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Biography |
Matteo di Giovanni di Bartolo was born in Borgo Sansepolcro around 1430. His family relocated to Siena and he is firmly associated with the art of that city. Matteo was twice married—first in 1463 to a wealthy noble woman and, after her death, to a rich widow, who made it possible for Matteo to buy real estate and by whom he fathered many children. |
Documentation concerning the early phases of Matteo's life and career as an artist is scanty and nothing is recorded about his apprenticeship. Left to conjecture, we might imagine him as having been trained in the workshop of sculptor/painter Lorenzo di Pietro, better known as Vecchietta but he clearly was influenced by Stefano di Giovanni, called Sassetta and Domenico di Bartolo. The miniaturist Girolamo da Cremona and the Florentine painter Antonio del Pollaiuolo also seemed to have contributed to Matteo's distinctive style. In 1452, Matteo entered into partnership with the painter Giovanni di Pietro, and the two shared living quarters in the San Salvatore neighborhood of Siena in 1453. That Matteo, at this time, is recorded as having colored and gilded a sculpture of the Archangel Gabriel by the celebrated Sienese sculptor Jacopo della Quercia is a reminder of the sort of tasks performed by an artist in the 15th century. Matteo and Giovanni also collaborated in the embellishment of organ shutters in the Siena Cathedral and in the decoration of the San Bernardino Chapel in that cathedral. |
That Matteo had succeeded in establishing an artistic reputation is demonstrated by his selection as one of four Sienese painters who were to furnish altarpieces for the chapels of the Pienza Cathedral erected as part of the urban renewal of the town. For this prestigious commission Matteo painted three altarpieces. Dating to the years 1460–62, these paintings offer a secure point from which to evaluate Matteo's early style and to reconstruct his development as an artist. |
The three paintings in Pienza also help to explain the next phase in his style. The first of these altarpieces, a large Madonna and Saints signed "Opus Matthei Johannis De Senis" depicts the enthroned Madonna surrounded by Sts. Catherine, Matthew, Bartholomew, and Lucy. The composition and figure types are reminiscent of those found in Sano di Pietro's paintings while the draperies recall the work of Vecchietta and the St. Catherine type is derived from Domenico di Bartolo. Above this panel, in a lunette, is a Flagellation of Christ scene, which, with its violent action, twisted but anatomically correct bodies, and volumetric plasticity, shows a familiarity with the progressive Florentine draftsmanship of Pollaiuolo. |
Work from Matteo's middle period includes an altarpiece dated to 1477 for the oratory of Santa Maria delle Nevi in Siena; the altarpiece of Santa Barbara, dated to 1478–79 commissioned by the baker's guild for their chapel in the Church of San Domenico, Siena; and what is considered Matteo di Giovanni's masterpiece, the Massacre of the Innocents, which is signed and dated 1482. |
During his mature period, Matteo began to paint idyllic and naturalistic landscape scenes employing delicate, lyrical colors derived from the Umbrian school of painting. Matteo's brand of eclecticism tended to evolve from local taste and tradition. For this reason it is not surprising to find him producing delicate, sweet panels of the Madonna and Child, such as the panel from the Kress Collection now in the Columbia Museum of Art, depicting the Madonna and child with Saints Sebastian and Catherine of Siena and the Madonna and Child with Saint Christopher and Saint Catherine now in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, at almost the same moment that he was painting Judith with the Head of Holofernes (c.1490) now in the Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington and the horrific events of The Massacre of the Innocents. |
Matteo di Giovanni died in Siena in 1495. He is credited with teaching Guidoccio Cozzarelli (1450–1516/17) of Siena, an altarpiece painter and miniaturist. |
References |
Further reading |
"Matteo di Giovanni's lost altarpiece for Sant'Agostino, Asciano". National Gallery. |
Pope-Hennessy, John & Kanter, Laurence B. (1987). The Robert Lehman Collection I, Italian Paintings. New York, Princeton: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in association with Princeton University Press. ISBN 0870994794.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) (see index; plate 68) |
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Matteo da Siena" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. |
