German painting began its development in the early Middle Ages under the influence classical art Ancient Rome and Byzantium.
During the Gothic period, painting turned to painting window glass, and for a long time it was closely associated with architecture.
Painting takes a new direction in the 15th century under the influence of the Flanders school, brilliantly developed thanks to the van Eyck brothers.
Michael Wohlgemut is recognized as the first significant master of Germany. He probably learned the craft from the works of Flemish painters. Albrecht Durer studied in his workshop in 1486-89, who later became the greatest artist in Germany. His paintings show the real grandeur of the Renaissance
Simultaneously with Durer, the largest artist worked - Mathis Niethardt, nicknamed Grunewald. The coloristic richness of his painting also belongs to the highest achievements of the national artistic culture.
The further development of painting was influenced by the work of an outstanding portraitist, master of mythological and religious scenes, Lucas Cranach the Elder, who possesses a virtuoso art of decorative solutions and a subtle sense of landscape.
His influence influenced the work of a whole galaxy of artists, in whose painting and graphics landscape played an important role and who are known as the "Danube School".
The most prominent representative of the Danube school of painting is Albrecht Altdorfer.
In the 17th century german artistsborrowing the ideals of classicism from other national schools and trying to keep them, they open their own Academy of Arts. Before its opening in 1694, German artists, in order to receive professional training, had to go abroad - to Flanders, Italy, Holland. Therefore, the influence of these national schools in the works of German painters is so noticeable.
The most gifted artists tried to defend their originality, although they could not completely abandon other people's samples. German artists of the 17th century became a kind of prophets in a foreign country. In Germany itself, national talents were not appreciated or supported, the artist was in a humiliating, dependent position. Characteristic feature German art of the 17th century as a whole is contradictory, primarily it is noted in the work of Joachim von Sandrart.
In the 18th century, German national painting styles began to develop in parallel in various German states. Bavaria became one of the main centers of art. In the early period, the development of national painting proceeded within the framework of the Baroque, later it approached the styles of Rococo and Classicism.Anton Raphael Mengs, the largest German painter of the era of classicism, had a greater influence on the painting of the 18th century and subsequent painting.
The first original and national-feeling German artist of the modern era was Danzig-born Daniel Chohovetsky, one of the main representatives of enlightenment realism.
In the second half of the 19th century, artists who were disappointed both in realism and in imitating the old masters, searched for new themes and ways of their embodiment.
Karl Blechen became known as one of the first German "industrial" painters to celebrate the emerging industrial power.
The greatest master of the mid-19th century was the Berlin painter and graphic artist Adolf von Menzel.
Prized for its accurate yet picturesque 19th century city views, Johann Philip Eduard Gertner.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the brilliant talent of the famous German impressionist Lesser Uri appeared.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner went down in the history of painting as the founder of one of the most notable phenomena of the artistic life of the early twentieth century - expressionism.
You can buy reproductions of paintings by German painters painters in our online store.
"Card Players"
Author
Paul Cezanne
A country France
Years of life 1839–1906
Style post-impressionism
The artist was born in the south of France in the small town of Aix-en-Provence, but began to paint in Paris. Real success came to him after a personal exhibition organized by the collector Ambroise Vollard. In 1886, 20 years before he left, he moved to the outskirts hometown... The young artists called their trips to him “a pilgrimage to Aix”.
130x97 cm
1895 year
cost
$ 250 million
sold out in 2012
at a private auction
Cezanne's work is easy to understand. The only rule of the artist was the direct transfer of the subject or plot to the canvas, so his paintings do not cause bewilderment to the viewer. Cezanne combined two main French traditions in his art: classicism and romanticism. With the help of colorful texture, he gave the shape of objects an amazing plasticity.
The series of five paintings "The Card Players" was written in the years 1890-1895. Their plot is the same - several people are passionate about playing poker. The works differ only in the number of players and the size of the canvas.
Four paintings are kept in museums in Europe and America (Musée d'Orsay, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Barnes Foundation and Courteau Institute of Art), and the fifth, until recently, was an adornment of the private collection of the Greek billionaire ship owner Georg Embirikos. Shortly before his death, in the winter of 2011, he decided to put it up for sale. Art dealer William Aquavella and world-renowned gallerist Larry Gagosian became potential buyers of Cezanne's "free" work, offering about $ 220 million for it. As a result, the painting went to the royal family of the Arab state of Qatar for 250 million. The largest art deal in the history of painting was closed in February 2012. This was reported by journalist Alexandra Pearce in Vanity Fair. She found out the cost of the painting and the name of the new owner, and then the information penetrated the media around the world.
Arab Museum opened in Qatar in 2010 contemporary art and the Qatar National Museum. Now their collections are being replenished. Perhaps the fifth version of The Card Players was acquired by the Sheikh for this purpose.
The mostexpensive paintingin the world
Owner
Sheikh Hamad
bin Khalifa al-Thani
The al-Thani dynasty has ruled Qatar for over 130 years. About half a century ago, huge reserves of oil and gas were discovered here, which instantly made Qatar one of the richest regions in the world. Thanks to the export of hydrocarbons, this small country has the largest GDP per capita. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani in 1995, while his father was in Switzerland, with the support of family members seized power. The merit of the current ruler, according to experts, is in a clear strategy for the development of the country, in creating a successful image of the state. Qatar now has a constitution and a prime minister, and women have won the right to vote in parliamentary elections. By the way, it was the Emir of Qatar who founded the Al-Jazeera news channel. The authorities of the Arab state pay great attention to culture.
2
"Number 5"
Author
Jackson Pollock
A country USA
Years of life 1912–1956
Style abstract expressionism
Jack Sprinkler - this is the nickname given to Pollock by the American public for his special painting technique. The artist abandoned the brush and easel, and poured paint over the surface of the canvas or fiberboard while continuously moving around and inside them. From an early age he was fond of the philosophy of Jiddu Krishnamurti, the main message of which is that the truth is revealed during the free "outpouring".
122x244 cm
1948 year
cost
$ 140 million
sold out in 2006
on the auction Sotheby's
The value of Pollock's work is not in the result, but in the process. It is not by chance that the author called his art "painting of action". With his light hand, it became the main property of America. Jackson Pollock mixed paint with sand, broken glass, and wrote with a piece of cardboard, a palette knife, a knife, a scoop. The artist was so popular that in the 1950s imitators were found even in the USSR. Painting "Number 5" is recognized as one of the strangest and most expensive in the world. One of the founders of the DreamWorks company, David Geffen, purchased it for a private collection, and in 2006 sold it at Sotheby`s auction for $ 140 million to Mexican collector David Martinez. However, the law firm soon issued a press release on behalf of its client stating that David Martinez was not the owner of the painting. Only one thing is known for certain: the Mexican financier has indeed recently been collecting works of contemporary art. It is unlikely that he would have missed such a "big fish" as "Number 5" Pollock.
