Hans Hoffman
Who are the model women who inspired great artists
“Model” – this word is involuntarily associated with the image of a sensual woman with a languid look and a gorgeous figure. In his memory immediately appear the masterpieces of the Renaissance, the outstanding canvases of the impressionists and surrealists … Posing for brilliant artists and sculptors, sitters were often not just an object for the image for them, but played a much more important, though not always unambiguous, role.
Margarita Luti
There is something paradoxical in that the image of the Sistine Madonna shining with chastity was created by Raphael with the participation of Margarita Luti – a woman who had a passionate, loving nature. Continue reading
Secrets of self-portraits of famous artists: Reflection in the mirror, portrait-bacon and other oddities
Self-portrait in most cases is an instrument of narcissism, an attempt to leave your image in eternity. But if a genius takes up the matter, his image on canvas can turn into a real masterpiece, which not only perpetuates the appearance of the master, but also puzzles, surprises, fascinates the viewer. For centuries, some of these self-portraits have been knocked out of the familiar notion of this genre, while not losing either their fans or the attention of researchers.
1. Jan van Eyck, “Portrait of the Arnolfini Couple” Continue reading
Unknown portrait of da Vinci brush
It may seem that the legacy of Leonardo da Vinci has many paintings – this artist, who died five hundred years ago, is mentioned too much and too often in the modern world. In fact, only one and a half dozen paintings by da Vinci and a few more works are known, whose belonging to Leonardo’s brush is only supposed. Therefore, any loss of the work of a great artist, as well as the sudden discovery of previously unknown, becomes a sensational event, affecting the history of fine art itself. Moreover, each such episode is reminiscent of a detective story, where there are victims, and criminals, and the hero revealing the secret, and most importantly – the priceless masterpiece of Leonardo. Continue reading