"The Adoration of the Magi" by Sandro Botticelli and Leonardo Da Vinci
In March 1481, the monks of the Florentine monastery of San Donato and Scopetto turned to the notary Pietro of Vinci with a request to find an artist who could…

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Venice School of Painting
The heritage of the Venetian school of painting is one of the most striking pages in the history of the Italian Renaissance. The “Pearl of the Adriatic” - a quaintly…

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"Denial of confession" by Ilya Repin
The man was brought to execution. After several months of imprisonment, he was pale. Around the roaring crowd. - Villain, crazy! In the king himself shot! - God saved his…

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"Boris Godunov" and "Vasily Shuisky" by Ivan Shtenglin
In the middle of the 18th century, the interest of the Russian society in national history increased. Ivan Shtenglin, a master from Augsburg, Germany, who worked in Russia, completed from…

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James Whistler: “I am an artist and“ born ”in Petersburg”
James Whistler, an Anglo-American artist, was born July 11, 1834 in Lowell, the industrial city of the United States. Staying in Russia largely affected the formation of his talent. Whistler…

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painters from England

“The Adoration of the Magi” by Sandro Botticelli and Leonardo Da Vinci

In March 1481, the monks of the Florentine monastery of San Donato and Scopetto turned to the notary Pietro of Vinci with a request to find an artist who could write an altar painting for the cathedral. Pietro immediately offered the services of his son Leonardo, who recently graduated from Verrocchio. At the same time the contract was concluded, where the working conditions were determined. The artist was given the task of painting a 2.5×2.5 m size in oil on a blackboard in two – two and a half years. The plot of the Adoration of the Magi is one of the episodes of the Gospel legend. Continue reading

Mexican painting of the first half of the 20th century

In the 20th century, the art of Latin America, primarily Mexico, unexpectedly became one of the most significant phenomena of world culture. The dramatic history of this country is replete with brutal conquests, murders, merciless oppression of the masses – starting from the invasion of the Aztec warrior people, who later created a formidable state later in Central Mexico, in the XII century.

In the first half of the 16th century, Spanish conquerors conquered Mexico, seized the ancient civilization that had developed here, spread Christianity with fire and sword, and turned the Indians into slaves. Continue reading

Kanoplasta from Tanagra

The Greek words “tanagra”, “tanagryanka” about a hundred years ago entered the Russian language. They are now used to denote everything fragile, feminine and plastic. The artist V. Serov invented the term “tanagretika” on their basis, meaning beneath it artless, elegant, opposite to the cold and rational in art.

The ancient city of Tanagra in Boeotia, in the northeast of the Balkan Peninsula, has gained wide popularity in recent times thanks to an archaeological sensation – finds of Tanagrian figurines. Continue reading

Luca della Robbia - devotional service to art
The whole long life of Luke della Robbia was dedicated to serving the arts. The sculptor was born in Florence in 1399 or 1400. He made many works that rightfully…

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Egyptian ostracon drawings
In the art of ancient Egypt there are monuments that make up a special group. These are works of graphics - drawings on the boards. The Greek word "ostracon" literally…

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The Unknown by Ivan Kramskoy
At the end of the 1860s, in the period when the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions was born, a curious incident occurred in the workshop of Artel of artists. He…

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