3
"Woman III"
Author
Willem de Kooning
A country USA
Years of life 1904–1997
Style abstract expressionism
A native of the Netherlands, he emigrated to the United States in 1926. In 1948, the artist's personal exhibition took place. Art critics have appreciated the complex, nervous black and white compositions, recognizing the great modernist artist in their author. Most of his life he suffered from alcoholism, but the joy of creating new art is felt in every work. De Kooning is distinguished by the impulsiveness of painting, wide strokes, which is why sometimes the image does not fit within the boundaries of the canvas.
121x171 cm
1953 year
cost
$ 137 million
sold out in 2006
at a private auction
In the 1950s, de Kooning's paintings showed women with empty eyes, massive breasts, and ugly facial features. Woman III was the last entry in the series to be auctioned.
Since the 1970s, the painting has been kept in the Tehran Museum of Modern Art, but after the introduction of strict moral rules in the country, they tried to get rid of it. In 1994, the work was exported from Iran, and 12 years later, its owner, David Geffen (the same producer who sold Jackson Pollock's painting "Number 5") gave the painting to millionaire Stephen Cohen for $ 137.5 million. Interestingly, Geffen began to sell his painting collection in one year. This gave rise to a lot of rumors, for example, that the producer decided to buy the Los Angeles Times newspaper.
At one of the art forums, an opinion was expressed about the similarity of "Woman III" with the painting by Leonardo da Vinci "Lady with an Ermine". Behind the toothy smile and shapeless figure of the heroine, the connoisseur of painting saw the grace of a person of royal blood. This is also evidenced by the poorly traced crown crowning the woman's head.
4
"Portrait of AdeleBloch-Bauer I "
Author
Gustav Klimt
A country Austria
Years of life 1862–1918
Style modern
Gustav Klimt was born into the family of an engraving artist and was the second of seven children. Ernest Klimt's three sons became artists, and only Gustav became famous all over the world. He spent most of his childhood in poverty. After the death of his father, he was responsible for the whole family. It was at this time that Klimt develops his style. Any viewer freezes in front of his paintings: under the thin touches of gold, frank eroticism is clearly visible.
138x136 cm
1907 year
cost
$ 135 million
sold out in 2006
on the auction Sotheby's
The fate of the painting, which is called the "Austrian Mona Lisa", could easily become the basis for a bestseller. The artist's work caused a conflict between the whole state and one elderly lady.
So, "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I" depicts an aristocrat, the wife of Ferdinand Bloch. Her last will was to transfer the painting to the Austrian State Gallery. However, Bloch in his will canceled the donation, and the canvas was expropriated by the Nazis. Later, the gallery hardly bought the Golden Adele, but then the heiress appeared - Maria Altman, the niece of Ferdinand Bloch.
In 2005, the high-profile trial "Maria Altman against the Austrian Republic" began, as a result of which the picture "left" with her to Los Angeles. Austria took unprecedented measures: negotiations were underway for loans, the population donated money to buy the portrait. Good never defeated evil: Altman raised the price to $ 300 million. At the time of the trial, she was 79 years old, and she went down in history as the person who changed the will of Bloch-Bauer in favor of personal interests. The painting was acquired by Ronald Lauder, owner of the New Gallery in New York, where it remains to this day. Not for Austria, Altman cut the price to $ 135 million for him.
5
"Scream"
Author
Edvard Munch
A country Norway
Years of life 1863–1944
Style expressionism
The first painting by Munch, which became famous all over the world, "The Sick Girl" (exists in five copies), is dedicated to the artist's sister, who died of tuberculosis at the age of 15. Munch was always interested in the topic of death and loneliness. In Germany, his heavy, manic painting even provoked a scandal. However, despite the depressing plots, his paintings have a special magnetism. Take Scream, for example.
73,5x91 cm
1895 year
cost
$ 119.992 million
sold in 2012 year
on the auction Sotheby's
The full name of the painting is Der Schrei der Natur (translated from German - "the cry of nature"). The face of either a person or an alien expresses despair and panic - the same emotions the viewer experiences when looking at a picture. One of the key works of Expressionism warns of themes that have become acute in the art of the 20th century. According to one version, the artist created it under the influence of a mental disorder, which he suffered all his life.
The painting was twice stolen from different museums, but it was returned. The Scream, which suffered minor damage after the theft, was restored and was again ready for display at the Munch Museum in 2008. For representatives of pop culture, the work became a source of inspiration: Andy Warhol created a series of prints-copies, and the mask from the movie "Scream" is made in the image and likeness of the hero of the picture.
For one subject, Munch wrote four versions of the work: the one in a private collection, made in pastels. Norwegian billionaire Petter Olsen put it up for auction on May 2, 2012. The buyer was Leon Black, who did not regret the record amount for the "Scream". Founder of Apollo Advisors, L.P. and Lion Advisors, L.P. known for his love of art. Black is the patron of Dartmouth College, Museum of Modern Art, Lincoln Art Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art. He has the largest collection of paintings contemporary artists and classical masters of the past centuries.
6
"Nude with a bust and green leaves"
Author
Pablo Picasso
A country Spain, France
Years of life 1881–1973
Style cubism
He is Spanish by origin, but by spirit and place of residence he is a real French. Picasso opened his own art studio in Barcelona when he was only 16 years old. Then he went to Paris and spent most of his life there. That is why his surname has a double stress. The style invented by Picasso is based on the denial of the opinion that an object depicted on a canvas can be viewed from only one angle.
130x162 cm
1932 year
cost
$ 106.482 million
sold out in 2010
on the auction Christie's
During his work in Rome, the artist met the dancer Olga Khokhlova, who soon became his wife. He ended vagrancy and moved with her to a luxurious apartment. By that time, recognition had found a hero, but the marriage was destroyed. One of the most expensive paintings in the world was created almost by accident - for great love, which, as always with Picasso, was short-lived. In 1927, he became interested in the young Marie-Thérèse Walther (she was 17 years old, he was 45). Unbeknownst to his wife, he left with his mistress in a town near Paris, where he painted a portrait depicting Marie-Therese in the image of Daphne. The canvas was acquired by New York dealer Paul Rosenberg and sold to Sidney F. Brody in 1951. The Brody spouses showed the picture to the world only once and only because the artist turned 80 years old. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Brody in March 2010 put the piece up for auction at Christie’s house. In six decades, the price has risen more than 5000 times! An unknown collector bought it for $ 106.5 million. In 2011, a "one-painting exhibition" took place in Britain, where it was published for the second time, but the name of the owner is still unknown.
