M. C. Escher
from The New Book of
Knowledge®
The Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis
Escher was famous for his prints that
fooled the eye and intrigued the mind.
His work is unique in modern art.
Escher was born on June 17, 1898, in
Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. He first
studied architecture at the School for
Architecture and Decorative Arts in
Haarlem. While there, he became more interested in printmaking. In 1924, Escher married
Jetta Umiker and the couple settled in Rome, Italy. In 1935, political turmoil forced the Eschers
to move first to Switzerland and then to Belgium. In 1941 they moved to Baarn, the
Netherlands.
While he lived in Italy, Escher often depicted Rome and the Italian countryside in his art.
Afterward, his interest shifted from landscape to what he described as "mental imagery." These
new works were partly inspired by tiles he found on Moorish architecture in Granada, Spain.
Escher used the tiles' flattened patterns of interlocking shapes. But he replaced the abstract
Moorish decorations with recognizable figures (such as fish, birds, and reptiles). The woodcut
Day and Night (1938) was one of his first works to demonstrate this technique. Escher also
used this technique in his famous Metamorphose III (1967-68). This work features a series of
interlocking shapes and figures that continually change over the woodcut's 23-foot (7-meter)
length.
Some prints by Escher depict buildings and staircases that appear to be realistically drawn but
are actually optical illusions. Examples include the lithographs Belvadere (1958) and Ascending
and Descending (1960). Other prints depict flat, two-dimensional drawings that seem to
transform into three-dimensional objects. In the lithograph Drawing Hands (1948), for example,
two hands appear to rise off the paper as they draw each other.
Escher gained international fame beginning in the 1950's. Magazine articles were written about
him, and he lectured about the design and meaning of his art. Escher made his last print (the
woodcut Snakes) in 1969. He died on March 27, 1972, in Hilversum, the Netherlands.
Salvador Dali
from The New Book of Knowledge®
Salvador Dali was a Spanish surrealist painter. He used a highly realistic technique to create what
he called "hand-painted dream photographs." His painting The Persistence of Memory (1931) is
among the best known of all surrealist works.
Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dali was born in Figueres, Spain, on May 11, 1904. He studied at the San
Fernando Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid from 1921 to 1926. During this period, Dali painted
landscapes and still lifes as he experimented with impressionism, cubism, and realism.
On a visit to Paris in 1928, Dali met the artists and writers of the surrealist group. He moved to Paris
in 1929 and soon became an important member of this movement. The surrealists were influenced
by the theories of Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund
Freud. They believed that people's true thoughts
were hidden in their unconscious minds and in their
dreams. Surrealist artists tried to show this world of
the unconscious. They did this by painting images
from their imagination.
Dali's surrealist paintings were filled with haunting,
bizarre, and even grotesque images. He often
depicted familiar objects in an altered or distorted
state. An example is the melting watches in his
famous Persistence of Memory. Other paintings feature repeating images. Or they show objects that
can be perceived as two different things at the same time, as in Swans Reflecting Elephants (1937).
Dali also used symbols and visual metaphors in such paintings as The Burning Giraffe (1937) and
Sleep (1937).
Dali extended the influence of surrealism beyond painting. He collaborated with the Spanish director
Luis Buñuel on two surrealist films. These were An Andalusian Dog (1929) and The Golden Age
(1930). And he designed a famous dream sequence for Alfred Hitchcock's film Spellbound (1945).
He also designed jewelry, furniture, advertisements, and theatrical sets and costumes.
In Dali's later paintings, he turned away from surrealism. He began to depict more religious subjects.
He often used his wife, Gala, as a model. Paintings of this period include Christ of St. John of the
Cross (1951) and The Last Supper (1955).
Dali was also a gifted writer. His literary works include a surrealistic novel, Hidden Faces (1944), and
autobiographical works, such as Diary of a Genius (1965). Museums dedicated to his art are in
Figueres and in St. Petersburg, Florida.
After the death of his wife in 1982, Dali spent much of his time in seclusion. He died in 1989.
Picasso, Pablo
from The New Book of Knowledge®
Pablo Ruiz y Picasso—the most famous artist of the 20th
century—was born on October 25, 1881, in Málaga, Spain.
When Pablo was very young, his family moved to
Barcelona. At an early age Picasso showed great talent.
He especially liked to paint pictures of the city life around
him. In 1896 he entered the School of Fine Arts, where his
father was a professor.
