On March 1, 2016, VenetianPlaster.it will share our favorite links to artist we feel have influenced our society and culture.
Artist of the Month
If you have any suggestions or ideas, let us know who’s influenced you the most. We'd love to hear from you! Artist could be living or deceased and feature artist on their birth month.
March 2016
Michelangelo Buonarroti 1475-1564
Sculptor
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer of the High Renaissance who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art.
Born: March 6, 1475, Caprese Michelangelo, Italy
Died: February 18, 1564, Rome, Italy at age 89
Colleagues: Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Donato Bramante
April 2016
Leonardo da Vinci 1452-1519
Engineer, Artist, Mathematician, Inventor, Writer, Scientist
Leonardo da Vinci was the epitome of a “Renaissance man.” Possessor of a curious mind and keen intellect, da Vinci studied the laws of science and nature, which greatly informed his work as a painter, sculptor, architect, inventor, military engineer and draftsman. His ideas and body of work—which includes "Virgin of the Rocks," "The Last Supper" and "Mona Lisa"—have influenced countless artists and made da Vinci a leading light of the Italian Renaissance.
Born: April 15, 1452, Vinci, Italy
Died: May 2, 1519, Ambroise, France at age 67
Brief: Inspired countless artist and students of art for centuries.
May 2016
Albrecht Dürer 1471-1528
Artist, Painter
Albrecht Dürer was a painter, printmaker and theorist of the German Renaissance. Born in Nuremberg, Dürer established his reputation and influence across Europe when he was still in his twenties, due to his high-quality woodcut prints. Most of Dürer's art was heavily influenced while visiting Italy in 1494-1495, he styled much of his work from this Renaissance experience and many think he brought the Renaissance to Germany.
Born: May 21, 1471, Nürnberg, Germany
Died: April 6, 1528, Nürnberg, Germany at age 57
Brief: Inspired many German artist.
Self portrait painted at the age of 28
coming on May 1st
new artist of the month.
June 2016
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin 1848-1903
Artist, Painter
Paul Gauguin was an artist with a diverse life of influences from Navy ship pilot assistant, stock broker, and sales rep for a canvas manufacturer along with and many other odd jobs that sustained his painting career. He became friends with Camille Pissaro, Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh.
Gauguin created his own unique painting style which set him apart from his contemporaries. He used bold colors, exaggerated body proportions and stark contrast. He helped pave the way for the Primitivism art movement. Gauguin was mostly poor and underappreciated during his lifetime and it wasn't until after his death that Gauguin's art began receiving great acclaim, eventually influencing the likes of Picasso and Matisse.
Born: June 7, 1848, Paris, France
Died: May 8, 1903 Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia (54)
Brief: He inspired Pablo Picasso and Matisse.
July 2016
Rembrandt van Rijn 1606-1669
Artist, Painter
One of history’s most famous artist’s biography is somewhat incomplete. Little is known of him outside his masterpieces, and much of what we know comes from a 350-word essay published in 1641 about the town of Leiden in the Netherlands where he was born.
Rembrandt is another master artist that struggled financially during his life. Many thought it was because his artistic style wasn’t adorned by the people of Netherlands where he lived and worked nonetheless, he was a prolific artist with a large production of paintings, drawings, and etchings that has never been surpassed. With no money for a tombstone, he was buried in an unmarked grave at Westerkerk in central Amsterdam.
Born: July 15, 1606, Leiden, Netherlands
Died: October 4, 1669, Amsterdam, Netherlands at age 63.
August 2016
Alexander Calder 1898-1976
Artist, Sculpter
Paul Gauguin was an artist with a diverse life of influences from Navy ship pilot assistant, stock broker, and sales rep for a canvas manufacturer along with and many other odd jobs that sustained his painting career. He became friends with Camille Pissaro, Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh.
Gauguin created his own unique painting style which set him apart from his contemporaries. He used bold colors, exaggerated body proportions and stark contrast. He helped pave the way for the Primitivism art movement. Gauguin was mostly poor and underappreciated during his lifetime and it wasn't until after his death that Gauguin's art began receiving great acclaim, eventually influencing the likes of Picasso and Matisse.
Born: August 22, 1848, Paris, France
Died: May 8, 1903 Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia (54)
Brief: He inspired Pablo Picasso and Matisse.