7
"Eight Elvis"
Author
Andy Warhole
A country USA
Years of life 1928-1987
Style
pop Art
“Sex and parties are the only places where you have to appear in person,” said Andy Warhol, the iconic pop art artist, filmmaker, one of the founders of Interview magazine. He worked with Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, designed album covers, and designed shoes for I. Miller. In the 1960s, paintings appeared depicting the symbols of America: Campbell`s soup and Coca-Cola, Presley and Monroe - which made him a legend.
358x208 cm
1963 year
cost
$ 100 million
sold out in 2008
at a private auction
Warhol's 60s - that's how the era of pop art in America was called. In 1962, he worked in Manhattan at the Factory Studio, where all the bohemians of New York gathered. Its prominent representatives: Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, Truman Capote and other famous personalities in the world. At the same time, Warhol tried the silk-screening technique - multiple repetitions of one image. He also used this method when creating "Eight Elvis": the viewer seems to see shots from a movie where the star comes to life. There is everything that the artist loved so much: a win-win public image, silver color and a premonition of death as the main message.
There are two art dealers who are promoting Warhol's work on the world market today: Larry Gagosian and Alberto Mughrabi. The first spent $ 200 million in 2008 to acquire more than 15 of Warhol's works. The second buys and sells his paintings like Christmas cards, only more expensive. But not they, but a modest French art consultant Philippe Segalo helped the Roman art connoisseur Annibale Berlingieri to sell the Eight Elvis to an unknown buyer for a record amount for Warhol - 100 million dollars.
8
"Orange,red Yellow"
Author
Mark Rothko
A country USA
Years of life 1903–1970
Style abstract expressionism
One of the creators of color field painting was born in Dvinsk, Russia (now - Daugavpils, Latvia), in a large family of a Jewish pharmacist. In 1911, they emigrated to the United States. Rothko studied at the art faculty of Yale University, won a scholarship, but anti-Semitic sentiments forced him to leave his studies. Despite everything, art critics idolized the artist, and museums haunted him all his life.
206x236 cm
1961 year
cost
$ 86,882 million
sold out in 2012
on the auction Christie's
Rothko's first artistic experiments were surrealistic, but over time he simplified the plot to color spots, depriving them of any objectivity. At first they had bright shades, and in the 1960s they turned brown, purple, thickening to black by the time of the artist's death. Mark Rothko warned against looking for any meaning in his paintings. The author wanted to say exactly what he said: only a color that dissolves in the air, and nothing else. He recommended looking at the works from a distance of 45 cm, so that the viewer was "drawn" in color, like a funnel. Caution: watching according to all the rules can lead to the effect of meditation, that is, gradually come the awareness of infinity, complete immersion in oneself, relaxation, purification. The color in his paintings lives, breathes and has a strong emotional impact (they say, sometimes - healing). The artist declared: “The viewer must cry when looking at them,” and there really were such cases. According to Rothko's theory, at this moment people experience the same spiritual experience that he did in the process of working on a painting. If you managed to understand it on such a subtle level, then you should not be surprised that critics often compare these works of abstract art with icons.
The work "Orange, Red, Yellow" expresses the whole essence of Mark Rothko's painting. Its initial cost at Christie’s auction in New York is 35-45 million dollars. An unknown buyer offered a price twice the estimate. The name of the lucky owner of the picture, as is often the case, was not disclosed.
9
"Triptych"
Author
Francis Bacon
A country
Great Britain
Years of life 1909–1992
Style expressionism
The adventures of Francis Bacon, a complete namesake and also a distant descendant of the great philosopher, began when his father disowned him, unable to accept his son's homosexual inclinations. Bacon went first to Berlin, then to Paris, and then his traces are confused throughout Europe. During his lifetime, his works were exhibited in leading cultural centers of the world, including the Guggenheim Museum and the Tretyakov Gallery.
147.5x198 cm (each)
1976 year
cost
$ 86.2 million
sold out in 2008
on the auction Sotheby's
Prestigious museums were eager to own Bacon's paintings, but the prim English public was in no hurry to fork out for such art. Legendary British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said of him: "The person who paints these horrific pictures."
The artist himself considered the post-war period to be the starting period in his work. After returning from service, he again took up painting and created the main masterpieces. Before the participation of "Triptych, 1976" in the auction, Bacon's most expensive work was "Study for a portrait of Pope Innocent X" ($ 52.7 million). In "Triptych, 1976" the artist depicted the mythical plot of the pursuit of Orestes by the furies. Of course, Orestes is Bacon himself, and the furies are his torments. For more than 30 years, the painting was in a private collection and did not participate in exhibitions. This fact gives it a special value and, accordingly, increases its value. But what is a few million for a connoisseur of art, and even generous in Russian? Roman Abramovich began creating his collection in the 1990s, in this he was greatly influenced by his friend Dasha Zhukova, who became a fashionable gallery owner in modern Russia. According to unofficial data, the businessman owns works by Alberto Giacometti and Pablo Picasso, purchased for amounts exceeding $ 100 million. In 2008, he won the Triptych. By the way, in 2011, another valuable work of Bacon was acquired - "Three sketches for a portrait of Lucian Freud." Hidden sources say that Roman Arkadyevich became the buyer again.
10
"Pond with water lilies"
Author
Claude Monet
A country France
Years of life 1840–1926
Style impressionism
The artist is recognized as the founder of impressionism, who “patented” this method in his canvases. The first significant work was the painting "Breakfast on the Grass" (the original version of the work of Edouard Manet). In his youth, he drew cartoons, and took up real painting during his travels along the coast and in the open air. In Paris, he led a bohemian lifestyle and did not abandon it even after serving in the army.
210x100 cm
1919 year
cost
$ 80.5 million
sold out in 2008
on the auction Christie's
Besides the fact that Monet was a great artist, he was also enthusiastically engaged in gardening, adored wildlife and flowers. In his landscapes, the state of nature is momentary, objects seem to be blurred by the movement of air. The impression is enhanced by large strokes, from a certain distance they become invisible and merge into a textured, three-dimensional image. In the painting of late Monet, the theme of water and life in it occupies a special place. In the town of Giverny, the artist had his own pond, where he grew water lilies from seeds he had specially brought from Japan. When their flowers were blooming, he began to paint. The series "Water Lilies" consists of 60 works that the artist painted for almost 30 years, until his death. His vision deteriorated with age, but he did not stop. Depending on the wind, time of year and weather, the view of the pond was constantly changing, and Monet wanted to capture these changes. Through careful work, an understanding of the essence of nature came to him. Some of the paintings of the series are kept in leading galleries in the world: National Museum of Western Art (Tokyo), Orangerie (Paris). The version of the next "Pond with Water Lilies" went into the hands of an unknown buyer for a record amount.