Around the turn of the century, Paris was the world center of art and literature. Picasso visited
the city in 1900 and fell under the spell of the artistic atmosphere. He returned a year later, and
he settled on the Left Bank in 1904. He was very poor, but his studio became a meeting place
for many artists, writers, and composers.
In Paris, Picasso still painted scenes of the day-to-day life of poor people in his neighborhood.
He was also fascinated by circus life and painted a series of circus pictures. Early in the century
his works were painted in varieties of gray-blues. The figures were long, thin, and sad. These
paintings belong to what is called Picasso's blue period.
Like many other young artists in Paris at that time, Picasso was influenced by the work of Paul
Cézanne. Cézanne had tried to show the geometric forms that he saw in nature. Picasso and
his friend the painter Georges Braque attempted to portray the many different geometric planes
of an object all at once. For example, they might paint a full face with one eye and with the
nose in profile (a side view). This style became known as cubism because in the paintings
objects were composed of geometric forms such as cubes and cones. Picasso and Braque
were also among the first to make collages by pasting various scraps of materials onto flat
surfaces.
In 1917, Picasso went to Rome to design scenery and costumes for the Russian Ballet's
production of Parade. He married Olga Koklova, one of the ballerinas, and they had a son,
Paulo. Picasso did not care for the social world in which he found himself. But Olga enjoyed it.
He became unhappy, and the distorted, sad figures in his paintings of this period reflect his
unhappiness.
Civil war broke out in Spain in 1936. The following year, the ancient city of Guernica was
destroyed by bombs. Picasso was enraged at this inhuman act. All his bitterness was released
in his brilliant mural Guernica. Picasso worked at such a furious pace that the mural was
completed within a few weeks and was shown at the Paris Exhibition in 1937. The mural shows
the terrified people of the town, their mouths open wide in screams. Images from bullfighting
are used to symbolize the brutality of war. While some artists might have painted the scene in
bloody reds and other vivid colors, Picasso painted Guernica entirely in black, white, and
shades of gray.
During World War II, Picasso lived in Paris, which was at that time under Nazi occupation.
Because the Nazis did not approve of modern art, Picasso had to hide his paintings in a secret
vault in the Bank of France. His work during this period included a play, Desire Caught by the
Tail (1941).
After the war
Picasso moved
to a huge house
in the south of
France. There
he continued to
experiment with
painting as well
as sculpture,
printmaking,
ceramics, and
collage. In 1958 he painted a large mural for a United Nations building in Paris. His marriage to
Jacqueline Roque, a Frenchwoman, took place in 1961. In 1962, he was awarded the Lenin
peace prize.
Picasso's moods were known to change as often as his styles. He was thoughtful and distant at
times, but he also displayed a fine sense of humor. His art was extremely valuable even in his
own lifetime because of the great variety of his styles. He used elements from the work of
Toulouse-Lautrec, the ancient Greeks, El Greco, and African sculptors. The large number of his
fine works during any one period would have satisfied another artist. But Picasso never
stopped experimenting. His great imagination and outstanding skill earned for him the name El
Maestro ("the master") of modern art.
Picasso died at his home in southern France on April 8, 1973, at the age of 91.
Edgar Degas,
from The New Book of
Knowledge®
The French painter Edgar
Degas was born on July 19,
1834, in Paris. His father was a
wealthy banker who was raised
in Italy. His mother, descended
from French nobility, was born
in New Orleans. Degas grew up
in elegant Paris society. He
spent many hours in museums,
theaters, and concert halls.
After studying painting briefly in
Paris, Degas went to Italy to
learn directly from the works of
the old masters. While there, he
painted masterful portraits of his
Italian relatives. He returned to
Paris in 1859.
In 1865, Degas met a group of
young artists later known as the
impressionists. He helped organize their exhibits, and from 1874 to 1886, he was a leading
exhibitor. At the Paris cafés where the impressionists met, he was known for his aloof manner
and biting wit.
Degas took his subjects from everyday life, choosing poses that showed the human body in
action--women ironing, ballet dancers practicing or rubbing their tired ankles, women bathing or
combing their hair. In these pictures he seemed to catch a passing moment. Whether he
worked in oil paints, charcoal, or pastels, Degas was always a master of line.
The last years of Degas' life were bitter and lonely. He lived alone and saw few people. For a
long time, Degas had suffered from failing eyesight, and work became more and more difficult.
