About famous artists you can find a huge amount of information - how they lived, how they created their immortal works... Many people usually do not think about the peculiarities of the character and lifestyle of the artist. But some facts from the biography or the history of the creation of a particular picture are sometimes very entertaining and even provocative.
Pablo Picasso
Good artists copy, great artists steal.
When Pablo Picasso was born, the midwife considered him stillborn. The child was saved by his uncle, who smoked cigars and when he saw the baby lying on the table, he blew smoke in his face, after which Pablo roared. Thus, it can be said that smoking saved Picasso's life.
Apparently, Pablo was born an artist - his first word was PIZ, short for LAPIZ ("pencil" in Spanish).
IN early years of his life in Paris, Picasso was so poor that sometimes he was forced to heat his paintings instead of firewood.
Picasso wore long clothes and also had long hair which was unheard of for those times
Picasso's full name consists of 23 words: Pablo-Diego-Jose Francisco de Paula-Juan-Nepomuseno-Maria de los Remedios-Cypriano de la Santisima-Trinidad-Martyr-Patricio-Clito-Ruiz- i-Picasso.
Vincent van Gogh
Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Many people think that they will become good if they do nothing wrong.
The abundance of yellow color and yellow spots of various shades in his paintings is believed to be caused by a large amount of drug use for epilepsy, which developed from excessive consumption of absinthe. "Starry Night", "Sunflowers".
During his hectic life, Van Gogh visited more than one psychiatric hospital with diagnoses from schizophrenia to manic-depressive psychosis. His most famous painting "Starry Night" was painted in 1889 in a hospital in the town of San Remy.
Committed suicide. He shot himself in the stomach, hiding behind a pile of dung in the farm yard. He was 37 years old.
Throughout his life, Van Gogh suffered from low self-esteem. He sold only one of his works during his lifetime - Red Vineyard at Arles. And fame came to him only after his death. If only Van Gogh knew how popular his work would become.
Van Gogh did not cut off his whole ear, but only a piece of his earlobe, which practically does not hurt. However, the legend is still widespread that the artist amputated his entire ear. This legend was even reflected in the characteristics of the behavior of a patient who operates on himself, or insists on a certain operation - he was called Van Gogh's syndrome.
Leonardo da Vinci
He who lives in fear dies of fear.
Leonardo was the first to explain why the sky is blue. In his book "On Painting" he wrote: "The blue of the sky is due to the thickness of the illuminated air particles, which is located between the Earth and the blackness above."
Leonardo was ambidextrous - he was equally good at right and left hands. They even say that he could write different texts at the same time with different hands. However, he wrote most of his works with his left hand from right to left.
He played the lyre masterly. When Leonardo's case was heard in the Milan court, he appeared there precisely as a musician, and not as an artist or inventor.
Leonardo was the first painter to dismember corpses in order to understand the location and structure of muscles.
Leonardo da Vinci was a strict vegetarian and never drank cow's milk, as he considered it theft.
Salvador Dali
If I had not had enemies, I would not have become what I have become. But, thank God, there were enough enemies.
Arriving in New York in 1934, as an accessory, he carried in his hands a loaf of bread 2 meters long, and when attending an exhibition of surreal art in London, he dressed in a diver's suit.
Dali wrote his canvas "Persistence of Memory" ("Soft Clock") under the impression of Einstein's theory of relativity. The idea took shape in Salvador's head as he stared at a piece of Camembert cheese on a hot August afternoon.
Salvador Dali often resorted to sleep with a key in his hand. Sitting on a chair, he fell asleep with a heavy key clamped between his fingers. Gradually, the grip weakened, the key fell and hit the plate lying on the floor. Thoughts that arose during naps could be new ideas or solutions to complex problems.
During his lifetime, the great artist bequeathed to be buried so that people could walk on the grave, so his body was walled up in the wall in the Dali Museum in Figueres. Flash photography is prohibited in this room.
Salvador Dali's nickname was "Avida Dollars", which means "passionately loving dollars."
The Chupa-Chupsa logo was painted by Salvador Dali. In a slightly modified form, it has survived to this day.