11
False Star t
Author
Jasper Johns
A country USA
Year of birth 1930
Style pop Art
In 1949, Jones entered design school in New York. Along with Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and others, he is recognized as one of the main artists of the 20th century. In 2012, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States.
137.2x170.8 cm
1959 year
cost
$ 80 million
sold out in 2006
at a private auction
Like Marcel Duchamp, Jones worked with real objects, depicting them on canvas and in sculpture, in full accordance with the original. For his work, he used objects that were simple and understandable to everyone: a beer bottle, a flag or maps. There is no clear composition in the False Start painting. The artist seems to be playing with the viewer, often "incorrectly" signing colors in the picture, overturning the very concept of color: "I wanted to find a way to depict color so that it could be determined by some other method." His most explosive and "insecure", according to critics, the painting was acquired by an unknown buyer.
12
"Seatednude on the sofa"
Author
Amedeo Modigliani
A country Italy, France
Years of life 1884–1920
Style expressionism
Since childhood, Modigliani was often ill; during a feverish delirium, he recognized his destiny as an artist. He studied drawing in Livorno, Florence, Venice, and in 1906 he left for Paris, where his art flourished.
65x100 cm
1917 year
cost
$ 68.962 million
sold out in 2010
on the auction Sotheby's
In 1917, Modigliani met 19-year-old Jeanne Hébuterne, who became his model and later his wife. In 2004, one of her portraits sold for $ 31.3 million, the most recent record for Sitting Nude on the Couch in 2010. The painting was acquired by an unknown buyer at the maximum price for Modigliani at the moment. Active sales of works began only after the death of the artist. He died in poverty, suffering from tuberculosis, and the next day, Jeanne Hébuterne, who was nine months pregnant, also committed suicide.
13
"Eagle on the Pine"
Author
Qi Baishi
A country China
Years of life 1864–1957
Style gohua
An interest in calligraphy led Qi Baishi to paint. At 28 years old, he became a student of the artist Hu Qingyuan. He was awarded the title of "Great Artist of the Chinese People" by the Ministry of Culture of China, and in 1956 he received the International Peace Prize.
10x26 cm
1946 year
cost
$ 65.4 million
sold out in 2011
on the auction China Guardian
Qi Baishi was interested in those manifestations of the surrounding world that many do not attach importance to, and this is his greatness. A person without education became a professor and an outstanding creator in history. Pablo Picasso said about him: "I am afraid to go to your country, because there is Qi Baishi in China." The composition "Eagle on a Pine" is recognized as the largest work of the artist. In addition to the canvas, it includes two hieroglyphic scrolls. For China, the amount for which the piece was purchased represents a record - 425.5 million yuan. The scroll of ancient calligrapher Huang Tingjian alone was sold for $ 436.8 million.
14
"1949-A-№1"
Author
Clifford Still
A country USA
Years of life 1904–1980
Style abstract expressionism
At the age of 20, he visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and was disappointed. Later I enrolled in the student arts league course, but left 45 minutes after the start of the lesson - it turned out "not for him." The first personal exhibition caused a resonance, the artist found himself, and with it recognition
79x93 cm
1949 year
cost
$ 61.7 million
sold out in 2011
on the auction Sotheby's
All his works, which is more than 800 canvases and 1600 works on paper, Still bequeathed to the American city, where a museum named after him will be opened. Denver became such a city, but the construction alone cost the authorities dearly, and to complete it, four works were put up for auction. Still's works are unlikely to be auctioned ever again, which pushed up their price in advance. The painting "1949-A-No.1" was sold for a record amount for the artist, although experts predicted the sale for a maximum of $ 25-35 million.
15
"Suprematist composition"
Author
Kazimir Malevich
A country Russia
Years of life 1878–1935
Style suprematism
Malevich studied painting in Kiev art school, then at the Moscow Academy of Arts. In 1913, he began to paint abstract geometric paintings in a style that he called Suprematism (from Latin "domination").
71x 88.5 cm
1916 year
cost
$ 60 million
sold out in 2008
on the auction Sotheby's
The painting was kept in the city museum of Amsterdam for about 50 years, but after a 17-year dispute with Malevich's relatives, the museum gave it away. The artist wrote this work in one year with the "Manifesto of Suprematism", so Sotheby's announced even before the auction that it would not go into a private collection for less than $ 60 million. And so it happened. It is better to look at it from above: the figures on the canvas resemble a view of the earth from the air. By the way, a few years earlier, the same relatives expropriated another "Suprematist Composition" from the MoMA Museum in order to sell it at the Phillips auction for $ 17 million.
16
"Bathers"
Author
Paul Gauguin
A country France
Years of life 1848–1903
Style post-impressionism
Until the age of seven, the artist lived in Peru, then returned to France with his family, but childhood memories constantly pushed him to travel. In France, he began to paint with paints, was friends with Van Gogh. He even spent several months with him in Arles, until the moment when Van Gogh cut off his ear during a quarrel.
93.4x60.4 cm
1902 year
cost
$ 55 million
sold out in 2005
on the auction Sotheby's
In 1891, Gauguin arranged a sale of his paintings in order to use the proceeds to go inland of the island of Tahiti. There he created works in which the subtle connection between nature and man is felt. Gauguin lived in a thatched hut, and a tropical paradise flourished on his canvases. His wife was a 13-year-old Tahitian woman Tehura, which did not prevent the artist from entering into disorderly relations. Having become ill with syphilis, he left for France. However, Gauguin was cramped there, and he returned to Tahiti. This period is called "the second Tahitian" - it was then that the painting "Bathers" was painted, one of the most luxurious in his work.
17
"Daffodils and a tablecloth in blue and pink tones"
Author
Henri Matisse
A country France
Years of life 1869–1954
Style fauvism
In 1889, Henri Matisse suffered an attack of appendicitis. When he was recovering from surgery, his mother bought him paints. At first, out of boredom, Matisse copied color cards, then - the works of great painters that he saw in the Louvre, and at the beginning of the 20th century he invented a style - Fauvism.
65.2x81 cm
1911 year
cost
$ 46.4 million
sold out in 2009
on the auction Christie's
The painting "Daffodils and a tablecloth in blue and pink" long belonged to Yves Saint Laurent. After the death of the couturier, his entire collection of art passed into the hands of his friend and lover Pierre Berger, who decided to put it up at Christie’s auction. The pearl of the collection sold was the painting "Daffodils and a Tablecloth in Blue and Pink Tones", painted on an ordinary tablecloth instead of canvas. As an example of Fauvism, it is filled with the energy of color, the colors seem to explode and scream. From the famous series of paintings painted on a tablecloth, today this work is the only one that is in a private collection.
