-
Jan 1, 1429
Renaissance (Italian): 14th-16th (ARTIST)
Gentile Bellini (1429-1507)
Gentile was trained by his father a painter who introduced Renaissance concerns and motifs into Venice. At the beginning of Gentile’s career, he worked with his father and his brother. Among Gentile’s best-known works are the scenes of Venice painted for the School of San Giovanni Evangelista, one of the many religious confraternities of the city. Those works deal with episodes related to a relic of the Holy Cross that the school owned. -
Jan 1, 1485
Renaissance (Italian): 14th-16th (ART)
The Virgin Mary is shown on an inlaid marble throne, with an Eastern carpet at her feet. The Christ Child holds a pomegranate, a symbol of the passion. The form of the signature, meaning Gentile Bellini, Knight of Venice, indicates that the picture cannot be from before 1469, when Gentile Bellini was knighted. The decorative treatment and some details, such as the tiny trees in the Gothic tradition, would suggest a fairly early date. -
Jan 1, 1503
Renaissance (Italian): 14th-16th (EVENT)
The ascension of Pope Julius II begins the Roman Golden Age, during which the city and Papacy both prosper. Julius II reverses the trend of moral degradation in the Papacy and takes great steps in the rebuilding of Rome. -
Baroque (Northern or Southern Europe): 17th century (ARTIST)
Luca Giodano (1632-1705)
Luca Giordano was an Italian decorative painter. He was the pupil of Ribera and Pietro da Cortona. He imitated the works of the great masters with amazing speed and facility and ultimately based his style upon those of Veronese and Cortona. Giordano decorated the cupola of the Corsini Chapel and a ceiling in the Palazzo Riccardi, both in Florence. In 1692 he went to Madrid, where he remained ten years produced numerous works in oil and in fresco. -
Baroque (Northern or Southern Europe): 17th century (ART)
St Michael 1663
As a christian knight, St Michael was percieved as a symbol of the Catholic church victory over Prodestant and Turkish threats. In this version the brightly glowing colors and powerful movement portrayed in the figure underline the triumph nature of the scene. The picture was originally intended as an altar piece for an unknown church. The artist drew inspiration from local carvings and alter pieces of the saint. -
Baroque (Northern or Southern Europe): 17th century (EVENT)
Glorious Revolution, in English history, that resulted in the deposition of James II and the accession of William III and Mary II to the English throne. It is also called the Bloodless Revolution. The restoration of Charles II in 1660 was met with misgivings by many Englishmen who suspected the Stuarts of Roman Catholic and absolutist leanings. Charles II increased this distrust by not being responsive to Parliament, by his toleration of Catholic dissent. -
Enlightenment and Revolution: 18th century (ARTIST)
Joseph Wright (sept 3 1734 - aug 29 1797)
Joseph Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter. He has been acclaimed as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution". Wright is notable for his use of chiaroscuro effect, which emphasises the contrast of light and dark, and for his paintings of candle-lit subjects. His paintings of the birth of science out of alchemy, often based on the meetings of the Lunar Society. -
Enlightenment and Revolution: 18th century (EVENT)
Seven Years' War, French and Indian Wars in America, in which Britain and Prussia defeat France, Spain, Austria, and Russia. The war lasted from 1756 to 1763. France loses North American colonies; Spain cedes Florida to Britain in exchange for Cuba. In India, over 100 British prisoners die in “Black Hole of Calcutta.” -
Enlightenment and Revolution: 18th century (ART)
A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery 1766
Two young boys, gazing over the edge of the contraption in playful wonder. A teenaged girl, her arms resting on the machine, in quiet contemplation. A young man shielding his eyes from the brilliance of the light emanating from the center, and a young woman staring unblinkingly. A standing man taking copious notes on the proceedings. Another man leaning back in his seat, listening intently to the gray-haired lecturer, captivating his audience. -
Romanticism and Realism: 1800-1880 (ARTIST)
Julien Dupré (mar18 1851 - apr16 1910)
Dupré was very successful during his lifetime both in Europe and the United States. Wealthy American patrons traveled to Paris to acquire his works and they became part of the great collections of the 19th century. Many of these collections, in turn, would become the cornerstones of our great museums. -
Romanticism and Realism: 1800-1880 (EVENT)
U.S. Civil War begins as attempts at compromise fail. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas secede; with South Carolina, they form the Confederate States of America, with Jefferson Davis as president. Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina secede and join Confederacy. First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas). Congress creates Colorado, Dakota, and Nevada territories; adopts income tax; Lincoln inaugurated. Serfs emancipated in -
Romanticism and Realism: 1800-1880 (ART)
La Bergere 1880
The artist responsible for this painting was very well known for beautifying the common folk. This image is a depiction of a common country farm girl. Even with this painting being of a generic scene it focuses on the essential aspects of art. The artist really shows off his skills within this painting, bringing about lifelike color and amazing realism. -
The Modern World: 1880-1945 (ARTIST)
Jackson Pollock was an influential American painter, and the leading force behind the abstract expressionist movement in the art world. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. Jackson Pollock's greatness lies in developing one of the most radical abstract styles in the history of modern art, detaching line from color, redefining the categories of drawing and painting, and finding new means to describe pictorial space. He perfected the 'drip and splash'. style, the -
The Modern World: 1880-1945 (EVENT)
World War I was an extremely bloody war that engulfed Europe from 1914 to 1919, with huge losses of life and little ground lost or won. Fought mostly by soldiers in trenches, World War I saw an estimated 10 million military deaths and another 20 million wounded. While many hoped that World War I would be the war to end all wars, in actuality, the concluding peace treaty set the stage for World War II. -
The Modern World: 1880-1945 (ART)
The Moon Woman 1942
The Moon Woman suggests the example of Picasso, particularly his Girl Before a Mirror of 1932. The palettes are similar, and both artists describe a solitary standing female as if she had been x-rayed, her backbone a broad black line from which her curving contours originate. Frontal and profile views of the face are combined to contrast two aspects of the self, one serene and public, the other dark and interior.
