What Makes Rembrandt So Great? A Look at 10 of His Most Iconic Works
As a young painter in Leiden, Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn signed his canvases with a monogram, but once he hit his stride in Amsterdam he began signing his work as we know him today, simply: Rembrandt. The 17th-century artist is known for his individual portraits and group likenesses that are the […]
Caravaggio and His Followers
By Keith Christiansen Trained in Milan and active in Rome (1592–1606), Naples (1606–7; 1609–10), Malta (1607–8), and Sicily (1608–9), Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610) was one of the most revolutionary figures of European art. His practice of painting directly from posed models violated the idealizing premise of Renaissance theory and promoted a new relationship between […]
Rediscovered Caravaggio Masterpiece “Ecce Homo” Debuts at Prado Museum
Caravaggio, a towering figure of the Italian Baroque, is renowned for his revolutionary use of chiaroscuro—an interplay of light and shadow that imbues his subjects with a visceral realism. Born Michelangelo Merisi in 1571 or 1573, Caravaggio led a tumultuous life marked by brawls, imprisonment, and even murder, culminating in his mysterious death at the […]