Dutch Baroque Era Painter, ca.1625-1679 Daily life was Jan Steen's main pictorial theme. Many of the genre scenes he portrayed are lively to the point of chaos and lustfulness, even so much that a Jan Steen household, meaning a messy scene, became a Dutch proverb (een huishouden van Jan Steen). Subtle hints in his paintings seem to suggest that Steen meant to warn the viewer rather than invite him to copy this behaviour. Many of Steen's paintings bear references to old Dutch proverbs or literature. He often used members of his family as models. Jan Steen painted also quite a few self-portraits, in which he showed no tendency of vanity. Steen did not shy from other themes: he painted historical, mythological and religious scenes, portraits, still lifes and natural scenes. His portraits of children are famous. He is also well known for his mastery of light and attention to detail, most notably in textiles. Steen was prolific, producing about 800 paintings, of which roughly 350 survive. Steen's work was valued much by contemporaries and as a result he was reasonably well paid for his work. He did not have any students, but his work proved a source of inspiration for many painters.  Related Paintings of Jan Steen :. | Detail of Twelfth Night | Kagelspelarna outside a vardshus | Grace Before a Meal | The Feast of St. Nicholas | The Harpsichord Lesson |
Related Artists:
GIUNTA PISANO
Italian painter, Pisan school (active c. 1229-c. 1254 in Pisa).
Jan Frans van Dael
an excellent painter of fruit and flowers, was born at Antwerp in 1764, but went early to Paris and settled there. He was self-inatructed in art, but made such progress that he soon distinguished himself at the exhibitions, on one occasion obtaining the prize of 4000 francs, and on two others, the large gold medal. His style is in the manner of Van Huysum and Van Spaendonck, although he did not confine himself strictly to fruit and flowers, but painted other subjects, in which such objects might with propriety be introduced. Two of his pictures, which he painted for the Empress Josephine, represent 'An Offering to Flora,' and 'The Tomb of Julia'; the latter is now in the Louvre. His master-piece, known as 'La Croisee,' the fruit of three years' labour, was likewise purchased by the Empress Josephine, and is now in a private collection at Liege. He was also patronized by the Empress Marie Louise, who took one of his pictures with her to Parma. He died in Paris in 1840, and was buried in the cemetery of Pere Lachaise by the side of his friend Van Spaendonck. The Louvre has also by him three pictures of 'Flowers' and one of 'Fruit.'
Arturo Michelena
16 June 1863 - 29 July 1898) was a Venezuelan painter born in Valencia, Carabobo State. He began to paint at a young age under his father's tutelage. Traveled to Paris where he studied in the famous Academie Julian. He was the first Venezuelan artist to succeed overseas and, with Cristebal Rojas (1857-1890) and Marten Tovar y Tovar (1827-1902), one of the most important Venezuelan painters of the 19th century. His first great success occurred in Paris at Le Salon des Artistes Français in 1887. Encouraged by his teacher Jean-Paul Laurens (1838-1921), Michelena presented a canvas titled L'Enfant Malade (The sick boy) which was awarded the Gold Medal, second class, the highest honor a foreign artist could receive at the salon. The painting was quickly considered a masterpiece and was acquired by the Astors in New York in the late 19th century. Later the painting traveled to South Florida when it was acquired by Owens Burns, a business partner of John Ringling, the circus magnate. After Burns' death the painting was stored in the Ringling Museum's vaults where it remained away from public view for more than 60 years. In 2004 Sotheby's rescued the canvas and arranged for it to be included in an auction of Latin American art.