He turned to sculpture because he could shape it without seeing it. He did many statues of
horses and dancers in motion. Finally he was unable to work at all. He died on September 27,
1917, at the age of 83.
Reviewed by Frank Getlein
Author, The French Impressionists
Jasper Johns,
from The New Book of
Knowledge®
Jasper Johns is a major figure in
modern American art. He is
renowned for his innovative
treatment of everyday subjects in
his paintings, drawings, and
sculptures.
Johns was born in Augusta,
Georgia, on May 15, 1930. He
began to draw as a child and
decided early on to become an
artist. Johns was largely selftaught. But he briefly attended the
University of South Carolina and
the Parsons School of Design.
In 1954, a dream compelled Johns
to begin a series of paintings
depicting his best-known subject,
the American flag. His work has since featured images of what Johns called "things the mind
already knows." These include targets, maps, words, and stenciled numbers and letters. He is
a prominent practitioner of encaustic painting, in which pigments are mixed with hot wax. Using
this technique, Johns creates distinct brushstrokes and subtly textured surfaces.
The history and practice of making art is another of Johns's frequent subjects. In his paintings,
he has incorporated paint cans and brushes as well as visual references to artists such as
Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, and Matthias Grünewald. His work has also included images
of his own paintings, shadows, and handprints.
Johns has been celebrated as a pioneer of pop art ("popular art") since the late 1950's. But his
work has become increasingly abstract. In the late 1960's he began depicting flagstone
patterns. In the 1970's his work often featured crosshatch designs. Johns's later work has
included painted illusions that fool the eye into seeing three dimensions on a flat surface. An
example is Perilous Night (1982).
Jessica Stewart
National Gallery of Art
Paul Klee
from The New Book of Knowledge®
Paul Klee was one of the most original
artists of the 20th century. He followed
no movement, and there is no single
term that describes his style. In his
paintings Klee created a world of his
own--a dreamy world that suggests
poetry and the rhythms of music.
Klee was born on December 18, 1879,
in Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland. He
learned to love music from his father, a
German music teacher. Paul chose
painting as a career, but music had a
great influence on his work.
In 1898, Klee went to Munich to study
art. Four years later, he moved to Bern
and produced a series of etchings. In
1906, he settled in Munich and married Lily Stumpf, a piano teacher. The couple had a son,
Felix.
In 1912, Klee exhibited his paintings with German artists known as the Blue Rider group. A
short trip to Tunisia in 1914 proved to be a turning point in Klee's art. Up to this time, he had
worked mostly in black and white. In Tunisia, Klee "discovered" color. The brilliant red sun there
seemed to make all colors brighter and deeper. Color then became the basis of his art. "Color
and I are one," he wrote in his diary.
Klee was a quiet, thoughtful man. He took long walks alone and loved to watch the flowers and
leaves moving in the breeze. He painted with great precision on small canvases. His subjects
included yellow birds resting on purple branches, floating cities of squares and rectangles, and
mazes of lines.
After 1921, Klee taught at the Bauhaus, an art school in Germany. In 1930, he left to become a
professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Düsseldorf. Disagreeing with Nazi policies, Klee left
Germany in 1933. He returned to Switzerland, where he lived until his death on June 29, 1940.
Reviewed by Harold Spencer
University of Connecticut
Claude Monet
from The New Book of Knowledge®
Claude Monet, a French landscape
painter, was one of the founders of the
style of art known as impressionism. He
was born in Paris on November 14, 1840,
but spent his childhood in Le Havre. When
Monet was 15, he held an exhibit that
interested the painter Eugène Boudin.
Boudin persuaded him to take his
materials outdoors to paint. Monet continued this practice throughout his life.
In 1860, after studying in Paris for a year, Monet joined the army and went to Algeria. He returned
to Paris two years later. There he married and had two sons. In the Paris studio of Charles Gleyre,
Monet met many other promising young artists, with whom he exhibited in 1874. The critics did not
like their works and made fun of these "impressionists." The term was taken from the title of Monet's
landscape Impression: Sunrise.
Impressionism began at the time (the early 1870's) and in the setting of Monet's painting Boats at
Argenteuil. Argenteuil is a suburb of Paris, on the Seine River. There the artists Monet, Manet, and
Renoir painted together and learned from one another. By watching Monet, Manet became
convinced for the first time that it was indeed possible to paint outdoors. Monet and Renoir painted
so much alike that it was sometimes difficult for them to tell who had painted certain views.
