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Alba Madonna
The ''Alba Madonna'' is a tondo (circular) oil on wood transferred to canvas painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael, created ''c.'' 1511, depicting Mary, Jesus, and John the Baptist in a typical Italian countryside. After a century and a half in Italy, it was in the collection of the Dukes of Alba in Spain until 1836, when it was sold to Nicholas I of Russia, and it became one of the highlights of the Imperial Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. Clandestinely sold to Andrew W. Mellon by the government of the Soviet Union in 1931, it has been held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., since 1937. Description John the Baptist is holding up a cross to Jesus, which the baby Jesus is grasping. All three figures are contemplating the cross, which is being accepted by Jesus as a token of the Crucifixion. The three figures are grouped to the left in the round design, but the image is balanced by the outstretched left arm of the Madonna holding ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual achievement of the Platonism in the Renaissance, Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur. Together with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period. His father Giovanni Santi was court painter to the ruler of the small but highly cultured city of Urbino. He died when Raphael was eleven, and Raphael seems to have played a role in managing the family workshop from this point. He probably trained in the workshop of Pietro Perugino, and was described as a fully trained "master" by 1500. He worked in or for several cities in north Italy until in 1508 he moved to Rome at the invitation of Pope Julius II, to work on the Apostolic Palace at Vatican ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Christ Child
The Christ Child—also known as Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, Child Jesus, Divine Child, Divine Infant and the Holy Child—refers to Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ during his early years. The term refers to a period of life of Jesus, Jesus' life, described in the canonical Gospels, encompassing his nativity of Jesus, nativity in Bethlehem, the visit of the Magi, and his Presentation of Jesus, presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem. It also includes his childhood, culminating in the event where his parents Finding in the Temple, find him in the Temple at age 12, after which the Gospels Unknown years of Jesus, remain silent about his life until the start of his ministry of Jesus, ministry. Liturgical feasts Liturgical feasts relating to Christ's infancy and childhood include: * Christmas, The Feast of the Nativity of Jesus Christ (25 December) * The Feast of the Circumcision of Christ#Byzantine Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, Feast of the Circumcision of Christ (1 Janu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Andrew Graham-Dixon
Andrew Michael Graham-Dixon (born 26 December 1960) is a British art historian, art critic, author and broadcaster. He is chief art critic at ''The Independent'' and ''The Telegraph'' newspapers, and presents art documentaries for the BBC, as well as five series of ''Italy Unpacked'', in which he explored the culture and cuisine of Italy with chef Giorgio Locatelli. He has written a number of books about art and artists, including a biography of Caravaggio, which was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction. Life and career Early life and education Andrew Graham-Dixon is a son of the barrister Anthony Philip Graham-Dixon (1929–2012), Q.C., and (Margaret) Suzanne "Sue" (née Villar, 1931–2010), a publicist for music and opera companies. Graham-Dixon was educated at Westminster School, a public school. He continued his education at Christ Church, Oxford, where he read English. He graduated in 1981 and then pursued doctoral studies at the Courtauld Insti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspired by models from classical antiquity and had a lasting influence on Western art. Michelangelo's creative abilities and mastery in a range of artistic arenas define him as an archetypal Renaissance man, along with his rival and elder contemporary, Leonardo da Vinci. Given the sheer volume of surviving correspondence, sketches, and reminiscences, Michelangelo is one of the best-documented artists of the 16th century. He was lauded by contemporary biographers as the most accomplished artist of his era. Michelangelo achieved fame early. Two of his best-known works, the ''Pietà (Michelangelo), Pietà'' and ''David (Michelangelo), David'', were sculpted before the age of 30. Although he did not consider himself a painter, Michelangelo created ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Sistine Chapel Ceiling
The Sistine Chapel ceiling (), painted in fresco by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is a cornerstone work of High Renaissance Renaissance art, art. The Sistine Chapel is the large papal chapel built within the Vatican City, Vatican between 1477 and 1480 by Pope Sixtus IV, for whom the chapel is named. The ceiling was painted at the commission of Pope Julius II. The ceiling's various painted elements form part of a larger scheme of decoration within the chapel. Prior to Michelangelo's contribution, the walls were painted by several leading artists of the late 15th century including Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and Pietro Perugino. After the ceiling was painted, Raphael created Raphael Cartoons, a set of large tapestries (1515–1516) to cover the lower portion of the wall. Michelangelo returned to the chapel to create ''The Last Judgment (Michelangelo), The Last Judgment'', a large wall fresco situated behind the altar. The chapel's decoration illustrates m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Paolo Giovio
Paolo Giovio (also spelled ''Paulo Jovio''; Latin: ''Paulus Jovius''; 19 April 1483 – 11 December 1552) was an Italian physician, historian, biographer, and prelate. Early life Little is known about Giovio's youth. He was a native of Como; his family was from the Isola Comacina of Lake Como. He belonged to the Zanobi, one of the oldest and most prominent families in Como, and was devoted to his cultural patrimony, especially to Como’s great historians, the elder and younger Pliny. His father, a notary, died around 1500. His guardian and mentor was his elder brother, Benedetto Giovio (1471– c. 1545), a prominent civic figure, local historian and antiquarian who, among other projects, was involved with Cesare Cesariano on the translation and annotation of Vitruvius’ ''De architectura'' (Como, 1521). In compliance with his brother’s wishes, Paolo trained as a physician in Pavia and Padua (1498–1507), studying with Marcantonio della Torre and Pietro Pompona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Panel Painting