Almost every of Dali's works contains either his portrait or a silhouette.
Henri Matisse
Flowers bloom everywhere for everyone who wants to see them.
In 1961, Henri Matisse's painting "The Boat" (Le Bateau), exhibited in the New York Museum contemporary art, hung upside down for forty-seven days. The picture was displayed in the gallery on October 17, and only on December 3 did someone see the error.
Henri Matisse suffered from depression and insomnia, sometimes sobbed in his sleep and woke up screaming. One day, for no reason at all, he suddenly had a fear of going blind. And he even learned to play the violin to make his living as a street musician when he lost his sight.
For many years Matisse lived in need. He was about forty when he was finally able to support his family on his own.
Henri Matisse never painted rocks, clear crystals of houses, processed fields.
In the last 10 years of his life, he was diagnosed with duodenal cancer and had to remain in a wheelchair.
Edvard Munch
In my art, I tried to explain to myself life and its meaning, I also tried to help others to clarify their life.
Munch was only five years old when his mother died of tuberculosis, and then he lost his older sister. Since then, the theme of death has repeatedly arisen in his work and life path artist from the very first steps declared himself as a life drama.
His painting "The Scream" is the most expensive work art sold at a public auction.
He was obsessed with work and said about it himself: “Writing for me is sickness and intoxication. A disease that I do not want to get rid of, and intoxication in which I want to stay. "
Paul Gauguin
Art is an abstraction, extract it from nature, fantasize on its basis, and think more about the creative process than about the result.
The artist was born in Paris, but spent his childhood in Peru. Hence his love for exotic and tropical countries.
Gauguin easily changed techniques and material. He was also fond of woodcarving. Often experiencing financial difficulties, he was unable to buy paints. Then he took up a knife and a tree. He decorated the doors of his house in the Marquesas with carved panels.
Paul Gauguin worked as a laborer on the Panama Canal.
The artist painted still lifes mostly without resorting to a model.
In 1889, after thoroughly studying the Bible, he painted four canvases on which he depicted himself in the image of Christ.
Frequent and promiscuous relationships with girls led to the fact that Gauguin fell ill with syphilis.
Renoir Pierre Auguste
At forty, I discovered that the king of all colors is black.
Around 1880, Renoir breaks his right arm for the first time. Instead of being upset and grieving about this, he takes the brush to his left, and after a while no one doubts that he will be able to paint masterpieces with both hands.
He managed to write about 6,000 paintings in 60 years.
Renoir was so in love with painting that he did not stop working even in old age, being ill different forms arthritis, and painted with a brush tied to the sleeve. Once his close friend Matisse asked: "Auguste, why don't you leave painting, you are suffering so much?" Renoir limited himself only to the answer: "La douleur passe, la beauté reste" (Pain passes, but beauty remains).
Painting contemporary artists for sale
Salvador Dali believed that he was the reincarnation of his deceased brother.
Each of Dali's works contains either his portrait or a silhouette.
The idea for a soft watch came to Dali when he watched Camembert cheese melt in the sun.
Єdgar Degas was so fascinated by ballet dancers that he created more than 1,500 works with their participation.
The theme of all the artist's works Marcel Duchamp was everyday life. His most famous work, called "The Fountain", is nothing more than the artist's own spitting urine.
The work of Henri Matisse, "The Boat", for 46 days hung upside down 
, on display in New York before anyone noticed. The picture was appreciated by 1600 visitors.
William Morris had happy childhood, everyone pampered him. As a result, he could throw dinner out the window, just because he didn't like the way it was served.
Jackson Pollock often painted his paintings with cigarettes.
The work of the artist Auguste Rodin, "Bronze Age", was so realistic that it seemed to people that there was a living person inside the sculpture.
Rubens was knighted and by Philip IV , King of Spain, and Charles I , King of England.
Vermeer used a pinhole camera in his work.
In his entire life, Vincent Van Gogh sold only one job - « Red Vineyards in Arles, ”and then to his brother, the owner of an art gallery.