Monet and the other impressionists placed unmixed colors side by side on their canvases to show
how light splits into the colors of the prism—ike a rainbow. To show how light could completely
change the appearance of an object, Monet painted the same scene at different times of the day
and year. For example, he painted the Rouen Cathedral 20 times, in conditions varying from a misty
summer dawn to a brilliant winter sunset.
Monet's first wife died in 1879, and he later married a woman with several children of her own. In
1883 the couple moved to Giverny, where the artist created the gardens that inspired his paintings
of water lilies.
Monet did not become famous or earn much money until he was over 50 years old. Then his
paintings began to sell for higher prices. In 1916 the French government bought eight of Monet's
paintings of water lilies. Although his eyesight began to fail, Monet painted until his death in Giverny
on December 5, 1926.
Frank Getlein
Author, The French Impressionists
Leonardo da
Vinci
from The New Book of
Knowledge®
Perhaps no one in history achieved
so much in so many different fields
as did Leonardo da Vinci. An
outstanding painter, sculptor, and
architect, he also designed bridges,
highways, weapons, costumes, and
scientific instruments. He invented
the diving bell and tank, and—
though they could not be built with the materials of the time—flying machines. He made important
discoveries about the structure of the human body.
From his notebooks we can tell that Leonardo approached science and art in the same methodical
manner: after studying a problem, he made many sketches to help him find a solution. He saw no
difference between planning a machine and a painting, and he became an expert in every field that
interested him.
Leonardo da Vinci was born in the town of Vinci, Italy, in 1452. His father was a successful
government official, and his mother was a peasant girl. Leonardo spent his early years on his
family's farm. Free to explore in the fields and streams, he grew to love the outdoors. He had a
keen interest in how things work. He bought caged birds in the marketplace and set them free. He
did this because he could not stand to see birds in cages and also because he wanted to learn
exactly how birds fly.
By 1469 Leonardo had moved with his father to Florence, where the young man was apprenticed to
the painter and sculptor Andrea del Verrocchio (1435?-88). In the 7 or more years Leonardo spent
in Verrocchio's studio he was especially inspired by his teacher's imaginative sculpture. By 1472,
Leonardo became a master of the painters' guild. A few years later he painted such a beautiful
angel that Verrocchio, his master, is said to have given up painting for good.
After this, Leonardo's skill as a painter must have been known, for he painted an altarpiece, The
Adoration of the Kings, for the monks of Scopeto. The Adoration had a great influence on younger
painters. The Virgin Mary is shown in a large landscape. She and the three kings stand out among
the many figures because of Leonardo's use of chiaroscuro—contrasts of light and dark. He made
many drawings for this work. What we see today is only the first stage, for Leonardo left the painting
unfinished in 1481. Leonardo often abandoned works, regardless of their state of completion. After
he had solved a particular problem, he went on to other projects that interested him.
About 1482, Leonardo left Florence to enter the house of Lodovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. While
there, he painted court portraits, supervised pageants, designed costumes, built machines of war,
and even installed central heating in the palace. He also supposedly played the lyre and sang to
entertain the Duke and his friends.
While in Milan, Leonardo worked on his magnificent painting, The Last Supper. Because he worked
slowly, Leonardo painted in oil on a damp wall instead of using the fresco technique (painting with
watercolors on wet plaster). This experiment was not successful, and the painting began to peel
soon after Leonardo's death. Although it is now badly damaged, it is still an extraordinary picture.
By cutting out all unnecessary details Leonardo emphasized the drama of the event.
One of Leonardo's greatest interests was the study of the human body. At first, like other artists of
the 15th century, he studied the outward appearance of the body. Then he became fascinated with
its inner structure and dissected corpses to find out how the body was put together. His studies of
the heart, especially, were quite advanced. Leonardo looked at plants as closely as he looked at
people and animals, and he made many discoveries about plant growth.
Soon after he arrived in Milan, Leonardo began to write down things that interested him. His
notebooks show the great variety and originality of his scientific observations. He illustrated his
theories with very beautiful and exact drawings. By studying his drawings of machines, 20th-century
engineers, with modern materials, have been able to build models that work perfectly. The
notebooks are hard to read because he used mirror writing. He did not want his ideas to be stolen.
