Greek-born Spanish Mannerist Painter, 1541-1614
Considered a representative of late Renaissance Spanish art, El Greco was actually born in Greece, on the island of Crete. After studying in Venice under Titian, El Greco settled in Toledo, Spain in 1577. At the time he was wildly popular, his emotionally religious paintings being just the ticket for the hometown of the Spanish Inquisition. After his death his work was largely ignored until the beginning of the 20th century; now he considered one of the inspired geniuses of Western art. His distinctive style features bold shapes and colors, with elongated and slightly distorted figures.
In Toledo El Greco was in constant demand and liked living large: he maintained a private orchestra to accompany his meals.
Albrecht Durer b.May 21, 1471, Imperial Free City of Nernberg [Germany]
d.April 6, 1528, Nernberg
Albrecht Durer (May 21, 1471 ?C April 6, 1528) was a German painter, printmaker and theorist from Nuremberg. His still-famous works include the Apocalypse woodcuts, Knight, Death, and the Devil (1513), Saint Jerome in his Study (1514) and Melencolia I (1514), which has been the subject of extensive analysis and interpretation. His watercolours mark him as one of the first European landscape artists, while his ambitious woodcuts revolutionized the potential of that medium. D??rer introduction of classical motifs into Northern art, through his knowledge of Italian artists and German humanists, have secured his reputation as one of the most important figures of the Northern Renaissance. This is reinforced by his theoretical treatise which involve principles of mathematics, perspective and ideal proportions.
His prints established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and he has been conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Renaissance in Northern Europe ever since. St Bartholomew 1523 Engraving, 122 x 76 mm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York The knife in the hand of the saint is the instrument of his martyrdom. The engravings of the Apostles of this last period are quite subdued and unemotional. The stance requires the viewer to look at the head of the saint and to seek out what characterizes his greatness. The absence of a halo, which distinguishes this plate and St Simon from the earlier members of the set of Apostles, can be pointed out. St Bartholomew is more down-to-earth than the lofty type of 1514. These men are more modest, like artisans; their bodies disappear beneath the draperies. They fill the picture area from top to bottom and have a metallic quality, almost like bronze statues. The preparatory drawing is, in this case, much larger than the print.Artist:D?RER, Albrecht Title: St Bartholomew Painted in 1501-1550 , German - - graphics : religious