In 1912, the "La Gioconda", the work of Leonardo da Vinci, was stolen. During the 3 years they were looking for it, 6 copies were sold, which were considered the original, and each of them cost a lot of money.
In 1962, La Gioconda was valued at $ 100 million, and in 2009 at $ 700 million.
Most artists and entertainers are left-handed.
It is believed that Pablo Picasso is the most famous painter in the world.
Raphael, known mainly for the large number of paintings depicting Madonnas. But at the same time, according to the historian Giorgio Vasari , the artist was an atheist. It is also known that all of these paintings depict the same woman.
Andy Warhol was not only an artist. His first film, A Dream, about his friend sleeping, was 6 hours long. The premiere was attended by 9 people, 7 of them stayed to watch the film, 2 of them did not sit for an hour. Warhol has created about 60 films, such as: Kiss, Food, Shoulder, Couch, Kitchen, Face, Horse, Suicide, Sunset, Bitch "," Blowjob " …
Andy Warhol wore a gray wig and eventually dyed his hair gray. After being told he had blurred vision, he 
began to wear opaque glasses with a tiny hole to see.
In his youth, Renoir was a tailor and also sewed shoes.
"Pieta" is the only work by Michelangelo that he signed. He was also a poet, over 300 of his poems are still available.
Michelangelo became the first Western artist whose biography was printed during his lifetime.
Leonardo da Vinci could draw with one hand and write with the other at the same time.
Paul Gauguin was a laborer on the Panama Canal.
The first personal exhibition Paul Cézanne took place when he was 56 years old.
Claude Monet won 100 thousand francs in the lottery, which allowed him to quit his job as a messenger and take up painting.
Vermeer never painted children, although he had 11 of them.
Renoir was so in love with painting that he did not stop working 
even in old age, suffering from various forms of arthritis, and painted with a brush tied to his sleeve.
Salvador Dali created the Chupa Chups logo.
Most of the time, Claude Monet drew cartoons, mainly of his teachers.
Salvador Dali's nickname was “ Avida dollars ", Which means" passionately loving dollars. "
Vincent van Gogh had a brother who died at birth. His name was also Vincent van Gogh.
Picasso's full name consists of 23 words: Pablo Diego Jose Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuseno Maria de los Remedios Cypriano de la Santisima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruiz y Picasso.
Picasso's first word was "pencil".
Picasso wore long clothes and had long hair, which was unheard of in those days.
The great masterpieces of painting that you come across every day in museums, books, games, movies and even advertisements are not just a beautiful picture, but also a code with a lot of details and semantic interpretations.
Therefore, it is not surprising that pictures that everyone has seen a million times can more than once test your logic, attention, ingenuity and knowledge of history for strength. Look for picturesque plots, expose homegrown myths. This is not just mind training, but also good way to plug in the belt in the next conversation all the annoying clever guys. And to impress a pretty person with a faint glimpse of thought in bottomless eyes.
BOTTICELL'S MOOD
Botticelli Sandro. Birth of Venus, 1482-1486.
Uffizi, Florence
Style: early Renaissance
At first sight Venus, just born from the foam of the sea, chastely covering her chest and bosom, swims to the shore on a shell. On the left, Zephyr and his wife Chlorida are blowing roses on her. On the shore, the nymph Ora, for some reason, is in a hurry to cover the nakedness of Venus with a purple cloak. But the naked shameless woman feels great and in what her mother gave birth, she does not pay attention to worries and looks forward through the viewer. In the eyes of the goddess, a light sadness froze, as if to earn money ... sorry, she goes to torment into earthly life.
Actually The picture illustrates the myth of the birth of Venus. The main role was played by Simonetta Vespucci - the first beauty of Florence, the beloved of Giuliano Medici and, according to rumors, the secret passion of Botticelli himself. Needless to say, the noblest Simonetta was married to a third, outsider? The gestures and proportions of Venus's body are written in accordance with the canons of classical Greek sculpture. The mantle in Ora's hands symbolizes the border between the two worlds, and the shell symbolizes purity and purity, but as soon as she steps ashore ...