Leonardo briefly served Prince Cesare Borgia in Rome as a military engineer. In 1503 he returned
to Florence, where he spent a few very productive years. The most outstanding and only completed
painting of this period is his portrait of a Florentine lady, the Mona Lisa. This portrait is famous for
the delicately painted features of the woman's face and for the rich sfumato ("smoky") effects of the
mountainous landscape in the background. While in Florence, Leonardo was commissioned to paint
a battle scene on a wall of the Great Hall of the Palazzo Vecchio. Again Leonardo experimented,
this time with wax paint. The work began to melt even before he finished it. Leonardo was
disappointed. But as a scientist, he knew that to achieve success, people must expect some
experiments to fail.
While in France, Leonardo was stricken with partial paralysis. He had to stop painting, but his mind
remained active. During his last years he received countless visitors, who listened with awe to the
master's brilliant ideas about art and science.
People of the Renaissance set impossibly high goals for themselves. Leonardo da Vinci, the person
who came closest to reaching all of those goals, died in his French château on May 2, 1519.
Reviewed by Aaron H. Jacobsen
Author, The Renaissance Sketchbook
James
Whistler
from The New Book of
Knowledge®
The American-born
painter James Whistler is
best known for his portrait
of his mother. But this
famous picture was just
one of a huge output that
ranged from etchings of
river scenes to paintings
of night landscapes.
James Abbott McNeill
Whistler was born on July
10, 1834, in Lowell, Massachusetts. When James was 9, his father was hired by the Russian
Government to construct a railroad. In St. Petersburg, James was given his first drawing
lessons.
The Whistlers returned to the United States in 1849. When James was 17, he entered the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point. After three years his indifference led to his dismissal. He then
worked as a mapmaker and learned the technique of etching. During this period he decided to
make art his career.
In 1855, Whistler went to Paris to study painting. Four years later he moved to London. He
painted and etched scenes along the Thames River. These pictures—gray, misty, and
moody—were influenced somewhat by Japanese prints, of which Whistler was very fond. His
landscapes and portraits were very subtle, for Whistler was more interested in capturing moods
than in reproducing actual colors.
In 1877 the art critic John Ruskin criticized one of Whistler's paintings. Ruskin accused Whistler
of "flinging a pot of paint in the public's face." Whistler sued Ruskin for slander. Technically
Whistler won the case, but sentiment was against him, and he was awarded only 1 farthing
(less than 1 cent). The costs of the trial bankrupted him.
Whistler then went to Venice to make etchings and pastel pictures. These brought him back
into public favor. His later portraits of socially prominent people, still very moody and personal,
won him international fame. He enjoyed this fame until his death in London on July 17, 1903.
Reviewed by William H. Gerdts
City University of New York, Graduate School and University Center
O'Keeffe, Georgia
from The New Book of Knowledge®
Bones bleached white by the desert sun, flowers, rolling hills, rocks, trees, and the sky itself are
frequent subjects of paintings by the American artist Georgia O'Keeffe. Her works portray
nature simply but dramatically, with precise lines and glowing colors.
Georgia O'Keeffe
was born on a farm
in Sun Prairie,
Wisconsin, on
November 15,
1887. At the age of
16, she went to
study art in
Chicago. She later
continued her
studies in New York
City. In 1912 she
accepted a position
as an art teacher at
a small college in
Texas.
A selection of her
drawings was exhibited in New York City in 1916, at the gallery of Alfred Stieglitz, the
photographer. The drawings were well received. In 1918, O'Keeffe moved to New York to paint.
She became friendly with a group of artists who gathered at Stieglitz' gallery, and in 1924 she
married Stieglitz and joined him in running the gallery. Some of her most famous works date
from this period. In flower studies such as Black Iris (1926), she enlarged a flower and painted
it in its simplest form by eliminating detail. During the 1920's and 1930's, she also painted many
views of the New York City skyline.
After Stieglitz died in 1946, O'Keeffe moved to New Mexico. She settled down near Abiquiu, on
the edge of the desert. The wild juniper and aspen trees around her house and the stark hills of
the desert became inspirations for her paintings, as did animal bones she found in the desert.
In 1984 she moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she lived until her death on March 6,
1986.
In her works, O'Keeffe combined simplicity with strength. She is known as an artist who drew
inspiration from nature and made it into an artistic expression wholly her own.