A panel painting is a painting made on a flat panel of wood, either a single piece or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century, panel painting was the normal method, when not painting directly onto a wall ( fresco) or on vellum (used for miniatures in illuminated manuscripts). Wood panels were also used for mounting vellum paintings. History Panel painting is very old; it was a very prestigious medium in Greece and Rome, but only very few examples of ancient panel paintings have survived. A series of 6th century BC painted tablets from Pitsa (Greece) represent the oldest surviving Greek panel paintings. Most classical Greek paintings that were famous in their day seem to have been of a size comparable to smaller modern works – perhaps up to a half-length portrait size. However, for a generation in the second quarter of the fifth-century BC there was a movement, called the "new painting" and led by Polygnotus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Passion Of Jesus
The Passion (from Latin , "to suffer, bear, endure") is the short final period before the death of Jesus, described in the four canonical gospels. It is commemorated in Christianity every year during Holy Week. The ''Passion'' may include, among other events, Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, his cleansing of the Temple, his anointing, the Last Supper, his agony, his arrest, his trials before the Sanhedrin and before Pilate, his crucifixion and death, and his burial. Those parts of the four canonical Gospels that describe these events are known as the Passion narratives. In some Christian communities, commemoration of the Passion also includes remembrance of the sorrow of Mary, the mother of Jesus, on the Friday of Sorrows. The word ''passion'' has taken on a more general application and now may also apply to accounts of the suffering and death of Christian martyrs, sometimes using the Latin form ''passio''. Narratives according to the four canonical gospels A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Anemone
''Anemone'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Plants of the genus are commonly called windflowers. They are native to the temperate and subtropical regions of all regions except Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica. The genus is closely related to several other genera including '' Anemonoides'', '' Anemonastrum'', '' Hepatica'', and '' Pulsatilla''. Some botanists include these genera within ''Anemone''. Description ''Anemone'' are perennials that have basal leaves with long leaf-stems that can be upright or prostrate. Leaves are simple or compound with lobed, parted, or undivided leaf blades. The leaf margins are toothed or entire. Flowers with 4–27 sepals are produced singly, in cymes of 2–9 flowers, or in umbels, above a cluster of leaf- or sepal-like bracts. Sepals may be any color. The pistils have one ovule. The flowers have nectaries, but petals are missing in the majority of species. The fruits are ovoid to obovoid sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Dandelion
''Taraxacum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus has a near-cosmopolitan distribution, absent only from tropical and polar areas. Two of the most common species worldwide, '' T. officinale'' (the common dandelion) and '' T. erythrospermum'' (the red-seeded dandelion), are European species introduced into North America, where they are non-native. Dandelions thrive in temperate regions and can be found in yards, gardens, sides of roads, among crops, and in many other habitats. Like other members of the family Asteraceae, they have very small flowers collected together into a composite flower head. Each single flower in a head is called a ''floret''. In part due to their abundance, along with being a generalist species, dandelions are one of the most vital early spring nectar sources for a wide host of polli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Viola (plant)
''Viola'', commonly known as the violets, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Violaceae. It is the largest genus in the family, containing over 680 species. Most species are found in the temperateness, temperate Northern Hemisphere; however, some are also found in widely divergent areas such as Hawaii, Australasia, and the Andes. Some ''Viola'' species are perennial plants, some are annual plants, and a few are small shrubs. Many species, varieties and cultivars are grown in gardens for their ornamental flowers. In horticulture, the term pansy is normally used for those multi-colored large-flowered cultivars which are raised annually or biennially from seed and used extensively in bedding (horticulture), bedding. Description ''Viola'' species can be Annual plant, annual or Perennial plant, perennial, and can take the form of Herbaceous plant, herbs, shrubs or very rarely treelets. In acaulescent taxa the foliage and flowers appear to rise from the ground. The remain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Cyclamen
''Cyclamen'' ( or ) is a genus of 23 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. In English, it is known by the common names sowbread or swinebread. ''Cyclamen'' species are native to Europe and the Mediterranean Basin east to the Caucasus and Iran, with one species in Somalia. They grow from tubers and are valued for their flowers with upswept petals and variably patterned leaves. It was traditionally classified in the family Primulaceae, was reclassified in the family Myrsinaceae in 2000 and finally, in 2009 with the introduction of the APG III system, was returned to the subfamily Myrsinoideae within the family Primulaceae. Names ''Cyclamen'' is Medieval Latin, from earlier Latin ''cyclamīnos'', from Ancient Greek κυκλάμινος, ''kyklā́mīnos'' (also ''kyklāmī́s''), from κύκλος, ''kýklos'' "circle", because of the round tuber. In English the species of the genus are commonly called by the genus name. Pliny the Elder des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