That's it! Thanks to the fact that Botticelli watered the painting with a protective layer of egg yolk, "The Birth of Venus" has survived much better than many masterpieces.
CHEESE HOUR
Dali Salvador. The Persistence of Memory, 1931.
Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Style: surrealism.
At first sight The clock melts against the sultry backdrop of the landscape from Port Ligat.
Actually The molten clock is an image of the relativity and gluttony of time, which devours itself and everything else, and the clock, covered with ants, symbolizes death. On the deserted shore, personifying the inner emptiness, the head of Dali himself is sleeping, who is the main prisoner of all-consuming time.
That's it! Inspired by Camembert melted cheese, Dali decided to melt a watch on his canvas. The artist often gave funny explanations for his paintings in order to deliberately mislead people. And this is no exception.
MAGIC REALISM
Rene Magritte. Son of man, 1964.
Private collection
Style: surrealism.
At first sight A neatly dressed yuppie is about to get an apple in the face ... but never gets it.
Actually In Magritte's paintings, the most interesting is always, as luck would have it, hidden by some simple object. In this case, it is an apple symbolizing temptation. It persistently levitates in the face of a restrained businessman, in whose person the artist portrayed "the son of Adam" and himself. Therefore, we are not so offended, because we know what Magritte's face looks like.
EYES, LIPS, AND ABOUT THE HANDS
Mona Lisa, 1503-1505.
Louvre, Paris
Style: High Renaissance
At first sight A plump woman with shaved eyebrows and a poor chest, half-turned, sits in an armchair against the backdrop of a mysterious landscape. In fact, the miracle of the painting in a technique called sfumato: thanks to the smooth transitions from light to shadow and the slight shading of the eye sockets, the corners of the lips and graceful hands, it folds controversial image shy girl and voluptuous mistress. The second merit of the picture is the contrast between the fantastic landscape and a very real figure. Plucked eyebrows and a shaved forehead are not a sign of extremism, but just a tribute to the fashion of the Quattrocento era.
That's it! Despite the abyss of nonsense written by art critics, Da Vinci's main task was to revive the model's face.
THE REVELATION OF THE "PROFESSOR OF NIGHTMARES"
Bosch Jerome. The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1500-1510.
Prado Museum, Madrid
Style: Northern Renaissance
At first sight A biblical triptych reminiscent of a huge collection of kinder surprises.
Actually On the left, in Paradise, God introduces Eve to a stunned Adam. The peaceful life of animals is disturbed by the lion's meal, and an owl, a messenger of misfortune, sticks out of the source of Life (the building in the center). In the center there is a prototype of hippie erotic parties - a garden of delights, where everyone sends divine instructions through the forest: they play, eat and indulge in carnal pleasures. According to psychoanalysis: cherries, strawberries, strawberries and grapes, which are eaten here, mean sinful sexuality, fish - lust, and birds - lust and debauchery. On the right, as an inevitable result, are monsters led by egg-shell Satan and torture machines. Bosch shows us the pernicious influence of lust. And it all started so well!
That's it! Despite the BDSM bacchanalia depicted here, this painting fully complies with strict biblical canons and is liked by the church authorities.
Style: baroque.
At first sight A stylish young man with a horde of boys flew on a winged horse to flirt with a naked fetishist.
Actually The beauty Andromeda, chained to a rock, was planned to be eaten by a sea monster. But while it was digging with spices, young Perseus, shod in the latest fashion in winged sandals, turned the monster into stone. Here we see all the trendy attributes of the ancient Greek hipster: an invisible helmet, a mirror shield with the head of the Gorgon Medusa and winged horse Pegasus. But ancient myths served Rubens more as a pretext for depicting naked female charms. It is not for nothing that Andromeda's light, slightly overweight body is the dominant part of the picture here, to which the viewer first of all pays attention. Is not it so?
That's it! In spite of huge contribution Rubens in the image of naked beauties, he also has enough ill-wishers who accuse him of excessive enthusiasm for the blooming beauty of the naked female body... Is it not stupidity?
THE LIGHT OF THE MARTYR ...