Patrick Stewart,Williams College
Mary Cassatt
from The New Book of
Knowledge®
Mary Cassatt was the foremost
American woman painter of the
19th century. She was also the
only American to exhibit paintings
with the French impressionists-artists who revolutionized painting
by using bright colors, small
brushstrokes, and informal
subjects.
Cassatt was born on May 22,
1844, in Allegheny City (now a
part of Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania.
She knew early that she wanted to
be a painter. In 1861 she enrolled
at the Pennsylvania Academy of
the Fine Arts, and later went on to
study in Europe.
In 1872, Cassatt had a painting
accepted for the Paris Salon, the
official exhibition sponsored by the French Academy of Fine Arts. A year later, she settled
permanently in Paris. She soon became aware of the impressionists, especially of Edgar
Degas, who became her teacher and lifelong friend. The work of the impressionists was not
approved by the Academy. But it appealed to Cassatt. She stopped entering works for the
Salon and exhibited with the impressionists.
Cassatt made women her main subject. In her work, we see women in their everyday lives.
Often they are seen enjoying and caring for their children, especially babies.
The taste of Cassatt's time was for highly idealized mothers and children. In contrast, Cassatt
painted people as she saw them. But her truth reveals a beauty that has endured. Her work
became popular in Paris, and she was the first impressionist to support herself by her art. She
died in her country house outside Paris on June 14, 1926.
Frank Getlein
Author, Mary Cassatt
Andy Warhol
from The New Book of
Knowledge®
The American artist and filmmaker
Andy Warhol is often called the
Prince of Pop. He was born Andrew
Warhola in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
on August 6, 1928. His parents were
Czech immigrants. He studied art at
the Carnegie Institute of Technology
in Pittsburgh. After graduating in
1949, he settled in New York City,
where he became a successful
commercial artist.
By the early 1960's Warhol had won
recognition as a painter, though his
works were controversial at first. His
technique was meticulous, yet his
themes disregarded traditional
artistic standards. A leader in the
style that came to be called pop art,
Warhol drew from American popular
culture for his subjects. Among the familiar images he depicted were consumer products, such
as Coca-Cola bottles and Campbell's soup cans, and the faces of celebrities, from actress
Marilyn Monroe to Chinese leader Mao Zedong. Using a printmaking process called silk
screening, he duplicated these images many times over, varying only the colors. This repetition
is an important element in understanding his work.
Warhol himself became a celebrity. He wore a platinum white wig and was devoted to
showmanship and art collecting. He also made experimental films, produced records, and
wrote books such as The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again (1975). He
died in New York City on February 22, 1987, of a heart attack, following gallstone surgery. He
was buried in Pittsburgh.
Howard E. Wooden
Director Emeritus
The Wichita Art Museum
Vincent
Van Gogh
from The New Book of Knowledge®
The paintings of Vincent
van Gogh are mirrors of
his intense personality. He
was born on March 30,
1853, in Groot-Zundert,
the Netherlands. From
1869 to 1876 he worked
for an art dealer. He then
became a schoolmaster in
England for a short time.
Van Gogh did not get along well with individuals, but he had a deep love for humanity. He
decided to become a minister, like his father. But he gave up theological studies in 1878 to do
missionary work among the miners in Belgium. When this venture failed, in 1880, van Gogh
returned to the Netherlands. He had been drawing for several years, and he buried himself in
his art. He painted pictures of the fields and peasants around his father's church. We can see
the dark colors and heavy forms he used then in The Potato Eaters (1885). He was also
attracted to Japanese prints. From his study of these came his later emphasis on bold patterns
of color and lively linear rhythms.
Van Gogh's brother Theo lived in Paris and worked for an art dealer. In 1886, he went to live
with Theo, who introduced him to the impressionists. The impressionists were artists who tried
to reproduce in their paintings the effects of light striking solid objects. Under their influence,
van Gogh learned to paint in lighter colors and freer forms. But he did not follow the
impressionists exactly. He developed his own expressionistic style, making his paintbrush
express his inner feelings.
In 1888, van Gogh moved to Arles, in southern France. With swirling brushstrokes and pure,
bright colors, he painted countless self-portraits, objects from his own room, the countryside,
and people of the town.
The artist Paul Gauguin joined him in the fall, but their personalities clashed. At Christmas time,
van Gogh suffered a nervous breakdown and slashed off part of his own left ear. After a time in
an asylum at Saint-Rémy, he moved to Auvers, near Paris in May, 1890.