18
"Sleeping girl"
Author
RoyLee
htenstein
A country USA
Years of life 1923–1997
Style pop Art
The artist was born in New York, and after graduating from school, he left for Ohio, where he took art courses. Liechtenstein received his Master of Fine Arts in 1949. His interest in comics and his ability to be ironic made him a cult artist of the last century.
91x91 cm
1964 year
cost
$ 44,882 million
sold out in 2012
on the auction Sotheby's
Chewing gum once fell into the hands of Liechtenstein. He redrawn the picture from the insert onto the canvas and became famous. This story from his biography contains the whole message of pop art: consumption is a new god, and there is no less beauty in the candy wrapper from gum than in Mona Lisa. His paintings resemble comics and cartoons: Liechtenstein simply enlarged the finished image, painted rasters, used screen printing and silk-screen printing. The painting "Sleeping Girl" for almost 50 years belonged to collectors Beatrice and Philippe Gersh, whose heirs sold it at auction.
19
"Victory. Boogie Woogie"
Author
Pete Mondrian
A country Netherlands
Years of life 1872–1944
Style neoplasticism
The artist changed his real surname - Cornelis - to Mondrian when in 1912 he moved to Paris. Together with the artist Theo van Doosburg he founded the "neoplasticism" movement. The Piet programming language is named after Mondrian.
27x127 cm
1944 year
cost
$ 40 million
sold out in 1998
on the auction Sotheby's
The most "musical" artist of the 20th century made his living with watercolors still lifes, although he became famous as a neoplastic artist. He moved to the United States in the 1940s and spent the rest of his life there. Jazz and New York are what inspired him the most! Painting “Victory. Boogie Woogie is the best example of this. The "trademark" neat squares were obtained through the use of duct tape, Mondrian's favorite material. In America he was called "the most famous immigrant." In the sixties, Yves Saint Laurent released the world-famous Mondrian dresses with a print in a large colored cage.
20
"Composition No. 5"
Author
VasiliyKandinsky
A country Russia
Years of life 1866–1944
Style avant-garde
The artist was born in Moscow, and his father was from Siberia. After the revolution, he tried to cooperate with the Soviet regime, but soon realized that the laws of the proletariat were not created for him, and not without difficulties emigrated to Germany.
275x190 cm
1911 year
cost
$ 40 million
sold out in 2007
on the auction Sotheby's
Kandinsky was one of the first to completely abandon object painting, for which he received the title of genius. During Nazism in Germany, his paintings were classified as "degenerate art" and were not exhibited anywhere. In 1939, Kandinsky received French citizenship, in Paris he freely participated in the artistic process. His paintings "sound" like fugues, so many were called "compositions" (the first was written in 1910, the last - in 1939). “Composition No. 5” is one of the key works in this genre: “The word“ composition ”sounded like a prayer to me,” the artist said. Unlike many followers, he planned what he would depict on a huge canvas, as if he were writing sheet music.
21
"Study of a woman in blue"
Author
Fernand Leger
A country France
Years of life 1881–1955
Style Cubism-Post-Impressionism
Leger received an architectural education and then attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The artist considered himself a follower of Cezanne, was an apologist for Cubism, and in the 20th century he was also successful as a sculptor.
96.5x129.5 cm
1912-1913 year
cost
$ 39.2 million
sold out in 2008
on the auction Sotheby's
David Normann, President of the International Department of Impressionism and Modernism at Sotheby's, believes the huge sum paid for "The Lady in Blue" is fully justified. The painting belongs to the famous collection of Leger (the artist painted three paintings on one subject, the last of them is in private hands today. - Ed.), And the surface of the canvas has been preserved in its original form. The author himself gave this work to the gallery Der Sturm, then it ended up in the collection of Hermann Lang, a German collector of modernism, and now belongs to an unknown buyer.
22
“Street scene. Berlin"
Author
Ernst LudwigKirchner
A country Germany
Years of life 1880–1938
Style expressionism
For German Expressionism, Kirchner became an iconic person. However, the local authorities accused him of adherence to "degenerate art", which tragically affected the fate of his paintings and the life of the artist, who committed suicide in 1938.
95x121 cm
1913 year
cost
$ 38,096 million
sold out in 2006
on the auction Christie's
After moving to Berlin, Kirchner created 11 sketches of street scenes. He was inspired by the bustle and nervousness of the big city. Sold in New York in 2006, the artist's anxiety is especially acute: people on a Berlin street resemble birds - graceful and dangerous. It was the last work from the famous series sold at auction, the rest are kept in museums. In 1937, the Nazis brutally treated Kirchner: 639 of his works were removed from German galleries, destroyed or sold abroad. The artist could not survive this.
23
Restingdancer"
Author
Edgar Degas
A country France
Years of life 1834–1917
Style impressionism
Degas's history as an artist began when he worked as a copyist at the Louvre. He dreamed of becoming "famous and unknown," and in the end he succeeded. At the end of his life, deaf and blind, 80-year-old Degas continued to attend exhibitions and auctions.
64x59 cm
1879 year
cost
$ 37,043 million
sold out in 2008
on the auction Sotheby's
“Ballerinas have always been just an excuse for me to depict fabrics and capture movement,” Degas said. The scenes from the life of the dancers seem to have been spied on: the girls do not pose for the artist, but simply become part of the atmosphere caught by Degas's gaze. The Resting Dancer was sold for $ 28 million in 1999, and less than 10 years later it was bought for $ 37 million - today it is the most expensive work of an artist ever put up for auction. Degas paid much attention to frames, he designed them and forbade them to be changed. I wonder what frame is installed on the sold painting?
24
"Painting"
Author
Juan Miro
A country Spain
Years of life 1893–1983
Style abstract art
During the Spanish Civil War, the artist was on the side of the Republicans. In 1937, he fled from the fascist regime to Paris, where he lived in poverty with his family. During this period, Miro paints the picture "Help Spain!", Drawing the attention of the whole world to the dominance of fascism.
89x115 cm
1927 year
cost
$ 36,824 million
sold out in 2012
on the auction Sotheby's
The second name of the picture is "Blue Star". The artist wrote it in the same year, when he announced: "I want to kill painting" and mercilessly mocked the canvases, scratching the paint with nails, gluing feathers to the canvas, covering the work with rubbish. His goal was to debunk the myths about the mystery of painting, but, having coped with this, Miro created his own myth - a surrealist abstraction. His "Painting" belongs to the cycle of "dream pictures". Four buyers fought for it at the auction, but one incognito phone call settled the dispute, and "Painting" became the most expensive painting of the artist.
25
"Blue Rose"
Author
Yves Klein
A country France
Years of life 1928–1962
Style monochrome painting
The artist was born into a family of painters, but studied oriental languages, sailing, the craft of the gilder of frames, Zen Buddhism and much more. His personality and cheeky antics were many times more interesting than monochrome paintings.
