely offers a remarkable glimpse of the culture of the newly restored Court of King Charles II, and is one of the most overtly sensuous portraits to have been painted in 17th Century England. It has long been associated with the work recorded in King James II's inventory of 1688 (three years after the death of King Charles II) as 'Madam Gwynn's Picture naked, with a Cupid', tantalisingly described as being hidden behind a 'slideing peice' by Hendrik Dankerts, yet the identity of the sitter as Nell Gwyn has been the subject of much debate. More on this painting

Established in a fine house and admitted to the inner circles of the court, Nell spent the rest of her life entertaining the king and his friends, living extravagantly, and intriguing against her rivals. She persuaded the king to create her son Charles Beauclerk, 1st Baron Heddington and Earl of Burford and, subsequently, Duke of St. Albans. Her second son, James, Lord Beauclerk (b. 1671), died in 1680. Nell settled her mother in a house in Chelsea, where, in July 1679, overcome by brandy, Mrs. Gwyn fell into a nearby brook and was drowned.

Of all the mistresses of Charles II, Nell was the only one beloved by the public. She was small, slender, and shapely, with a heart-shaped face, hazel eyes, and chestnut-brown hair. She was illiterate and scrawled an awkward “E.G.” at the bottom of her letters, written for her by others. She never forgot her old friends and, as far as is known, remained faithful to her royal lover from the beginning of their intimacy until his death and, after his death, to his memory.

Edward Matthew Ward (1816–1879)
Antechamber at Whitehall during the Dying Moments of Charles II, c.1861
Oil on canvas
H 160.3 x W 229.2 cm
Walker Art Gallery

When Charles II died in February 1685, Nell was so deeply in debt that she was outlawed by her creditors. The king’s deathbed request to his brother, “Let not poor Nelly starve,” however, was faithfully carried out by James II, who paid off enough of her debts to reestablish her credit, gave her sizable amounts in cash, and settled on her a pension of £1,500 a year. In March 1687 Nell was stricken by apoplexy and partial paralysis. She died eight months later and was buried in the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. More on Nell Gwyn

In her will, she left money to those in debt. Always conscious of her humble upbringing, Nell asked that twenty pounds a year should be put aside to release debtors from the prison on Christmas Day. A way to remember a woman who crossed all boundaries and still retained a kind heart.

The only statue of any royal mistress in the city of London is the one of Nell Gwyn. In 1937, a new ten-storey block of 437 flats in Chelsea was given the name ‘Nell Gwynn House’, and in a high alcove above the main entrance is a statue of Nell, with a spaniel at her feet. More anecdotes about Nell Gwyn



Please visit my other blogs: Art CollectorMythologyMarine ArtPortrait of a Lady, The OrientalistArt of the Nude and The Canals of VeniceMiddle East Artists365 Saints365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest and my art stores at  deviantart and Aaroko

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.


Friday, January 31, 2025

10 works, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Margaret, Duchess of Parma, with Footnotes. #137

Antonis Mor  (1519–1575)
Margaret, Duchess of Parma, c. 1562
Oil on canvas
height: 106 cm (41.7 in); width: 76 cm (29.9 in)
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

The court painter Anthonis Mor probably made this portrait of Margaret, Duchess of Parma (1522-1586), around the time her half-brother, Philip II of Spain, appointed her to be governor of the Netherlands in August of 1559. The cross shape of her broach refers to the symbol of both their patron saints, Margaret and Philip. Mor painted over an earlier dress and hanging pearl necklace to depict the somber cloak and necklace seen here, most likely in order to acknowledge Margaret's appointment and new authority. The pearls refer to her name, as "margarita" is the Latin word for pearl. More on this painting

Anthonis Mor, also known as Anthonis Mor van Dashorst and Antonio Moro (c. 1517 – 1577), was a Netherlandish portrait painter, much in demand by the courts of Europe. He has also been referred to as Antoon, Anthonius, Anthonis or Mor van Dashorst, and as Antonio Moro, António Mouro, Anthony More, etc., but signed most of his portraits as Anthonis Mor.

Mor developed a formal style for court portraits, largely based on Titian, that was extremely influential on court painters across Europe, especially in the Iberian Peninsula, where it created a tradition that led to Diego Velázquez. It can include considerable psychological penetration, especially in portraits of men, but always gives the subject a grand and self-possessed air. More on Anthonis Mor

Margaret of Parma (5 July 1522 – 18 January 1586) was Governor of the Netherlands from 1559 to 1567 and from 1578 to 1582. She was the illegitimate daughter of the then 22-year-old Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Johanna Maria van der Gheynst. She was a Duchess of Florence and a Duchess of Parma and Piacenza by her two marriages.

