Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema | Stile artistico

Considerato uno dei pittori Vittoriani più influenti, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912) costituisce una presenza molto particolare nel panorama artistico del XIX secolo; lo stile ed i contenuti delle sue opere manifestano allo stesso tempo elementi antichi e moderni, visitati in chiave personale, tanto che l'Art Journal del 1870 scrisse su di lui: «Alma-Tadema è difficile da classificare: non appartiene a nessuna scuola, o per meglio dire, è lui stesso una scuola».

Bartholomeus van der Helst | The Musician, 1662

Tuning the strings of her theorbo-lute, a beautiful musician directs an engaging glance at the viewer.

The foreground of the picture displays a viola da gamba and sheet music for tenor and soprano voices, suggesting that the lute player anticipates a duet.

Dutch painters of the seventeenth century frequently associated music-making and courtship with amateur concerts, providing opportunities for mingling and flirtation. | Source: © Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bartholomeus van der Helst | The Musician, 1662 | Metropolitan Museum of Art

Vincent van Gogh | Roses and Sunflowers, 1886

Van Gogh painted this still life during one of his crucial transitional phases.

Between 1886 and 1888 he spent two decisive years in Paris, which initiated a change in his working method, especially his understanding of color effect.

Schooled in the work of the French Romantic Eugène Delacroix, his colors lighten during this period and he begins to experiment with extreme contrasts.

In "Roses and Sunflowers", one of more than 30 still lifes he produced in Paris, this complementary contrast is created using red and green.

Vincent van Gogh | Roses and Sunflowers, 1886 |Kunsthalle Mannheim, Germany

Ada Breedveld, 1944 | Naïve painter

Ada Breedveld was born in The Netherlands, in Dordrecht and brought up in Rotterdam.

She has lived and worked in Amsterdam since 1983.

Ada is a self-taught artist. Since childhood, it has been her lifelong aspiration to become an artist.

Perseverance paid off and her work is now recognized in the world of Art Naïf.

George Hendrik Breitner | L'impressionista di Amsterdam

George Hendrik Breitner (Rotterdam, 1857 - Amsterdam, 1923) è stato un pittore Olandese.

Allievo di August Allebé, George Breitner fu un pittore di dichiarata impostazione impressionista.

Le sue opere, a detta di alcuni storici, avrebbero influenzato sia la pittura di Vincent van Gogh che quella di Piet Mondrian.

Johannes Vermeer | View of Delft, 1660-61

"Ever since I saw the View of Delft in the museum in The Hague, I have known that I had seen the most beautiful painting in the world" - Marcel Proust.

View of Delft (Dutch: Zicht op Delft) is an oil painting by Johannes Vermeer (Dutch painter, 1632-1675), painted c. 1659-1661.

The painting of the Dutch artist's hometown is among his best known.

It is one of three known paintings of Delft by Vermeer, along with The Little Street and the lost painting House Standing in Delft, and his only cityscape.

Vincent van Gogh | Garden with Courting Couples, 1887

Van Gogh called this sunny park scene 'the painting of the garden with lovers'.

Couples in love are strolling under the young chestnut trees and sitting along the winding paths.

He used a free variation on the technique of the Pointillists.

Essential Facts:

Title: Garden with Courting Couples: Square Saint-Pierre

Date: Paris, May 1887

Artist: Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)

Medium: oil on canvas

Dimensions: 75.0 cm x 113.0 cm

Current location: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

Vincent van Gogh | Landscape under a stormy sky, 1889

Van Gogh's dramatically atmospheric Paysage sous un ciel mouvementé is one of the finest of the artist's Arles landscapes.

Painted amidst the most fruitful period of the artist's career, when his canvases were flooded with rich passages of densely-painted color, the composition depicts a verdant field under threat of an explosive rainstorm.

Van Gogh creates a scene of intense anticipation here, replete with psychological drama as the laborers hurry to finish their work before the heavens rain down upon them.

Vincent van Gogh | Landscape Under a Stormy Sky, 1889 | Sotheby's