153x199x16 cm
1960 year
cost
$ 36,779 million
sold in 2012
at Christie's auction
The first exhibition of solid yellow, orange, pink works did not arouse public interest. Klein was offended and next time presented 11 identical canvases, dyed with ultramarine mixed with a special synthetic resin. He even patented this method. The color went down in history as the "international Klein blue". The artist also sold emptiness, created paintings, substituting paper in the rain, setting fire to cardboard, making prints of a human body on canvas. In a word, he experimented as best he could. To create "Blue Rose" I used dry pigments, resins, pebbles and natural sponge.
26
"In Search of Moses"
Author
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
A country Great Britain
Years of life 1836–1912
Style neoclassicism
Sir Lawrence added the prefix "alma" to his surname himself, in order to appear first in art catalogs. In Victorian England, his paintings were so in demand that the artist was awarded the knighthood.
213.4x136.7 cm
1902 year
cost
$ 35,922 million
sold out in 2011
on the auction Sotheby's
The main theme of Alma-Tadema's work was antiquity. In the paintings, he tried to the smallest details to depict the era of the Roman Empire, for this he even engaged in archaeological excavations on the Apennine Peninsula, and in his London house he reproduced the historical interior of those years. Mythological plots became another source of inspiration for him. The artist was in great demand during his lifetime, but after his death he was quickly forgotten. Now interest is reviving, as evidenced by the cost of the painting "In Search of Moses", seven times higher than the pre-sale estimate.
27
"Portrait of a sleeping nude official"
Author
Lucian Freud
A country Germany,
Great Britain
Years of life 1922–2011
Style figurative painting
The artist is the grandson of Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis. After the establishment of fascism in Germany, his family emigrated to the UK. Freud's works are in the Wallace Collection in London, where no contemporary artist has previously exhibited.
219.1x151.4 cm
1995 year
cost
$ 33.6 million
sold out in 2008
on the auction Christie's
While fashionable artists of the 20th century created positive "color spots on the wall" and sold them for millions, Freud painted extremely naturalistic paintings and sold them even more expensive. “I capture the cries of the soul and the suffering of fading flesh,” he said. Critics believe that all this is the "legacy" of Sigmund Freud. The paintings were so actively exhibited and sold successfully that the experts had doubts: do they have hypnotic properties? Sold at auction "Portrait of a sleeping naked official", according to the publication Sun, was acquired by the connoisseur of beauty and billionaire Roman Abramovich.
28
"Violin and Guitar"
Author
Xone gries
A country Spain
Years of life 1887–1927
Style cubism
Born in Madrid, where he graduated from the School of Arts and Crafts. In 1906 he moved to Paris and entered the circle of the most influential artists of the era: Picasso, Modigliani, Braque, Matisse, Leger, and also worked with Sergei Diaghilev and his troupe.
5x100 cm
1913 year
cost
$ 28.642 million
sold out in 2010
on the auction Christie's
Gris, in his own words, was engaged in "flat, colored architecture." His paintings are precisely thought out: he did not leave a single accidental stroke, which makes creativity related to geometry. The artist created his own version of Cubism, although he greatly respected Pablo Picasso, the founding father of the direction. The successor even dedicated his first work in the style of cubism "Tribute to Picasso" to him. The painting "Violin and Guitar" is recognized as outstanding in the artist's work. During his lifetime, Gris was known, favored by critics and art critics. His works are exhibited in the world's largest museums and are kept in private collections.
29
"PortraitFields Éluard "
Author
Salvador Dali
A country Spain
Years of life 1904–1989
Style surrealism
“Surrealism is me,” Dali said when he was expelled from the surrealist group. Over time, he became the most famous surrealist painter. Dali's work is everywhere, not just in galleries. For example, it was he who invented the packaging for Chupa-Chups.
25x33 cm
1929 year
cost
$ 20.6 million
sold out in 2011
on the auction Sotheby's
In 1929, the poet Paul Eluard and his Russian wife Gala came to visit the great provocateur and brawler Dali. The meeting was the beginning of a love story that lasted more than half a century. The painting "Portrait of Paul Éluard" was painted during this historic visit. “I felt that it was my duty to capture the face of the poet, from whose Olympus I had kidnapped one of the muses,” the artist said. Before he met Gala, he was a virgin and was disgusted at the thought of having sex with a woman. The love triangle existed until the death of Eluard, after which it became a Dali-Gala duet.
30
"Anniversary"
Author
Mark Shagal
A country Russia, France
Years of life 1887–1985
Style vanguard
Moisha Segal was born in Vitebsk, but in 1910 he emigrated to Paris, changed his name, became close to the leading avant-garde artists of the era. In the 1930s, when the Nazis seized power, he left for the United States with the help of the American Consul. He returned to France only in 1948.
80x103 cm
1923 year
cost
$ 14.85 million
sold in 1990
at Sotheby's auction
The painting "Jubilee" is recognized as one of the best works of the artist. It contains all the features of his work: the physical laws of the world are erased, the feeling of a fairy tale is preserved in the scenery of a philistine life, and love is in the center of the plot. Chagall did not draw people from nature, but only from memory or fantasizing. The painting "Anniversary" depicts the artist himself with his wife Bela. The painting was sold in 1990 and has not been auctioned since. It is interesting that the MoMA Museum of Modern Art in New York keeps exactly the same, only under the name "Birthday". By the way, it was written earlier - in 1915.
draft prepared
Tatiana Palasova
rating compiled
according to the list www.art-spb.ru
tmn magazine No. 13
(May-June 2013)
Karl Friedrich Lessing (Karl Friedrich Lessing (1808-1880) - German artist of the romantic direction. KF Lessing was the great-nephew of the famous poet and playwright Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. Karl Friedrich was born into the family of a judicial officer in the dwarf Silesian state of Groß-Wartenberg (now Sycuv). The childhood of the future artist was spent in idyllic regions of Silesia with its old towns, castles and dense forests. Even as a young man, Lessing developed a love for the nature and history of his native country. At the age of 14, Lessing left for Berlin, where he studied with Karl Friedrich Schinkel at the Academy of Architecture. In 1823, without obtaining parental consent, he decided to become an artist, and in 1823-26 he studied at the Berlin Academy of Arts. Then, together with his friend F.V. von Schadov, he entered the Dusseldorf Academy of Arts. The first success came to the young artist in 1825 after writing the canvas “ Monastery courtyard under the snow”, Which received positive reviews from critics and successfully sold at the Berlin exhibition. This event reconciled KF Lessing with his father, who at first condemned his son's professional choice. In the first half of his career, Lessing painted melancholy-romantic landscapes in the style of KD Friedrich, as well as paintings on literary and legendary subjects. As a landscape painter, he was a huge success. None of his contemporaries could so poetically and romantically express the beauty of the German forests and the wild rocks of the Harz and Eiffel. Reproductions of Lessing's paintings were often printed in many German magazines in the 19th century. Later he turned to historical subjects, in 1832-1867 the artist painted almost exclusively historical canvases. So, by order of Count von Spree, Lessing decorates his castle Helfort near Düsseldorf with frescoes from the life of Friedrich Barbarossa. KF Lessing belonged to the Düsseldorf School of Painting. C.F. Lessing was a member of the Berlin Academy since 1832. In 1848 he was awarded the title of professor by the King of Prussia. Chevalier of the Order "Pour le Mérite" (Prussia), as well as many other German and foreign orders and medals. Member of various German and foreign academies and art societies.
