The Birth of the Virgin
Oil on copper.
39 x 27 cm.
Private collection
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of Mary, or the Birth of the Virgin Mary, refers to a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The earliest known account of Mary's birth is found in the Protoevangelium of James (5:2), an apocryphal text from the late second century, with her parents known as Saint Anne and Saint Joachim.
In the case of saints, the Church commemorates their date of death, with Saint John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary as the few whose birth dates are commemorated. The reason for this is found in the singular mission each had in salvation history, but traditionally also because these alone (besides the prophet Jeremiah, Jer 1:5) were holy in their very birth. More on
Pious accounts place the birthplace of the Virgin Mary in Tzippori, where a 5th-century basilica is excavated at the site. Some accounts speak of Nazareth and others say it was in a house near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. The Birth of the Virgin
Hendrick van Balen or Hendrick van Balen I (c. 1573-1575 in Antwerp – 17 July 1632 in Antwerp) was a Flemish Baroque painter and stained glass designer. Van Balen specialised in small cabinet pictures often painted on a copper support. His favourite themes were mythological and allegorical scenes and, to a lesser extent, religious subjects. The artist played an important role in the renewal of Flemish painting in the early 17th century and was one of the teachers of Anthony van Dyck.
Van Balen was born in Antwerp. The date of his birth is not known but was likely 1573. His family was well-off and thus able to let Hendrick have a good training which included the study of a number of languages.
From about 1595 to 1602 he studied art while traveling in Italy. Although there is no record of his Italian journey, on his return to Antwerp, he became a member of the Guild of Romanists. It was a condition of membership that the member had visited Rome. In the year 1613 the Guild chose him as its dean.
Van Balen led for over 30 years a successful workshop and had many pupils. He was the teacher of his son Jan van Balen as well as of leading Flemish painters Anthony van Dyck and Frans Snyders. He was a contemporary of some of the best-known Flemish artists, such as Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder. More on Hendrick van Balen
WERTINGER, Hans, Master of Attel
"The dormition of the Virgin"
Oil on panel parquet
99.5x96cm.
Private collection
The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches which commemorates the "falling asleep" or death of Mary the Theotokos ("Mother of God", literally translated as God-bearer), and her bodily resurrection before being taken up into heaven. The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the Dormition not on a fixed date, but on the Sunday nearest August 15. More on The Dormition of the Mother of God
WERTINGER, Hans, Master of Attel. was a German painter and woodcutter. An artist as ambitious as Lucas Cranach the Elder, he became one of Germany's first accredited court painters, working for the Dukes of Landshut in the triangular area defined by Ingolstadt, Straubing and Munich. He was probably first taught by a certain Sigmund Gleismüller (c. 1449-1511). Hans Mair (Mair von Landshut), who had come from Augsburg and had settled in Landshut, seems to have prompted him to work as a journeyman in Augsburg. His acquisition of citizen's rights in Landshut in 1491 suggests he was a master by that date.
Mair seemingly procured him a series of commissions between 1497 and 1499 from Prince Bishop Philipp of Freising (1480-1541). As in Mair's work, several scenes are assembled in the arch and the side sections, creating a cramped Late Gothic framing architecture. The large heads and bulky angular bodies are also typically Late Gothic.
Other early works are glass paintings for windows in St Jakob church, Staubing, and the Heiliggeistkirche, Landshut. A considerable number of paintings and woodcut designs carried out by Wertinger after 1515 have survived. Woodcuts include illustrations for a translation of Sallust, presented to Emperor Maximilian. Wertinger's court portraits represent an individual contribution to the genre. More on WERTINGER, Hans, Master of Attel
WERTINGER, Hans, Master of Attel
Ascension of Christ
oil on panel
129 x 117.4 cm
Private collection
The Ascension of Jesus is the Christian belief, reflected in the major Christian creeds and confessional statements, that Jesus ascended to Heaven after his resurrection, where he was exalted as Lord and Christ, sitting at the right hand of God. The Gospels and other New Testament writings imply resurrection and exaltation as a single event. In Acts, Jesus' ascension is situated on the fortieth day counting from the resurrection in the presence of eleven of his apostles, thereby putting a limit on the number of resurrection appearances, and effectively excluding Paul's conversion experience from the bona fide resurrection appearances.
In Christian art, the ascending Jesus is often shown blessing an earthly group below him, signifying the entire Church. The Feast of the Ascension is celebrated on the 40th day of Easter, always a Thursday; some Orthodox traditions have a different calendar up to a month later than in the Western tradition, and while the Anglican Communion continues to observe the feast, many Protestant churches have abandoned the observance.