Matthias Grünewald (c. 1470 – 31 August 1528; also known as Mathis Gothart Nithart) was a German Renaissance painter of religious works who ignored Renaissance classicism to continue the style of late medieval Central European art into the 16th century. |
Only ten paintings—including several polyptychs—and thirty-five drawings survive, all religious, although many others were lost at sea on their way to Sweden as war booty. He was obscure until the late nineteenth century, when many of his paintings were attributed to Albrecht Dürer, who is now seen as his stylistic antithesis. His largest and most famous work is the Isenheim Altarpiece created c. 1512 to 1516. |
Life |
He was recognised in his own lifetime, as shown by his commissions, yet the details of his life are unusually unclear for a painter of his significance at this date. The first source to sketch his biography comes from the German art historian Joachim von Sandrart, who describes him around 1505 working on the exterior decoration of an altarpiece by Albrecht Dürer in Frankfurt. This is the sort of work typically performed by apprentices and therefore an estimate of his age can be reached, suggesting he was born in 1475. Sandrart records that Grünewald had as an apprentice the painter Hans Grimmer, who became famous in his time, but most of whose works were lost in the Thirty Years' War. Sandrart describes Grünewald as leading a withdrawn and melancholy life, and marrying unhappily. |
More recent investigations have provided further information on Grünewald's life. In 1511 he became court artist of Uriel von Gemmingen, Archbishop of Mainz, and he also worked for the next archbishop, Albert of Brandenburg. About 1510 he received a commission from the Frankfurt merchant Jacob Heller and settled in nearby Frankfurt where records indicate he bought a house and married Anna, a converted Jew, then probably aged 18. The marriage was not happy and in 1523 she was institutionalised with what is variously described as mental illness and demonic possession. |
From 1512 to 1514 or 1515 he worked on the Isenheim altarpiece, apparently in partnership with another Mathis, variously surnamed Nithart, Neithart, von Würzburg (after his place of birth), or Gothardt. Grünewald seems to have left Isenheim in a hurry, returning to Frankfurt, and his subsequent poverty suggests he was not fully paid for the altarpiece. In 1527 he entered the services of the wealthy and noble von Erbach family, apparently with a child (whether his own or adopted, is unclear). He most probably died in 1532, although sources vary. |
There has been considerable uncertainty about the details of his life. In 1938 Walter Karl Zülch published the theory that Grünewald and his partner Nithart/Gothardt were the same person; this Nithart/Gothardt was a painter, engineer, and "water artist" born in Würzburg in the 1460s or maybe 1470s and probably dying in 1528. This theory is now generally discredited, although more recent historians believe Nithart/Gothardt may have pretended to be Grünewald for business reasons. |
Works |
Only religious works are included in his small surviving corpus, the most famous being the Isenheim Altarpiece, completed 1515, now in the Musée d'Unterlinden, Colmar. Its nine images on twelve panels are arranged on double wings to present three views (rather than just the open and closed states of triptych altarpieces), according to the season or occasion. The first view with the outer wings closed shows a Crucifixion flanked by Saint Sebastien and Saint Anthony, with a predella showing the entombment. When the first set of wings is opened, the Annunciation, Angelic Concert (sometimes interpreted as the Birth of Ecclesia) Mary bathing Christ, and Resurrection are displayed. The third view discloses a carved and gilded wood altarpiece by Nikolaus Hagenauer, flanked by the Temptation of St. Anthony and Anthony's visit to Saint Paul. As well as being by far his greatest surviving work, the altarpiece contains most of his surviving painting by surface area, being 2.65 metres high and over 5 metres wide at its fullest extent. |
His other works are in Germany, except for a small Crucifixion in Washington and another in Basel, Switzerland. Around 1510 he was asked to paint four saints in grisaille for the outside of the wings of Albrecht Dürer's Heller Altarpiece in Frankfurt. Dürer's work was destroyed by fire and survives only in copies, but the wings have survived, one pair of saints being displayed in Frankfurt's Municipal Art Gallery and the other in Karlsruhe's, Staatliche Kunsthalle. There are also the late Tauberbischofsheim altarpiece in the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, and the Establishment of the Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome (1517–1519), Augustiner Museum, Freiburg. A large panel of Saint Erasmus and Saint Maurice in Munich probably dates from 1521 to 1524, and was apparently part of a larger altarpiece project, the rest of which has not survived. Other works are in Munich, Karlsruhe, Aschaffenburg and Stuppach (:de). Altogether four somber and awe-filled Crucifixions survive. The visionary character of his work, with its expressive colour and line, is in stark contrast to Dürer's works. His paintings are known for their dramatic forms, vivid colors, and depiction of light. |