Monastery courtyard under the snow
Lessing Karl Friedrich (Lessing, 1808-1880) - one of the most important German painters of the 19th century. His activity falls into two periods: in the first he was a zealous follower of the then romantic-elegiac trend and depicted mainly melancholic cemeteries, the ruins of knightly castles and gloomy rocky terrain, reviving them with small figures of knights, monks, robbers.
Romantic landscape with the monastery 1834
The second period of the artist's activity begins around 1836, when in his paintings he advocates the predominance of state power over the church and praises the heroes of the Reformation.
The last crusader
The robber and his child
Forest chapel
From the church.
Fire in the monastery
Landscape with a cemetery
Monastic cemetery in the snow 1833
Scenery
Millennial oak 1837
Ruins gorge
Horsemen in the background of a landscape with ruins
Grieving royal couple 1838
Siege (Defense of the churchyard during Thirty Years War )
Arrows in the gorge 1851
Crusaders in the desert
Hussite sermon
Jan Hus on the Constance Council 1842
Captivity of Pope Paschalia II. 1840.
Battle of Iconium
Autumn landscape
Silesian landscape
Landscape in the Eifel mountains
Landscape in the Eifel mountains (detail)
Knight's castle
Scenery
Porträt von Robert Krause 1858
Lessing Karl Friedrich (1808-1880)
In 1858 Lessing was invited to the position of director of the picture gallery in Karlsruhe and from that time until his death he lived in this city, mainly engaged in landscape painting.As a historical painter, Lessing has lost his significance for the present time, but as a landscape painter he still occupies a prominent place among the first-class masters.
This is more than pretty pictures, it is a reflection of reality. In the works of great artists, you can see how the world and the consciousness of people have changed.
Art is also an attempt to create an alternative reality where you can hide from the horrors of your time, or a desire to change the world. Art of the XX century rightfully occupies a special place in history. People who lived and worked at that time experienced social upheavals, wars, unprecedented development of science; and all this found an imprint on their canvases. 20th century artists took part in creating a modern vision of the world.
Someone's names are still aspirated, while others are unfairly forgotten. Someone had so contradictory creative waythat we still cannot give it an unambiguous assessment. This review focuses on the 20 greatest artists of the 20th century. Camille Pizarro- French painter. An outstanding representative of impressionism. The artist's work was influenced by John Constable, Camille Corot, Jean Francois Millet.
Born July 10, 1830 in the city of Saint Thomas, died on November 13, 1903 in Paris.
Hermitage at Pontoise, 1868 
Opera Passage in Paris, 1898
Sunset at Varengeville, 1899
Edgar Degas -french artist, one of the greatest impressionists. The influence of Japanese graphics was traced on the work of Degas. Born on July 19, 1834 in Paris, died on September 27, 1917 in Paris. 
Absinthe, 1876
Star, 1877
Woman combing her hair, 1885
Paul Cezanne -french artist, one of the greatest representatives of post-impressionism. In his work, he strove to reveal the harmony and balance of nature. His work had a tremendous impact on the worldview of artists of the 20th century. Born January 19, 1839 in Aix-en-Provence, France, died October 22, 1906 in Aix-en-Provence.
Gamblers, 1893
Modern Olympia, 1873
Still life with skulls, 1900
Claude Monet - an outstanding French painter. One of the founders of impressionism. In his works, Monet strove to convey the richness and richness of the surrounding world. His later period was characterized by decorativeism and For the late period of Monet's work, decorativeism is characteristic, an increasing dissolution of object forms in sophisticated combinations of color spots.
Born November 14, 1840 in Paris, died on December 5, 1926 in Jverny.
Uelk Cliff at Purville, 1882
After Lunch, 1873-1876
Etret, sunset, 1883
Arkhip Kuindzhi -famous Russian artist, master of landscape painting. Lost his parents early. From an early age, a love of painting began to manifest. The creativity of Arkhip Kuindzhi had a huge influence on Nicholas Roerich. Born on January 15, 1841 in Mariupol, died on July 11, 1910 in St. Petersburg.
Volga, 1890-1895
"North", 1879
"View of the Kremlin from Zamoskvorechye", 1882
Pierre Auguste Renoir -french artist, graphic artist, sculptor, one of the outstanding representatives of impressionism. He was also known as a master of secular portrait. Auguste Rodin became the first impressionist to become popular with wealthy Parisians. Born February 25, 1841 in Limoges France, died on December 2, 1919 in Paris.
Pont des Arts in Paris, 1867
Ball at the Moulin de la Galette, 1876
Jeanne Samary, 1877
Born June 7, 1848 in Paris, died May 8, 1903 on the island of Hiva Oa, French Polynesia.
Breton landscape, 1894
Breton village in the snow, 1888
Are you jealous? 1892
Saints Day, 1894
Wassily Kandinsky -russian and German artist, poet, art theorist. It is considered one of the leaders of the avant-garde of the 1st half of the 20th century. One of the founders of abstract art.Born November 22, 1866 in Moscow, died on December 13, 1944 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
Couple riding a horse, 1918
Colorful life, 1907
Moscow 1, 1916
In gray, 1919
Henri Matisse -one of the greatest French painters and sculptors. One of the founders of the Fauvist movement. In his work, he strove to convey emotions through color. In his work, he was influenced by the Islamic culture of the Western Maghreb. Born on December 31, 1869 in the city of Le Cato, died on November 3, 1954 in the town of Cimieux.
Square in Saint-Tropez, 1904
Outlines of Notre Dame at night, 1902
Woman with a Hat, 1905
Dance, 1909
Italian, 1919
Portrait of Delectorskaya, 1934
Nicholas Roerich - Russian artist, writer, scientist, mystic. During his life, he painted over 7000 paintings. One of the outstanding cultural figures of the XX century, the founder of the movement "Peace through Culture". Born on October 27, 1874 in St. Petersburg, died on December 13, 1947 in the city of Kulu, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Overseas guests, 1901
Great Spirit of the Himalayas, 1923
News of Shambhala, 1933
Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin -russian artist, graphic artist, theoretician, writer, teacher. He was one of the ideologists of the reorganization of art education in the USSR. Born on November 5, 1878 in the city of Khvalynsk, Saratov province, died on February 15, 1939 in Leningrad.