Rembrandt van Rijn. Night Watch, 1642.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Style: baroque
At first sight Captain Kok (center) ordered Lieutenant Reitenbürg (right) to march, and everyone immediately began to fuss.
Actually Even the details of the shooters' clothing move in the picture. Pay attention to the masterful play of light and shadow: the contrast between the dark alley (behind) and the illuminated square. A girl in a bright golden dress compensates for Reitenburg's bright camisole, and his halberd sets the direction of movement for the entire canvas.
That's it! Because of the soot that covered the picture, for a long time no one knew that the action was taking place during the day - look at the shadow from the left hand of Captain Kok.
NORTH MONA LISA
Vermeer Jan. Girl with a Pearl Earring, around 1565.
Mauritshuis, The Hague.
Style: baroque
At first sight The usual face of an ordinary girl.
Actually The artist tried to convey the moment of easy movement when the girl turns her head, noticing our presence. According to the name and the claims of art historians, the pearl earring primarily attracts the audience's attention. In our opinion, carried away by the attractive gaze and sensual lips, which have kept a mysterious silence for more than three hundred years, the discerning viewer will hardly remember the earring.
That's it! This painting has a modern, very indecent "reproduction", but we did not tell you about it!
ANCIENT CATASTROPHE WITH A LITTLE HEAP
Bryullov Karl. The last day of Pompeii, 1830-1833.
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.
Style: romanticism
At first sight The city is in a sea of fire, chaos reigns all around. In the center of the composition lies the body of a rich woman, who crashed when falling from a chariot, which the horses carry away into the depths of the picture. On the right, two brothers rescue their aged father. Everyone is in a panic.
Actually In the distance, the Vesuvius volcano is blazing - the culprit of the disaster. But the main scene is illuminated not by his flame, but by Bryullov's remarkable find - a second flash of lightning. The color scheme of the painting is blue, red and yellow colors illuminated by white light - was very brave for her time.
That's it! Bryullov conceived "Pompey" as a quick way to become famous and made the right decision - the picture became the object of universal worship of Russians, Italians and French.
Did you know that the very first paint used by people of all continents since the inception of painting was ocher - iron oxide. Painting originated in Australia, where artists painted with ocher more than 40,000 years ago.
From ancient times to our time, the aborigines revered their ocher mines, around which customs and legends were formed. ... For example, Aboriginal people living in the Lake Eyre region made the pilgrimage every year, embarking on a two-month journey of 1,000 miles to collect "red gold" (about 20 kg of ocher in the form of round tiles folded into a kangaroo skin backpack). The aborigines used ocher for ritual coloring, and red (burnt) ocher was applied to the chest of boys at their initiation into men.
On the protected peninsula of Arnhemland there are thousands of ocher rock paintings illustrating the life of ancient inhabitants, telling about rainbow snakes, hunting spirits and hunters. On the rocks and in the caves, there are also ancient drawings in the "spray technique", when the artist, taking a mouthful of wet ocher, sprayed it over his palm, applied to the surface of the wall.
About the shoemaker and Apelles
This story goes back more than 2,300 years. Apelles was a friend and court painter of Alexander the Great. In an effort to achieve accuracy in creating images, Apelles exhibited paintings for the judgment of passers-by, and he overheard their opinion, hiding nearby. One day, a shoemaker noticed that the sandals drawn on the contour did not correspond to the foot. By the next day, Apelles fixed this defect. When the shoemaker reappeared and continued his criticism, this time turning his gaze on
foot, the angry artist came out of his hiding place, shouting to the shoemaker to shut up and not express an opinion unrelated to sandals.
This is how the ancient Roman proverb was born: "Ne sutor ultra crepidam" "Let the shoemaker not judge above the shoes."
Two Admirable Alexandra
When they talked about Alexander the Great - invincible and great, they meant the son of Philip II. When they talked about the inimitable, then about the same Alexander, just created by the artist Apelles. For this painting, the artist received a royal payment of 20 talents in gold, this payment was measured by the weight of the painting. By modern standards, the weight of the gold and the fresco is about 500 kg.