All his life van Gogh thought himself a burden to the only person who encouraged him, his
brother Theo. At last, in despair over this thought and further mental breakdowns, he shot
himself and died on July 29, 1890.
Reviewed by Harold Spencer, University of Connecticut
Kate Greenaway
from The New Book of
Knowledge®
Beautiful children dressed in the
charming style of the early 1800's:
Long flowing dresses, ribbons and
bows, pinafores and hats, buttoned
trousers and ruffled shirts. These are
the boys and girls drawn by the author
and illustrator Kate Greenaway.
Catherine Greenaway was born in
London, England, on March 17, 1846.
Her mother was a shopkeeper. Her
father was a well-known wood
engraver. As a child, Kate showed a
talent for drawing. At age 12 she began
formal art training.
Greenaway began her career
designing greeting cards and illustrating the works of other writers. For her first book, Under the
Window (1878), she wrote verses to accompany a collection of her drawings. It was an
immediate success. Later books for which she supplied both text and illustrations include
Language of Flowers (1884), Marigold Garden (1885), and A—Apple Pie (1886). She also
illustrated The Queen of the Pirate Isle (1880), by American author Bret Harte, and The Pied
Piper of Hamelin (1888), by English poet Robert Browning.
The charm of Greenaway's children caught the fancy of the public. Her style influenced the
fashion world of her day. Her illustrations were used on such items as greeting cards, china,
buttons, embroidery patterns, dolls, and even wallpaper. Her work was exhibited at the Fine Art
Society in London. In 1898 she was elected to the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolors.
Kate Greenaway died in London on November 6, 1901. Her quaint illustrations helped change
the appearance of children's books, making them more entertaining and enjoyable.
Susan Ruth Thomson
Author, A Catalogue of the Kate Greenaway Collection, Rare Book Room, Detroit Public Library
Grandma Moses
from The New Book of
Knowledge®
The artist Grandma Moses
became famous for her simple,
bright, cheerful paintings of
American farm life. Her full name
was Anna Mary Robertson
Moses. But she was known to
everyone as Grandma Moses
because she did not begin to
paint seriously until she was in
her seventies.
Anna Mary Robertson was born
on September 7, 1860, on a farm
in Greenwich, New York. She was one of ten children. Life on the farm was hard, and Anna had
little schooling. Her days were filled with farm chores—feeding the animals, gathering eggs,
and making soap. But she often found time to make pictures. Because she had no proper
paints, she used house paint, scraps of colored paper, the juice of wild berries, and even
laundry bluing for her colors.
Soon, however, she became too busy to draw or paint. At the age of 12, she went to work as a
servant for a family nearby. She worked for other people for many years. Then, when she was
27, she married Thomas Moses, a farmer. And they began raising a family of their own. They
moved to a farm near Staunton, Virginia, and later to another at Eagle Bridge, New York.
Thomas Moses died there in 1927.
As she grew older, Anna Moses could no longer do heavy farmwork. She took up needlework,
but her hands became too stiff to continue. Then, in her seventies, she began to paint in oils.
Her pictures showed things she recalled from childhood—farm scenes, small villages, picnics,
ice-skating, bringing home the Christmas tree. The forms were simple, and the colors bright
and cheerful.
Grandma Moses had a fine memory for detail, and her pictures recorded a way of life that was
quickly passing away. People everywhere loved these happy scenes, and soon her paintings
were shown in art galleries. She continued to paint almost until her death, on December 13,
1961, at the age of 101.
Reviewed by Jane Kallir
Author, Grandma Moses: The Artist Behind the Myth
Diego Rivera
from The New
Book of
Knowledge®
Mexican artist
Diego Rivera was
the leader of an
artistic and political
movement (192330) that celebrated
the native history
and culture of
Mexico with vast
public murals.
Rivera was born on December 8, 1886, in the mining town of Guanajuato. At age 10 he entered
the Academy of San Carlos, a noted art school in Mexico City. He graduated with a fine arts
degree in 1905.
When the Mexican Revolution began in 1910, Rivera went to live in Paris. His best-known work
from this period is Zapatista Landscape--The Guerrilla (1915). It is a cubist portrait of the
revolutionary hero Emiliano Zapata. Zapata is portrayed as a collection of geometric shapes-including his gun and parts of his hat, shawl, and face--floating in front of a realistic landscape
of the Valley of Mexico.
