ambassador to Greece
Honore Fragonard – “Solar Brush Provence”
Attraction to the poetry of life, its emotional richness distinguishes Fragonard among the brilliant artists of France of the XVIII century.
The destiny of the master initially developed happily. Even in his youth, he quickly and easily achieved success, was recognized by the Academy. Then – the rejection of the paths of a successful artist. But independence did not bring him worldly well-being. In the last years of his life, Fragonard loses his customers, almost forgotten by the public. Continue reading
Konstantin Meunier – an artist who glorified the proletariat
The life of the Belgian master Constantin Meunier is not eventful. But his creative biography is unusual. He began as a sculptor, visiting the class of the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels and the workshop of Sh. O. Freken, a follower of classicism. Then for many years engaged in painting. Only at the age of 50 he returned to sculpture – a unique case in the history of Western European art of that era.
At the same time, Meunier continued to work as a painter, creating major works in 1890–1900s. The master found in painting compositional solutions, which he later transferred to sculpture. Continue reading
Camille Corot: “I write with my heart”
The large, half a century long, creative life of the French artist Camille Corot (1796–1875) was, as it were, subject to the change of seasons. In the winter months he worked in the Paris workshop, often visiting the opera and the conservatory. But the happiness of communicating with wildlife meant for the master incomparably more than visiting museums and concert halls. Every year with the onset of spring, he went on a journey through various regions of France to write sketches. Many of them have become pearls of plein-air painting. Continue reading