The genius of Leonardo da Vinci
For almost five centuries, the legacy of Leonardo da Vinci has been of constant interest among scientists. He was talented researcher and inventor, thinker, engineer and scientist. A man whose genius was recognized during his lifetime was in many ways ahead of his time. Today he is known primarily as an artist, whose masterpiece canvases adorn the most famous museums in the world.
Astrology and painting
One of the most famous paintings by the Flemish artist Paul Rubens, "Feast of the Gods on Olympus", had a date of creation unknown for a long time. Finally, the astrologers took a closer look at it, and it turned out that the characters were located exactly as in 1602 they were located in the sky of the planet. But is Rubens really a prominent diplomat, famous artist, decided to just illustrate the star atlas in your picture? And is it possible to understand the meaning of his picture without going into astrological symbolism?
At that time, as well as now, there were many negative prophecies about the coming century. Rubens, on the other hand, offered a different interpretation of the horoscope of the coming century with his canvas, clearly arguing that worries have no foundation and the century will be imbued with peace, harmony and harmony.
Mediocre artist became the Great Forger of the 20th century
First exhibition Dutch artist van Meegeren was miserably failed. In the press, he was praised by critics and experts as a mediocre artist. Subsequently, Meegeren began to earn his living selling antiques, and after the Second World War he was accused of selling old master paintings to the Nazis and sentenced to death for selling state treasures. Fearing a verdict, Meegeren was forced to admit that the paintings sold were forgeries.
In this section of the site, we tried to collect the most amazing and interesting facts about the paintings created by artists ever.
The swindler who called herself Princess Tarakanova
On the famous painting Flavitsky "Princess Tarakanova" the heroine is depicted before her death during the St. Petersburg flood of 1777. However, the real swindler, named Princess Tarakanova and posing as the daughter of Elizaveta Petrovna and the sister of Yemelyan Pugachev, died in captivity from consumption two years earlier.
The "black square" hangs in Tretyakov Gallery upside down
Studies of Malevich's "Black Square" with the help of a microscope and an X-ray revealed that two earlier works, painted in colored paints, are hidden under it at once - one belongs to the cubo-futuristic period of the artist's work, the second to the protosuprematic one. Also, under a layer of paint, Malevich's inscription "Battle of the Negroes at Night" was found, referring to a completely black comic canvas by Alphonse Allay, written 30 years earlier. And the location and direction of the inscription indicates that the painting hangs upside down in the Tretyakov Gallery.
What forger became so famous that counterfeits of his forgeries appeared on sale?
The Hungarian-born artist Elmir de Hori became famous as one of the most skillful forgers of the famous painters. Having started his "career" by imitating Picasso's works, de Hori managed to sell thousands of fakes in his life, although in the legal sense it is not entirely correct to call them fakes, since de Hori did not sign any painting with the name of the original creator. The fact of his skill in imitation has become so famous in the art world that now there are forgeries under de Hori himself. In 2014, two paintings attributed to him in the style of Claude Monet were exhibited at an auction in New Zealand, but an expert on the works of de Hori was able to recognize the fact of double falsification.
Scientists asked Kustodiev to paint their portrait, being not yet famous
In 1921, two young scientists asked the artist Boris Kustodiev to paint their portrait. Their argument was that Kustodiev draws only celebrities, and they are sure that they will also become famous, even if now they are not particularly known to anyone. These scientists were Pyotr Kapitsa and Nikolai Semyonov, future nobel laureates in physics and chemistry, respectively. As a fee, they gave the artist a bag of millet and a rooster received for repairing the mill.
What is the title of Rembrandt's painting opposite to the artist's intention?
Painted in 1642, Rembrandt's painting "Speech by the Rifle Company of Captain Frans Banning Kok and Lieutenant Willem van Ruutenbürg" eventually became better known as "The Night Watch". However, during the restoration of the canvas in 1947, it turned out that the word "night" was not very appropriate here. Rembrandt covered the painting with several layers of dark varnish, and behind long years being in the Amsterdam City Hall, she also became a victim of the soot from the fireplace. Cleaning the canvas, coupled with the analysis of the shadows from the characters, showed that the action takes place between noon and 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
Why did American teachers paint over George Washington's decorations in the picture?