Margaret was brought up in Mechelen, under the supervision of two powerful Spanish and Austrian Habsburg Imperial family relatives, her great-aunt, the Archduchess Margaret of Austria, and her aunt Mary of Austria, who were successive governors of the Netherlands from 1507 to 1530 and from 1530 to 1555, respectively.

Bernard van Orley  (circa 1491/1492–1542)
Portrait of Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy (1480-1530)
Portrait of Archduchess Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy (1480–1530), in widow's dress
Oil on panel
height: 37.1 cm (14.6 in); width: 27.5 cm (10.8 in)
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

Bernard van Orley (between 1487 and 1491 – 6 January 1541), was a leading artist in Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, though he was at least as active as a leading designer of Brussels tapestry and, at the end of his life, stained glass. Although he never visited Italy, he belongs to the group of Italianizing Flemish painters called the Romanists, who were influenced by Italian Renaissance painting, in his case especially by Raphael.
 
He was born and died in Brussels, and was the court artist of the Habsburg rulers, and "served as a sort of commissioner of the arts for the Brussels town council". He was extremely productive, concentrating on the design of his works, and leaving their actual execution largely to others in the case of painting. 
 
Accordingly, his many surviving works (somewhat depleted in number by Reformation iconoclasm) vary considerably in quality. His paintings are generally either religious subjects or portraits, these mostly of Habsburgs repeated in several versions by the workshop, with few mythological subjects. More on Bernard van Orley

Attributed to Hans Maler (c. 1480–c. 1526/9)
Mary of Austria (1505-1558), c. 15200
Oil on vellum, stretched on panel
485 x 360mm
Burlington House

Mary of Austria (1505–58) was Queen Consort of Hungary in 1522–6 and Regent of the Burgundian Netherlands in 1531–56. This three-quarter-length portrait depicts Mary at the age of fourteen. The crimson and gold hat that she wears appears in another picture of her, now in Coburg, Bavaria, making it likely that both are representations of an actual hat. In this Society’s unique, three-quarter length portrait image of the fourteen year old Mary of Austria, she is seen against a background that now graduates from green at the top to yellow at the bottom. She is turned slightly to her right in the direction of her gaze, her hands folded and partly concealed by the wide sleeves of her garment. The composition is dominated by her long, pale face, brown eyes and full red-lipped mouth – all Hapsburg family traits – but equally by her expensive hat and striking high-waisted, crimson gown. More on this painting

Hans Maler zu Schwaz (1480/1488–1526/1529) was a German painter born in Ulm and active as portraitist in the village of Schwaz, near Innsbruck. He painted numerous portraits of members of the Habsburg court at Innsbruck as well as of wealthy merchants such as the Fuggers.

Maler's two most important patrons were Ferdinand I of Austria, who at the time was Archduke (Later Emperor) and the celebrated Fuggers. Ferdinand is known to have commissioned at least three portraits of himself and four of his wife, Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. Maler also painted portraits in 1517 of Sebastian Andorfer, a successful metal maker and merchant from Schwaz. His portrait style rarely varied from his bust-format, where the subject's hands were not shown and without eye contact to the viewer.

He received commissions early on in his career from Ferdinand's grandfather, Maximilian I and was also commissioned in 1508 for frescoes depicting the Habsburg family tree in Ambras Castle. More on Hans Maler zu Schwaz

Her early life followed a strict routine set forth by her father, Charles V, who used his daughter as part of his plans to secure his empire.

Pontormo  (1494–)
Portrait of Alessandro de' Medici, c. Before December 1535
Oil on panel
height: 100 cm (39.3 in); width: 81 cm (31.8 in)
Philadelphia Museum of Art

Alessandro de’ Medici (born c. 1511), duke of Florence from 1530 until his assassination in 1537, is shown not as a powerful ruler, but in a private chamber making a drawing of a woman in metalpoint. At the time, drawing was considered an acceptable activity for a gentleman, but here the reference may be to love poetry. The fourteenth-century poet Petrarch, who enjoyed a revival in readership in the early sixteenth century, wrote sonnets about a metalpoint drawing he owned of his beloved Laura. More on this painting

Jacopo Carucci (May 24, 1494 – January 2, 1557), usually known as Jacopo da Pontormo, Jacopo Pontormo or simply Pontormo, was an Italian Mannerist painter and portraitist from the Florentine School. His work represents a profound stylistic shift from the calm perspectival regularity that characterized the art of the Florentine Renaissance. He is famous for his use of twining poses, coupled with ambiguous perspective; his figures often seem to float in an uncertain environment, unhampered by the forces of gravity.

