Greek-born Spanish Mannerist Painter, 1541-1614 Considered a representative of late Renaissance Spanish art, El Greco was actually born in Greece, on the island of Crete. After studying in Venice under Titian, El Greco settled in Toledo, Spain in 1577. At the time he was wildly popular, his emotionally religious paintings being just the ticket for the hometown of the Spanish Inquisition. After his death his work was largely ignored until the beginning of the 20th century; now he considered one of the inspired geniuses of Western art. His distinctive style features bold shapes and colors, with elongated and slightly distorted figures. In Toledo El Greco was in constant demand and liked living large: he maintained a private orchestra to accompany his meals.  Related Paintings of El Greco :. | The Pentecost | Mary Magdalen in Penitence | the vision of st. john | St.Martin and the Beggar | el espolio |
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Pier Leone Ghezzi
(Rome, 28 June 1674 - Rome, 6 March 1755) was an Italian Rococo painter and caricaturist active in Rome. Caricature of composer Antonio Vivaldi by Pier Leone GhezziGhezzi was born in Rome. His father, Giuseppe Ghezzi, (1634-1721), also trained Antonio Amorosi, and was a secretary to the Roman Accademia di San Luca. Pier Leone himself joined the Academy in 1705 and he executed a painting, the Allegory of Gratitude, to be donated to the institution, as was customary. He was the godson of Carlo Maratta. Pier Leone is known for his frescoes in the Villa Falconieri of Frascati. His pen and gouache caricatures are much freer in emotion than his state portraiture, and often depict named individuals or professions in satirical fashion.
Nicola Forcella
Italian, 19th century
Edward William Cooke
British Painter, 1811-1880 was an English painter and gardener. Cooke was born in London. His father George and uncle, William Bernard, were both well-known engravers and Cooke was raised in their wide artistic circle. He was a precocious draughtsman and a skilled engraver from an early age, displayed an equal preference for marine subjects and published his 'Shipping and Craft' C a series of accomplished engravings C when he was 18, in 1829. He benefited from the advice of many of his father's associates, notably Clarkson Stanfield (whose principal marine follower he became) and David Roberts. Cooke began painting in oils in 1833, took formal lessons from James Stark in 1834 and first exhibited at the Royal Academy and British Institution in 1835, by which time his style was essentially formed. He went on to travel and paint with great industry at home and abroad, indulging his love of the 17th-century Dutch marine artists with a visit to Holland in 1837. He returned regularly over the next 23 years, studying the effects of the coastal landscape and light, as well as the works of the country's Old Masters, resulting in highly successful paintings. These included 'Beaching a Pink at Scheveningen' (National Maritime Museum, London), which he exhibited in 1855 at the Royal Academy, of which he was an Associate from 1851. He went on to travel in Scandinavia, Spain, North Africa and, above all, to Venice.") Cooke was "particularly attracted by the Isle of Wight, and on his formative visit of 1835 he made a thorough study of its fishing boats and lobster pots; above all he delighted in the beaches strewn with rocks of various kinds, fishing tackle, breakwaters and small timber-propped jetties He also had serious natural history and geological interests, being a Fellow of the Linnean Society, Fellow of the Geological Society and Fellow of the Zoological Society,