Emanuel Leutse's painting "Washington Crossing the Delaware" depicts the crossing of a river in boats by a rebel squad during the American Revolution. At George Washington himself, standing in a pose with his right leg bent at the knee, you can see two rounded red jewelry sticking out from under the camisole floor, which is a part of a watch chain. Since the painting was repeatedly printed in textbooks for American schools, many teachers tried to paint over these decorations so that children would not associate them with genitals.
Nude version of Mona Lisa
One of Leonardo da Vinci's students was a young man named Salai. Many art critics are sure that he was the model for Leonardo's paintings "John the Baptist" and "Bacchus". There are also versions that dressed in a woman's dress, Salai served as the image of Mona Lisa herself, and that there was an intimate relationship between the student and the teacher. The works of Salai himself are little known, one of them is a nude version of Gioconda called "Monna Vanna".
What famous Russian painting was inspired by bullfighting?
Several events inspired Ilya Repin to create the painting "Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan". The first is the assassination of Tsar Alexander II from a bomb explosion, the second is Repin's visit to the concert of Rimsky-Korsakov in the same year, where he was impressed by the music of the Antar symphonic suite and wanted to convey this mood on canvas. And the final incentive for the artist was a visit to a bullfight in Spain, after which he wrote in his diary: “Misfortune, living death, murder and blood constitute an enticing force ... for the bloody scene. "
Who, besides the artist Manet, painted the painting "Breakfast on the Grass"?
The artists Edouard Manet and Claude Monet are sometimes confused - after all, they were both French, lived at the same time and worked in the style of impressionism. Even the name of one of the most famous paintings Manet "Breakfast on the Grass" Monet borrowed and wrote his "Breakfast on the Grass".
Why was Gauguin's painting A Breton Village in the Snow sold as Niagara Falls?
Paul Gauguin's painting "A Breton Village in the Snow" was auctioned after his death. The auctioneer hung it upside down by mistake and exhibited it as Niagara Falls.
Why is one of the Cossacks in the painting "The Cossacks" sitting without a shirt?
In Repin's painting "The Cossacks" there is only one Cossack at the table, naked from the waist up. The fact is that this character is an inveterate gambler; there is a deck next to him. When playing for money in Sich, there was a tradition to take off their shirts so that no one could cheat by hiding cards in their sleeves.
What artist liked to place reproductions of his other paintings on the walls of the depicted premises?
In the upper left corner of Reshetnikov's painting "Two Again" hangs a reproduction of his other famous painting - "Arrived for Vacation". In turn, the reproduction "Again deuces" is in the upper left corner of the painting "Re-examination", for which the same boy posed. Her the main character sits at the table in the summer in a rural house and cramps, while the rest of the children play in the street.
What multimillion-dollar deal fell through with an awkward elbow motion?
In 2006, American tycoon Steve Wynn agreed to sell Pablo Picasso's Dream for $ 139 million, one of the highest prices in history for a work of art. However, when showing the picture, Winn waved his arms too much and tore the canvas with his elbow. The owner regarded this as a sign from above and decided not to sell the painting after restoration.
When Repin almost ruined his painting "Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan"?
In 1913, a mentally ill icon painter cut with a knife Repin's painting "Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan." Thanks to the timely work of the restorers, the painting was restored to its original form. Repin himself came to Moscow and rewrote the head of Grozny in an unpleasant purple scale that did not fit with the rest of the picture - the artist's views on painting have changed a lot over 20 years. The restorers removed these corrections and brought the painting to an exact match with its detailed photographs. And Repin, seeing the restored painting later, did not notice anything.
Why did Picasso heat the stove with his paintings?
In the early years of his life in Paris, Picasso was so poor that he sometimes had to heat his paintings instead of firewood.
What painting has hung upside down in the museum for a long time?
In 1961, the New York Museum of Modern Art exhibited a painting by Henri Matisse "The Boat". Only after 47 days did someone notice that the painting was hanging upside down.