"1918 in Petrograd", 1920
Boys Playing, 1911
Bathing a Red Horse, 1912
Portrait of Anna Akhmatova
Kazimir Malevich - Russian artist, founder of Suprematism - trends in abstract art, teacher, art theorist and philosopher Born February 23, 1879 in Kiev, died May 15, 1935 in Moscow.
Rest (Society in Top Hat), 1908
"Peasant women with buckets", 1912-1913
Black Suprematist Square, 1915
Suprematist painting, 1916
On the boulevard, 1903
Pablo Picasso - Spanish artist, sculptor, sculptor, ceramist designer. One of the founders of Cubism. The work of Pablo Picasso had a significant impact on the development of painting in the 20th century. Based on a survey of Time magazine readers Born October 25, 1881 in Malaga Spain, died April 8, 1973 in Mougins, France.
Girl on a ball, 1905
Portrait of Ambroise Vallaur, 1910
Three Graces
Portrait of Olga
Dance, 1919
Woman with a flower, 1930
Amadeo Modigliani - Italian artist, sculptor. One of the brightest representatives of expressionism. During his lifetime he had only one exhibition in December 1917 in Paris. Born July 12, 1884 in Livorno, Italy, died on January 24, 1920 from tuberculosis. World recognition received posthumously World recognition received posthumously. 
Cellist, 1909
Spouses, 1917
Joan Hebuterne, 1918
Mediterranean landscape, 1918
Diego Rivera - Mexican painter, muralist, politician. Was the spouse of Frida Kahlo. In their house, Leon Trotsky found shelter for a short time. Born December 8, 1886 in Guanajuato, died on December 21, 1957 in Mexico City.
Notre Dame de Paris in the rain, 1909
Woman at the well, 1913
Union of peasant and worker, 1924
Detroit Industry, 1932
Mark Shagal - Russian and French painter, graphic artist, illustrator, theater artist. One of the greatest representatives of the avant-garde. Born June 24, 1887 in the city of Liozno, Mogilev province, died on March 28, 1985 in Saint-Paul-de-Provence.
Anyuta (Portrait of a sister), 1910
Bride with a Fan, 1911
Me and the village, 1911
Adam and Eve, 1912
Mark Rothko (present Mark Rotkovich) - American artist, one of the founders of abstract expressionism and the founder of color field painting. The first works of the artist were created in a realistic spirit, however, then by the mid-40s, Mark Rothko turned to surrealism. By 1947, the most important turning point in the work of Mark Rothko happened, he created his own style - abstract expressionism, in which he departed from objective elements.
Born on September 25, 1903 in the city of Dvinsk (now Daugavpils), died on February 25, 1970 in New York.
Untitled
Number 7 or 11
Orange and yellow
Salvador Dali - painter, graphic artist, sculptor, writer, designer, director. Perhaps the most famous representative surrealism and one of greatest artists XX century. The author of the design is Chupa-Chups.
Born May 11, 1904 in Figueres, Spain, died January 23, 1989 in Spain.
The Temptation of Saint Anthony, 1946
The Last Supper, 1955
Woman with a head of roses, 1935
My wife Gala, nude, looks at her body, 1945
Frida Kahlo -mexican artist and graphic artist, one of the brightest representatives of surrealism. Frida Kahlo began painting after a car accident that left her bedridden for a year.
She was married to the famous Mexican communist artist Diego Rivera. In their house, Leon Trotsky found refuge for a short time.
Born July 6, 1907 in Coyoacan, Mexico, died July 13, 1954 in Coyoacan.
Embrace of Universal Love, Earth, Me, Diego and Coatl, 1949
Moses (The Core of Creation), 1945
Two Frida, 1939
Andy Warhole (present Andrei Varhola) - American artist, designer, director, producer, publisher, writer, collector. The founder of pop art, he is one of the most controversial personalities in the history of culture. Several films have been made in the artist's life. Born August 6, 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, died in 1963 in New York.
Manifesting in landscape and portrait.
In genre portrait best legacy Philip Otto Runge (1777-1810), who worked in Hamburg, paid great attention to the problems of color, the author of the treatise "The Color Wheel". In his works, he built far-fetched, complex allegories, but he created really living images by referring directly to nature. In his self-portrait, he combines the vigilance of an analyst and the severity of an accurate drawing. The painting "Portrait of Parents" depicts a landscape with surprising subtlety and thoroughness, against the background of which the artist's old parents are depicted, the wrinkled faces of anxious old people are in sharp contrast to the rosy-cheeked children looking at the world with wide-open eyes.
The main object is nature, in paintings Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840). He admires the greatness of nature, and also thinks and worries, as if the rocky wastelands with their smooth outlines and the play of light and shadow or the struggle of the German people against the Napoleonic conquest. The man in Frederick's landscapes is a small lonely figure lost in the vast expanses of the world, or a passive observer contemplating misty distances.
Adolf Menzel (1815-1905) gave impetus to the flowering of realism in German painting. An artist of broad ideas, Menzel seeks to embrace life in all its diversity, he introduced historical genre realistic method. In 1840 he created four hundred pen drawings to illustrate The Stories of Frederick the Great. In illustrations, she is especially attracted by the reliability in the depiction of the historical setting, costumes, the ability to grasp the characteristic. Menzel refers to the same theme in painting, for example, the most lively of the cycle of paintings dedicated to Frederick II, depicting an exquisite society surrounding Frederick at his residence. The furnishings of the palace are masterfully depicted, the audience is freely grouped around the table.
During a trip to France, Menzel got acquainted with French art, this further strengthens the realistic orientation of his work. He creates one of the first in western European painting pictures of the life of the working class, industrial labor, which accurately depicts huge workshops, machine tools and workers' furnaces lit by a flame, their conditions of hard, exhausting labor. In the workshop, perched behind a sheet of iron, they hastily finish their meager breakfast.
Numerous preparatory drawings for paintings made from life, meticulous drawings of details of costumes, furnishings, and live sketches of people, landscapes, interiors, filled with charcoal and pencil, pen and brush, characterize Menzel as one of the largest draftsmen in Germany since Dürer's time.
The tradition of realism in German painting continues Wilhelm Leibl (1844-1900). Interest in the life of working people, the problem of the light-air environment and space, truthfully depicting the peasants of Bavarian villages, attracting them with silvery tonal painting.