Carucci an orphaned boy, "young, melancholy and lonely", was shuttled around as a young apprentice.

He had not been many months in Florence when Bernardo Vettori sent him to stay with Leonardo da Vinci, and then with Mariotto Albertinelli, Piero di Cosimo, and finally, in 1512, with Andrea del Sarto.

Pontormo painted in and around Florence, often supported by Medici patronage. A foray to Rome, largely to see Michelangelo's work, influenced his later style. Haunted faces and elongated bodies are characteristic of his work. 

In the earlier work, Pontormo is much closer in style to his teacher, Andrea del Sarto, and to the early sixteenth century renaissance artistic principles. Moreover, the clear architectural setting that is carefully constructed in earlier piece has been completely abandoned in favor of a peculiar nondescript urban setting.

Pontormo took part in the fresco decoration of the salon of the Medici country villa at Poggio a Caiano. There he painted frescoes in a pastoral genre style.

In 1522, when the plague broke out in Florence, Pontormo left for the Certosa di Galluzzo, a cloistered Carthusian monastery where the monks followed vows of silence. He painted a series of frescoes, now quite damaged, on the passion and resurrection of Christ. More on Jacopo Carucci

In 1527, the year she turned five, she became engaged to the nephew of Pope Clement VII, Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence, to assist her father's ambition in gaining influence in Italy. The marriage negotiations had been initiated in 1526, and in 1529 the agreement was officially signed by her father and the Pope. In 1529, Margaret was acknowledged by her father and allowed to assume the name Margaret of Austria, and in 1533, the 11-year-old girl was brought to live in Italy and educated in the courts of Florence, Rome, and Parma. There, she was taught skills that helped her grow as an independent woman. As Margaret did not spend much time with her husband, she used this time to become exposed to the surrounding Italian culture. Though she was multi-lingual, she preferred the Italian language for the rest of her life.

Wouter Pietersz Crabeth
Detail; Stained glass window depicting Margaret of Parma
Stained Glass
St. John’s Church, Gouda

Wouter Pietersz Crabeth (1510–1590) was a Dutch Renaissance glass painter. He was employed by the Sint Janskerk (Gouda) during the Protestant Reformation, where he created six of the stained glass windows during the years 1555 to 1571. His windows, that he created in close collaboration with his brother Dirk Crabeth, are one of the reasons that the church was placed on the UNESCO list of monuments. More on Wouter Pietersz Crabeth

Campi Giulio, ca.1500 / 1572
Ottavio Farnese
Oil on canvas
cm. 181 (a) 263 (a)
sec. XVI (1551 - 1560)
Civic Museums of Palazzo Farnese

In the canvas Ottavio Farnese is depicted with armor, while in the background, through an arch, a horse and the deployed army can be glimpsed.

The canvas was part of the Farnese collections brought to Naples in 1736. The attribution to Campi was advanced in 1948 by Ghidiglia Quintavalle. The work can be dated with certainty after 1551, because in that year the Duke of Parma was awarded the order of St. Michael by the King of France (whose collar and plaque with the image of St. Michele), following his repeated victories in the war. More on this painting

Giulio Campi (1500 – 5 March 1572) was an Italian painter and architect. The eldest of a family of prominent painters, Campi was born at Cremona. His father Galeazzo (1475–1536) taught him the first lessons in art.

In 1522, in Mantua, he studied painting, architecture, and modelling under Giulio Romano. He visited Rome, became an ardent student of the antique, and like Bernardino he combined a Lombard and Roman traditions. He collaborated on some works with Camillo Boccaccino, the son of Boccaccio Boccaccino, with whom Campi may also have received training.

When he was just twenty-seven Giulio executed for the church of Sant'Abondio his masterpiece, a Virgin and Child with Sts Celsus and Nazarus, a decoration masterly in the freedom of its drawing and in the splendour of its color. Many of his fresco works are housed in churches of Cremona, Mantua, Milan and in the church of Saint Margaret's, in his native town. Among his chief works are the Descent from the Cross in San Sigismondo at Cremona, and the frescoes in the dome of San Girolamo at Mantua. He was involved in the reconstruction and decoration of the church of Santa Rita in Cremona. 