More on The Ascension of Jesus
Frederick Goodall (1822–1904)
The Finding of Moses, c. 1885
Oil on canvas
152.4 × 114.25 cm (60 × 45 in)
Private collection
PHARAOH,
becoming alarmed at the increasing power and numbers of the Israelites in
Egypt, ordered that every male child who might be born to them should be cast
into the river, and drowned. But the wife of a man named Levi felt that she
could not give up her baby, and for three months she hid him.
When she
could hide him no longer, she prepared a basket of rushes, and coated it with
pitch, so that it would float upon the river and keep out the water. In this
ark she placed her infant son, and hid the ark among the flags and bulrushes on
the river-bank, and set the child's sister to watch it.
Now it happened that the daughter of Pharaoh came with her
maidens to bathe in the river; and when she saw the basket she sent one of her
maids to fetch it. And when she looked at the child he wept, and she had
compassion for him, and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children,"
she said. Then the child's sister, who was watching, came forward and said to
Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I call to thee a Hebrew woman that she may
nurse the child for thee?" And when the princess said, "Go!"
she, the little sister of Moses, went and called her own mother, to whom
Pharaoh's daughter said, "Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will
give thee thy wages." More The
Finding of Moses
Frederick Goodall (1822–1904)
The Finding of Moses, c. 1862 (Previous version)
Oil on canvas
243.8 × 182.9 cm (96 × 72 in)
Auckland Art Gallery
Frederick Goodall RA (London 17 September
1822 – 29 July 1904) was an English artist, born in 1822, the second son of steel line
engraver Edward Goodall (1795–1870). He received his education at the
Wellington Road Academy.
Frederick's
first commission, for Isambard Brunel, was six watercolour paintings of the
Rotherhithe Tunnel. Four of these were exhibited at the Royal Academy when
Frederick was 16. His first oil won a Society of Arts silver medal. He
exhibited work at the Royal Academy 27 times between 1838 and 1859. He was
elected Associate of the Royal Academy in 1852.
Goodall
visited Egypt in 1858 and again in 1870, both times travelling and camping with
Bedouin tribesmen. In order to provide authentic detail to his paintings,
Goodall brought back sheep and goats from Egypt. The Egyptian theme was
prominent in his work, with 170 paintings being exhibited at the Royal Academy
over 46 years.
Goodall's work received high praise and acclaim
from critics and artists alike and he earned a fortune from his paintings. He
had a home built at Grim's Dyke, Harrow Weald, where he would entertain guests
such as the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII). More on Frederick Goodall
Florentine School 17th century
QUEEN OF SHEBA
Oil on canvas
71,5 x 149 cm ; 28 by 58 3/4 in
Private collection
The Queen of Sheba is a
Biblical figure. The tale of her visit to King Solomon has undergone extensive
Jewish, Arabian and Ethiopian elaborations, and has become the subject of one
of the most widespread and fertile cycles of legends in the Orient.
The queen of Sheba came to Jerusalem "with a very
great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious
stones"). "Never again came such an abundance of spices" as
those which she gave to Solomon. She came "to prove him with hard
questions", all of which Solomon answered to her satisfaction. They
exchanged gifts, after which she returned to her land. More on The Queen of Sheba
Florentine School was a major Italian school of art that flourished between the 13th and 16th centuries, extending from the Early Renaissance to the crisis of Renaissance culture.
The founder of the Florentine school was Giotto, whose work placed Florence in the foreground of pre-Renaissance art. The work of his successors, who included Taddeo Gaddi and Maso di Banco, developed along the lines he had originated. However, toward the middle of the 14th century conciseness and clarity of form (as seen in the work of A. di Bonaiuti) disappeared, and a tendency toward linear and flat form became prevalent (Nardo di Cione and, occasionally, Orcagna). In the last 30 years of the 14th century a trend toward the international Gothic style prevailed (Agnolo Gaddi and Lorenzo Monaco). More on Florentine School
Attributed to Otto Venius, LEYDE 1556 - 1629 BRUXELLES
CHRIST AND THE ADULTEROUS WOMAN
Oil on panel
94 x 74 cm ; 37 by 29 1/4 in
Private collection
Jesus and the woman taken in adultery – is a famous passage found in the Gospel of John, that has been the subject of much scholarly discussion.