After the Revolution ended in 1920, the new Mexican government asked Rivera to return and
create murals that celebrated native history and culture. He painted ten major murals between
1923 and 1953. Most of them are frescoes (paintings on walls covered with wet plaster). His
greatest Mexican mural, at Mexico City's Ministry of Education, consists of 134 panels depicting
the history, festivals, and industries of Mexico. Between 1930 and 1935, Rivera painted seven
murals in the United States. The most famous of these, the fresco cycle, or series, Detroit
Industry (1932-33) at the Detroit Institute of Arts, celebrates factory workers.
Rivera married several times. One of his wives was Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Rivera died in
Mexico City on November 24, 1957.
Linda Bank Downs
Author, Diego Rivera: The Detroit Industry Murals
Johannes Vermeer
from The New Book of
Knowledge®
The Dutch painter Jan (or
Johannes) Vermeer was little
known for almost 200 years after
his death. Today his works are rare
and highly prized. He was born on
October 31, 1632, in Delft, the town
in which he spent his whole life. His
father was a silk weaver, art dealer,
and tavern operator. In 1653, Jan
became a member of the painters'
guild. In the same year he married
Catharina Bolnes.
Few documents exist to give us
exact information about Vermeer's
career as an artist. We do not even
know the name of his teacher. But he did leave a number of clues to his temperament and
interests. In most of his paintings, one or two figures—often women—stand or sit quietly in a
room. They may be reading, chatting, or performing some household task. Everything
combines to create an impression of peaceful calm. Vermeer painted every object and piece of
furniture in realistic detail. Some of the wall decorations--paintings and maps—in his works
have even been identified. Sometimes these paintings within the painting depict symbols that
were well known to the people of the time. They were intended to add meaning to the activity of
the figures in the room.
Vermeer was extremely interested in color and the optical qualities of light. He was an
extraordinary artisan who worked with many delicate glazes to create his effects.
After his father died in 1655, Vermeer managed the family art business. He probably supported
his wife and eleven children by selling other painters' work. When France invaded the
Netherlands in 1672, Vermeer's dealership began to fail. He died on December 15, 1675,
leaving his wife with many debts. Vermeer was almost forgotten until a French critic
"rediscovered" him in 1866. He ranks today among the world's greatest masters.
Reviewed by Arthur Wheelock, Jr.
Author, Jan Vermeer
Sandro Botticelli
from The New Book of Knowledge®
The poetic paintings of the Renaissance
master known as Botticelli often describe
the beginnings of things. With grace and
delicacy Botticelli depicted not just love
but the birth of the love goddess, not
simply faith but the birth of Christ, not only
the beauty of nature but the blooming of
spring. He turned for subject matter to
history and religion, to poetry and legend.
Botticelli's life is somewhat like a legend.
Little about it can be proved since much of
what we know has come down through the ages by word of mouth. He was born in Florence
and died there when he was about 65. His real name was Alessandro Filipepi, but he took the
name Botticelli from his older brother, whose nickname was Botticello, meaning "little barrel."
By 1460 he was probably studying with the well-known artist Fra Filippo Lippi. By the time he
was 25, Botticelli had already become teacher to Lippi's son and was considered one of the
best painters in Florence.
Among his many admirers was Pope Sixtus IV. In 1481 the Pope invited Botticelli to Rome to
help decorate the Sistine Chapel, which had recently been completed. Botticelli's contributions
to the chapel include wall paintings illustrating the life of Moses.
The Medici family, rulers of Florence, were the greatest supporters of artists and scholars in all
Italy. Botticelli received encouragement from them and may even have lived in the Medici
palace. The scholars there were fascinated by the poetry and philosophy of ancient Greece. As
his painting the Primavera shows us, Botticelli, too, was entranced by the creators of ancient
mythology. The spiritual quality of his religious paintings can also be seen in his portrayals of
the gods and heroes of ancient Greece.
In his later years Botticelli was influenced by the monk Savonarola, who preached against the
vanity and extravagance of the Florentines. Botticelli became very religious and painted only
religious subjects.
Botticelli's paintings are famous for their dancing lines, flowing forms, and delicate details,
admirably represented in the Primavera. His golden-haired Venus, goddess of love, has in her
eyes the faraway look of one lost in a daydream, which appears so often in Botticelli's work.
Reviewed by Ariane Ruskin Batterberry
Author, The Pantheon Story of Art for Young People