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A selection of the paintings we like and of
the artists who have influenced us.
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The Old Masters and classical art - paintings from the 15th century to the middle of 19th
Century.
Hieronymus Bosch, Sandro Botticelli, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Giovanni Antonio Canale
(Canaletto), Albrecht Durer, Domenikos Theotocopoulos (El Greco). |
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The Modern Masters, from the second half of the 19th century, to
the middle of the 20th century. In our selection: Paul Cézanne,
André Derain, Maurits Cornelis Escher, Vincent van Gogh, Paul
Klee, František Kupka, Kazimir Severinovich Malevich, Henri
Matisse, Joan Miro,
Amedeo Modigliani, Gustave Moreau, Edvard Munch,
Odilon Redon, Mark Rothko, Henri Rousseau, Maurice Vlaminck.
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Pieter Brueghel, the Elder -
We
can probably learn more from Bruegel’s paintings about the lives of
ordinary people in the 16th century Holland, of their customs,
traditions, proverbs, joys and fears, etc., than from any other source.
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Albrecht Dürer - It is
rather difficult trying to gather facts about Dürer's life, as
there is very little written documentation available, except for
the three books the artist wrote towards the end of his life.
The best source are Dürer's own paintings and sketches -
fortunately he had the habit of including the year of execution
with his famous AD monogram. |
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Claude Monet, the French Impressionist painter, whose painting
Impression: Sunrise, gave its name to the whole movement, which
turned out to be probably the most successful in the history of
art. |
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Paul Gauguin began his painting career relatively late in life,
having had an early successful career as a stockbroker. He began
to exhibit his works in the late 1870s, with the group of the
Impressionists. He soon moved to a completely different direction, becoming
one of the founders of the Symbolist movement. |
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Alphonse Mucha, the Czech painter who made his home in Paris
for several decades, now possibly the best known exponent of the
Art Noveau movement, in the 1890s often even called Le Style Mucha.
The artist, who loved to paint women with beautiful faces, made
his name in 1894, when he linked with the most famous
"femme fatale" of the time, the stage actress Sarah Bernard.
She was so happy with the poster he designed for her that she
signed an exclusive contract with him. |
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The Impressionists - A selection of images from paintings by
five of the important painters of this late 19th century art
movement - Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet, Camille Pissarro, Pier-Auguste
Renoir and Alfred Sisley. |
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Leonardo da Vinci - As well as being an artist of the highest
calibre, Leonardo pursued extensive studies in the
area of science, including anatomy, botany, military engineering,
architecture, etc. His search for the perfect geometrical proportion made
him study the works of some of the antique thinkers, such as the Roman
architect Vitruvius, reflected in another of his famous works, the
Vitruvian Man.
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Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian exile, one of several artist
of the early 20th century who can lay claims on having made the
first abstract painting (another being František Kupka). |
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Gustav Klimt - His
painting, a portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer or the so called
"Golden Adele" (left) was sold in June 2006 for the
world record price of 135 million US dollars. Regardless of
that, Klimt is an important artist. |
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Rembrandt van Rijn - His
portraits attest to his powers of self-observation and, unlike
those of Durer, are not always flattering. |
BookSplendour 103 Grandview
Road Pullenvale, QLD, Australia 4069, tel. 07-3202 7547
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