He died in Cremona in 1572. More on Giulio Campi

On 13 June 1536 in Florence, she married Alessandro, who was assassinated on 6 January 1537. On 4 November 1538 in Rome, the 15-year-old widow married Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma, the 14-year-old grandson of Pope Paul III. At first she refused to marry him. Although the union proved an unhappy one, it gave her years of experience in Rome, and produced twin sons, one of whom died in infancy. She would continue her studies of the arts and politics while being married to Ottavio. The couple lived separately for much of their lives, and Margaret maintained her own court and chapel. She was in a somewhat difficult position, as the Pope and the Emperor argued about authority over Parma. In 1555, the Farnese family were acknowledged as rulers of Parma by Spain in exchange for the custody of her son.

Otto van Veen  (1556–1629)
The Famished People after the Relief of the Siege of Leiden, c. 1574
Oil on panel
height: 40 cm (15.7 in); width: 59.5 cm (23.4 in)
Rijksmuseum

When a city is surrounded by enemies, the population becomes trapped. There is less food and diseases easily arise. Reasons for Leiden to almost surrender in 1574. But then the Beggar army liberates the city, the relief arrives just in time. Hungry and exhausted, multitudes of people are waiting for their liberators. The soldiers have food with them, especially herring and white bread. More on this painting

In 1555, she left Italy for the Netherlands, where she left her son in the care of her half-brother Philip II. Philip appointed her Governor of the Netherlands when he left in 1559 for Spain. As governor, Margaret faced the rising storm of discontent against the Inquisition and Spanish despotism, and Philip had left her but nominal authority. He was determined to pursue his own arbitrary course, and the result was the revolt of the Netherlands. Margaret was forced to adjust herself to the advice of Cardinal Granvelle, Philip's choice for her chief councilor, who would grow to be greatly disliked in the Netherlands. After Granvelle's exile from the Netherlands in 1564, Margaret was forced to rely on the grandees in her Council. 

Frans Hogenberg  (before 1540 –1590)
 The Calvinist Iconoclastic Riot of August 20, 1566
I have no further description, at this time

Frans Hogenberg (1535–1590) was a Flemish and German painter, engraver, and mapmaker.

He was born in Mechelen in Flanders as the son of Nicolaas Hogenberg. In 1568 he was banned from Antwerp by the Duke of Alva because he was a protestant and had printed engravings sympathizing with the Beeldenstorm. He travelled to London, where he stayed a few years before emigrating to Cologne. He is known for portraits and topographical views as well as historical allegories. He also produced scenes of contemporary historical events.

Hogenberg died in Cologne. More on Frans Hogenberg

In 1565, an opposition party was formed from the Dutch nobility. Margaret received its complaints and, having no army to put down the dissenters, promised to stop religious repression. In 1566, Iconoclastic riots took place all over the Netherlands but she managed to quell them, with the help of her stadtholders Philip of Noircarmes (who subjugated the cities of Tournai and Valenciennes) in Hainaut and William of Orange in Holland . 

Franz Widnmann
Margaret of Parma before the Duke of Alba, c. 1873
Alternative title: Catherine of Schwarzburg in front of Prince Alba
Oil on canvas
height: 99.5 cm (39.1 in); width: 130 cm (51.1 in)
Muzeum Sztuki w Łodzi

Franz Widnmann (1846 – 1910) was a German painter and graphic artist, and a professor at the Royal School of Applied Arts in Munich.

From 1862 he attended the drawing school of the Verein zur Ausbildung des Gewerbes, and later the Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Arts and Crafts or School of Applied Arts), in Munich, directed by Hermann Dyck. On 30 October 1862 he matriculated at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts for the antique class.

His early work was in decorative arts and design. His first painting, Duke Alba at the Castle of Countess Catharina von Schwarzburg, won an award at the 1873 Vienna World's Fair. As a student and was commissioned to decorate the Pringsheim Palace in Berlin. He painted murals for the Munich palace of Prince Leopold of Bavaria and Homecoming from the Hunt for the Schloss St Emmeram, of the Prince of Thurn und Taxis in Regensburg.