Jesus has sat down in the temple to teach some of the people. A group of scribes and Pharisees confront Jesus, interrupting his teaching session. They bring in a woman, accusing her of committing adultery, claiming she was caught in the very act. They ask Jesus whether the punishment for someone like her should be stoning, as proscribed by Mosaic Law. Jesus first ignores the interruption, and writes on the ground as though he does not hear them. But when the woman's accusers continue their challenge, he states that the one who is without sin is the one who should cast the first stone. The accusers and congregants depart, leaving Jesus alone with the woman. Jesus asks the woman if anyone has condemned her. She answers that no one has condemned her. Jesus says that he, too, does not condemn her, and tells her to go and sin no more. More on Jesus and the woman taken in adultery
Otto van Veen, also known by
his Latinized name Otto Venius or Octavius Vaenius, (c.1556 – 6 May 1629) was a painter, draughtsman, and humanist active
primarily in Antwerp and Brussels in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth
century. He is known for running a large studio in Antwerp, producing several
emblem books, and for being, from 1594 or 1595 until 1598, Peter Paul Rubens's
teacher. His role as a classically educated humanist artist (a pictor doctus),
reflected in the Latin name by which he is often known, Octavius Vaenius, was
influential on the young Rubens, who would take on that role himself. More on
Otto van Veen
Pieter Brueghel the Younger, ANTWERP TOWARDS 1564 - 1636
THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI IN THE SNOW
Oil on an oak panel
36 x 57 cm ; 14 1/4 by 22 1/2 in
Private collection
The Adoration of the Magi (anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: A Magis
adoratur) is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of
Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the
West, having found Jesus by following a star, lay before him gifts of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh, and worship him. The Adoration of the Magi
Pieter Brueghel the Younger, (1564 – 1638) was
a Flemish painter, known for numerous copies after his father Pieter Bruegel
the Elder's work as well as his original compositions. The large output of his
studio, which produced for the local and export market, contributed to the
international spread of his father's imagery.
Pieter was
born in Brussels, the oldest son of Netherlandish painter Pieter Brueghel the
Elder. His father died in 1569, when Pieter the younger was only five years
old. Following the death of his mother in 1578, Pieter, together with his
brother Jan Brueghel the Elder and sister Marie, went to live with their
grandmother, an artist in her own right, possibly the first teacher of her two
grandsons.
The
Brueghel family moved to Antwerp sometime after 1578 and Pieter possibly
entered the studio of the landscape painter Gillis van Coninxloo (1544–1607).
His teacher left Antwerp in 1585 and in the 1584/1585 registers of the Guild of
Saint Luke, "Peeter Brugel" is listed as an independent master.
Antwerp School end of 16th Century, Circle of Frans Pourbus the Younger
THE ANNUNCIATION AFTER AN ENGRAVING BY PIETER VAN LAER
Oil on copper
42 x 31 cm ; 16 1/2 by 12 1/4 in
Private collection
The Annunciation referred to as the
Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the
Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by
the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother
of Jesus, the Son of God, marking his Incarnation. Gabriel told Mary to name
her son Yehoshua , meaning "YHWH is salvation".
According to Luke 1:26, the Annunciation
occurred "in the sixth month" of Elizabeth's pregnancy. Many
Christians observe this event with the Feast of the Annunciation on 25 March,
an approximation of the northern vernal equinox nine full months before
Christmas, the ceremonial birthday of Jesus. In England, this came to be known
as Lady Day. It marked the new year until 1752. The 2nd-century writer Irenaeus
of Lyon regarded the conception of Jesus as 25 March coinciding with the
Passion. More The
Annunciation
Frans Pourbus the younger (1569–1622) was a Flemish painter, son of Frans Pourbus the Elder and grandson of Pieter Pourbus. He was born in Antwerp and died in Paris. He is also referred to as "Frans II".
Pourbus worked for many of the highly influential people of his day, including the Brussels-based Spanish Regents of the Netherlands, the Duke of Mantua and Marie de' Medici, Queen of France. Works of his can be found in the Royal Collection, the National Museum in Warsaw, the Louvre, the Prado, the Rijksmuseum, the Royal College of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and many other museums. More on Frans Pourbus the younger
Pieter van Laer or Pieter Bodding van Laer (christened 14 December 1599, Haarlem – 1641-1642, probably in Italy) was a Dutch painter and printmaker. He was active in Rome for over a decade and was known for genre scenes, animal paintings and landscapes placed in the environs of Rome.
Pieter van Laer was an active member of the association of Flemish and Dutch artists in Rome known as the Bentvueghels. His nickname was Il Bamboccio. The style of genre painting he introduced was followed by other Northern and Italian painters. These followers became known as the Bamboccianti and a painting in this style as a Bambocciata. More on Pieter van Laer
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