German-born American Hudson River School Painter, 1830-1902 Bierstadt was born in Solingen, Germany. His family moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1833. He studied painting with the members of the D??sseldorf School in D??sseldorf, Germany from 1853 to 1857. He taught drawing and painting briefly before devoting himself to painting. Bierstadt began making paintings in New England and upstate New York. In 1859, he traveled westward in the company of a Land Surveyor for the U.S. government, returning with sketches that would result in numerous finished paintings. In 1863 he returned west again, in the company of the author Fitz Hugh Ludlow, whose wife he would later marry. He continued to visit the American West throughout his career. Though his paintings sold for princely sums, Bierstadt was not held in particularly high esteem by critics of his day. His use of uncommonly large canvases was thought to be an egotistical indulgence, as his paintings would invariably dwarf those of his contemporaries when they were displayed together. The romanticism evident in his choices of subject and in his use of light was felt to be excessive by contemporary critics. His paintings emphasized atmospheric elements like fog, clouds and mist to accentuate and complement the feel of his work. Bierstadt sometimes changed details of the landscape to inspire awe. The colors he used are also not always true. He painted what he believed is the way things should be: water is ultramarine, vegetation is lush and green, etc. The shift from foreground to background was very dramatic and there was almost no middle distance Nonetheless, his paintings remain popular. He was a prolific artist, having completed over 500 (possibly as many as 4000) paintings during his lifetime, most of which have survived. Many are scattered through museums around the United States. Prints are available commercially for many. Original paintings themselves do occasionally come up for sale, at ever increasing prices.  Related Paintings of Albert Bierstadt :. | Estes Park | California Redwoods | Thunderstorm in the Rocky Mountains | Nevada Falls | On_the_Sac |
Related Artists:
Lepine, Stanislas
French Impressionist Painter, 1836-1892
piero ligorio
Ligorio was born in Naples. In 1534 he moved to Rome, where he developed his interest in antiquities, and was named superintendent to the ancient monuments by the Popes Pius IV and Paul IV. In 1549 he began excavations in the Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli and designed his masterwork, the water works at Villa d'Este, for Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este. He also played a role in designing the fountains at Villa Lante in Bagnaio, working alongside Vignola. His Mannerist taste is present also in the Casina Pio IV (also known as Villa Pia) at the Vatican (1559?C1562). In 1568 he was fired by Paul V for having criticized Michelangelo's work in St. Peter's Basilica, and moved to Ferrara, where he was guest of Duke Alfonso II d'Este. As a scholar of antiquities, one of his most famous published works is a map of ancient Rome (Antiquae Urbis Imago) from 1561. He died in Ferrara in 1583.
Joseph Heintz
1564-1609 Swiss Painter, draughtsman, architect and artistic adviser, son of Daniel Heintz. He began his training as a painter c. 1579 with Hans Bock I (c. 1550-c. 1623) in Basle. His first surviving drawings (1580) show something akin to Holbein manner in his stained-glass window designs. After completing his apprenticeship he went c. 1584 to Rome, where he studied the works of antiquity, and those of Raphael, Michelangelo, Polidoro da Caravaggio and others. In 1587 he went via Florence to Venice, absorbing the works of Tintoretto, Titian and Veronese. In autumn 1591 the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II summoned him as portraitist and court painter to Prague but soon sent him back to Italy, where he drew ancient statues in addition to producing his own work and acting as art agent for the Emperor. In 1592-5 he stayed mainly in Rome, then returned to Prague. In the following years he worked indefatigably as a draughtsman, painter, architect and artistic adviser, moving between Augsburg and Prague.