Happy Birthday, Bernardo Bellotto!

Bernardo Bellotto

(1721- 1780)

Bernardo Bellotto (1721-1780) began his career in Venice, where he probably studied with his uncle, Canaletto (Antonio Canal), one of the best-known Italian view painters. By the age of twenty-five, Bellotto had achieved considerable success, having been commissioned to paint views of such cities as Venice, Florence, and Rome for Italian and other European patrons. His best view paintings combine precise topographical detail with a dramatic use of light and shade, all infused with a vivid sense of atmosphere. As well as accurate depictions of existing buildings, he also produced imaginary landscapes, called capricci, both on commission and to sell on the open art market. In 1747 Augustus III, King of Poland, invited Bellotto to move to Dresden, then part of Poland, where the artist was soon named court painter. Bellotto traveled to several other central European cities in subsequent years and painted cityscapes in each one; he lived in Vienna from 1759 to 1761, in Munich in 1761, and returned to Dresden in 1762. In 1767 he took up residence in Warsaw, where he became court painter to Stanislaw II, the last King of Poland, and remained in the city for the rest of his life. 

The Scuola of San Marco

Capriccio with the Colosseum

The Piazza della Signoria in Florence

 

Happy Birthday, Edouard Manet

(born January 23, 1832, Paris, France — died April 30, 1883, Paris)

Manet's debut as a painter met with a critical resistance that did not abate until near the end of his career. Although the success of his memorial exhibition and the eventual critical acceptance of the Impressionists—with whom he was loosely affiliated—raised his profile by the end of the 19th century, it was not until the 20th century that his reputation was secured by art historians and critics. Manet's disregard for traditional modeling and perspective made a critical break with academic painting's historical emphasis on illusionism. This flaunting of tradition and the official art establishment paved the way for the revolutionary work of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. Manet also influenced the path of much 19th- and 20th-century art through his choice of subject matter. His focus on modern, urban subjects—which he presented in a straightforward, almost detached manner—distinguished him still more from the standards of the Salon, which generally favored narrative and avoided the gritty realities of everyday life. Manet's daring, unflinching approach to his painting and to the art world assured both him and his work a pivotal place in the history of modern art.

The Spanish Singer, 1860
Édouard Manet (French, 1832–1883)
Oil on canvas

 

 

Boating, 1874
Édouard Manet (French, 1832–1883)
Oil on canvas 

 

 

 

 

A Matador, 1866–67
Édouard Manet (French, 1832–1883)
Oil on canvas

Young Lady in 1866, 1866
Édouard Manet (French, 1832–1883)
Oil on canvas