A state scholarship enabled Widnmann to spend time in Italy. In the 1880s he was exclusively occupied with works for the palaces of the Bavarian king Ludwig II, especially for Schloss Herrenchiemsee. During 1878 and 1886 he designed figurative decoration for facades, designs for stucco decoration, wall fillings, girandoles, Meissen porcelain chandeliers, crystal chandeliers (executed by Lobmeyr in Vienna), and for clocks, writing instruments, centrepieces, and later, painting commissions. Further commissions were for the Linderhof Palace.

In 1881 he became the 'Royal Professor', and on 1 May 1892 was appointed professor of the life class at the Kunstgewerbeschule. In 1894 he designed the stained glass window of the Barfüßerkirche in Augsburg. He exhibited work in the Münchner Glaspalast.

Franz Widnmann died 30 August 1910 in Rodeneck in the Puster Valley. He was buried in the Old South Cemetery Munich. More on Franz Widnmann

The next year, Philip sent her military help led by the Duke of Alba. Margaret warned Philip that actions by Alba would lead to catastrophe, but instead of trying to stop Alba, she resigned when she learned that Alba's power of attorney, granted by Philip, superseded her own.

Otto van Veen  (1556–1629)
Portrait of the condottiere Alexander (Alessandro) Farnese, Duke of Parma, Governor of the Netherlands (1545-1592), circa 1585
Oil on canvas
0,58 X 0,48 m
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

Otto van Veen, also known by his Latinized name Otto Venius or Octavius Vaenius, (c.1556 – 6 May 1629) was a painter, draughtsman, and humanist active primarily in Antwerp and Brussels in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century. He is known for running a large studio in Antwerp, producing several emblem books, and for being, from 1594 or 1595 until 1598, Peter Paul Rubens's teacher. His role as a classically educated humanist artist (a pictor doctus), reflected in the Latin name by which he is often known, Octavius Vaenius, was influential on the young Rubens, who would take on that role himself. More on Otto van Veen

In 1567 Margaret retired to L'Aquila in Italy. She was appointed Governor of Abruzzo, where she had inherited a domain from her late husband. She acted as the adviser to her son and to her royal bastard half-brother, John of Austria. In 1578, her son Alexander Farnese was appointed to the office of governor-general of the Netherlands; Philip appointed her his co-regent, intending that they would balance each other. However, they were unable to work together, and Margaret retired to Namur in 1582. She was given permission by Philip to return to Italy in 1583. She died in Ortona in 1586 and was buried in the church of S. Sisto in Piacenza.

Charlie R. Steen describes her as "a woman dedicated to compromise and conciliation in public affairs. More on Margaret of Parma




Please visit my other blogs: Art CollectorMythologyMarine ArtPortrait of a Lady, The OrientalistArt of the Nude and The Canals of VeniceMiddle East Artists365 Saints365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest and my art stores at  deviantart and Aaroko

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Wednesday, January 29, 2025

02 works, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Moses Soyer's Ballet Class, with Footnotes. #133

Moses Soyer's Ballet Class(1899-1974)
Ballet Class, c. 1938
Oil on canvas
16 3/8 x 20 1/4 in. (41.6 x 51.4 cm.)
Private collection

Sold for $5,500 in December 1991

Moses Soyer's Ballet Class(1899-1974)
Four Dancers, c. 1945
Oil on canvas
25 x 18 inches (63.5 x 45.7 cm) 
Private collection

Sold for $5,500 in Nov 2022

Moses Soyer (December 25, 1899 – September 3, 1974) was an American social realist painter. Soyer was born in Borisoglebsk, Russian Empire, in 1899. His family emigrated to the United States in 1912. Two of Soyer's brothers, Raphael (his identical twin) and Isaac were also painters. Soyer's wife, Ida, was a dancer, and dancers are a recurring subject in his paintings. Soyer studied art in New York, first at Cooper Union and later at the Ferrer Art School, where he studied under the Ashcan painters Robert Henri and George Bellows.[2] He had his first solo exhibition in 1926 and began teaching art the following year at the Contemporary Art School and The New School. He died in the Chelsea Hotel in New York while painting dancer and choreographer Phoebe Neville. More on Moses Soyer




Please visit my other blogs: Art CollectorMythologyMarine ArtPortrait of a Lady, The OrientalistArt of the Nude and The Canals of VeniceMiddle East Artists365 Saints365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest and my art stores at  deviantart and Aaroko

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

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Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

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