German Painter, 1858-1925
German painter and writer. He grew up on his family's farm and tannery. As a child he showed interest in art, taking informal lessons in drawing from a local carpenter and caricaturing his primary school teachers. Corinth's father sent him to secondary school in the nearby city of K?nigsberg (now Kaliningrad), where he lived with his widowed aunt. A superstitious woman fond of story-telling, she possessed what Corinth later described as a coarse temperament and an unrestrained, 'demonic' humour. These qualities and his aunt's bohemian acquaintances, including fortune-tellers and soothsayers, fascinated the young Corinth, accustomed to his more reserved parents. Related Paintings of Lovis Corinth :. | Weihnachtsbescherung | Motive from Walchensee | Stillleben mit gelben Tulpen, apfeln und Grapefruit | Portrait Frau Korfiz Holm | Emperor-s Day in Hamburg | Related Artists:
Leonardo Alenza Y Nietob Madrid, 6 Nov 1807; d Madrid, 30 June 1845
Spanish painter and illustrator. He studied at the Real Academia de S Fernando, Madrid, under Juan Antonio Ribera y Fern?ndez and Jos? de Madrazo y Agudo. He worked independently of court circles and achieved some fame but nevertheless died in such poverty that his burial was paid for by friends. He is often described as the last of the followers of Goya, in whose Caprichos and drawings he found inspiration for the genre scenes for which he became best known. Of these scenes of everyday life and customs the more interesting include The Beating (Madrid, Cas?n Buen Retiro) and Galician with Puppets (c. 1835; Madrid, Cas?n Buen Retiro; see SPAIN, fig. 17). Alenza y Nieto's numerous drawings include the illustrations for Alain-Ren? Lesage's Gil Blas (Madrid, 1840), for an edition of the poems of Francisco de Quevedo published by Castello and for the reviews Semanario pintoresco and El Reflejo. The painting Triumph of David
MARIESCHI, MicheleItalian Painter, 1710-1743
Italian painter and engraver. His first biographers, Orlandi and Guarienti (1753), stated that Marieschi worked in Germany early in his career and then returned to Venice, where he established himself as a painter of 'beautiful views of the Grand Canal, and of churches and palaces'. Yet there is no other evidence for this journey and Marieschi's early training remains problematic. It seems likely that he began his career as a stage designer: his first recorded activity, in 1731, was the preparation, on behalf of the impresario Francesco Tasso ( fl 1725-c. 1740), of the setting for the Venetian celebration of Carnival Thursday in the Piazzetta. He then, influenced by Marco Ricci and Luca Carlevaris, began to paint capriccios and vedute. His early capriccios, such as the pair Capriccio with Classical Ruins and Bridge and Capriccio with Roman Arch and Encampment (mid-1730s; Naples, Mus. Civ. Gaetano Filangieri), are indebted to Ricci, although they lack his solemnity and magnificence. Marieschi's blend of medieval and Classical ruins in a serene Venetian landscape is more picturesque and romantic. Marieschi began to paint vedute having been encouraged by Canaletto's great success with the genre; examples such as the S Maria della Salute (1733-5; Paris, Louvre), the Piazzetta dei Leoni and the Grand Canal at Ca' Pesaro (1734-5; both Munich, Alte Pin.) are distinguished from Canaletto's work by their exaggerated perspective, more atmospheric colour and the spirited handling of the small figures. Two capriccios, the Town on a River with Rapids (London, N.G.) and the Town on a River with Shipping (London, N.G.;.), both charmingly picturesque scenes with watermills and crumbling towers, date from the mid-1730s. Marieschi began to etch in the 1730s,
Luis Menendez1716-1780. a Spanish painter
was a Spanish painter. Although he received little acclaim during his lifetime and died in poverty, Melendez is recognized today as the greatest Spanish still-life painter of the eighteenth century. His mastery of composition and light, and his remarkable ability to convey the volume and texture of individual objects enabled him to transform the most mundane of kitchen fare into powerful images. Luis Egidio Melendez de Rivera Durazo y Santo Padre was born in Naples in 1716. His father, Francisco Melendez de Rivera Diaz (1682- after 1758), was a miniaturist painter from Oviedowho had moved to Madrid with his older brother, the portrait painter Miguel Jacinto Melendez (1679-1734) in pursuit of artistic instruction.Whereas Miguel remained in Madrid to study and became a painter in the court of Philip V, Francisco left for Italy in 1699 to seek greater artistic exposure. Francisco took a special interest in visiting the Italian academies and settled in Naples where he married Maria Josefa Durazo y Santo Padre Barrille.Luis was a year old when his father, who had been a soldier in a Spanish garrison and lived abroad for almost two decades, returned to Madrid with the family. Luis Egidio, his brother Jos' Agusten, and Ana, one of his sisters, began their careers under the tutelage of their father, who was appointed the King's Painter of Miniatures in 1725.After several years, in his words: painting royal portraits in jewels and bracelets to serve as gifts for envoys and ambassadors, he entered the workshop of Louis Michel van Loo (1707-1771), a Frenchman who had been made royal painter of Philip V of Spain. Between 1737 to 1742, Melendez worked as a part of a team of artist dedicated to copying van Loo's prototypes of royal portraits for the domestic and overseas market, but at least he had a foothold in the palace. He had his artistic sights on a distinguished career as a court painter. When the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando was provisionally inaugurated in 1744, his father, Francisco, was made an honorary director of painting and Luis was among the first students to be admitted, he achieved outstanding results in drawing. The Academy was progressive in that it not only tolerated but also encouraged the 'lesser' genres, including still life. At this time, he was already an accomplished painter as proved by his superb self-portrait at the Louvre signed in 1747. However, this opportunity was marred by a petty quarrel; Luis' father, Francisco, openly attacked the director of the Academy and claimed for himself the honor of being the founder. He had his son Luis personally delivered the inflammatory material to the Academy. Francisco was relieved of his teaching position and Luis was formally expelled from the Academy on June 15, 1748. Unlike his father, Luis professional status was precarious.