Reputation |
The Lutheran theologian Philipp Melanchthon is one of the few contemporary writers to refer to Grünewald, who is rather puzzlingly described as "moderate" in style, when compared with Dürer and Cranach; what paintings this judgement is based on is uncertain. By the end of the century, when the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolph II, embarked on his quest to secure as many Dürer paintings as possible, the Isenheim Altarpiece was already generally believed to be a Dürer. |
In the late 19th century he was rediscovered, and became something of a cult figure, with the angst-laden expressionism—and absence of any direct classicism—of the Isenheim Altarpiece appealing to both German Nationalists and Modernists. Joris-Karl Huysmans promoted his art enthusiastically in both novels and journalism, rather as Proust did that of Vermeer. His apparent sympathies with the peasants in the Peasants' War also brought him admiration from the political left. |
The composer Paul Hindemith based his 1938 opera Mathis der Maler on the life of Grünewald during the German Peasants' War; scene Six includes a partial re-enactment of some scenes from the Isenheim Altarpiece. |
Elias Canetti wrote his novel Auto-da-Fé surrounded by reproductions of the Isenheim altarpiece stuck to the wall. |
German author W. G. Sebald traces the life story of Grünewald in his first literary work, After Nature. This book-length prose-poem uses the preoccupations of Grünewald and especially his creation of the Isenheim Altarpiece to communicate an intensely apocalyptic vision of a world that has abandoned nature. The Isenheim Altarpiece also features in the last chapter of Sebald's novel The Emigrants, in which the painter Max Ferber describes his intuition of the extreme power of pain after seeing Grünewald's work. |
Veneration |
He is commemorated as an artist and saint by the Lutheran Church on April 6, along with Dürer and Cranach. |
Gallery |
Notes |
References |
Grünewald, Matthias. In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon. 4th edition. Volume 7, Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts, Leipzig/Vienna 1885–1892, p. 875. |
Andersson, Christiane. "Grünewald, Matthias." In Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, (accessed January 30, 2012; subscription required). |
Bautz, Friedrich Wilhelm (1990). "Matthias Grünewald". In Bautz, Friedrich Wilhelm (ed.). Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German). Vol. 2. Hamm: Bautz. cols. 367–369. ISBN 3-88309-032-8. |
Bryda, Gregory. (2023) The Trees of the Cross: Wood as Subject and Medium in Late Medieval Germany. New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 78–129. |
Cuttler, Charles D. (1968) Northern Painting from Pucelle to Bruegel. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. ISBN 0-03-072500-3 |
Ladendorf, Heinz (1966), "Grünewald, Matthias", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 7, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 191–197 |
Woltmann, Alfred (1879), "Matthias Grünewald", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 10, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 52–53 |
External links |
"Mathias Grunewald" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. XI (9th ed.). 1880. p. 225. |
Media related to Paintings by Matthias Grünewald at Wikimedia Commons |
Grünewald Gallery at MuseumSyndicate |
Grünewald paintings at CGFA |
wgsebald.de W. G. Sebald about Grünewald |
Matthias Grünewald. paintings |
https://isenheimer.antrovista.com Web app Isenheimer Altar |
Matthias Withoos (1627–1703), also known as Calzetta Bianca and Calzetti, was a Dutch painter of still lifes and city scenes, best known for the details of insects, reptiles and undergrowth in the foreground of his pictures. |
Life |
Withoos was born in Amersfoort. He studied under Jacob van Campen, at his painters' school just outside the city at his country house, and then with Otto Marseus van Schrieck. When he was 21, Withoos made a trip to Rome with van Schrieck, and Willem van Aelst. In Rome they joined the group of northern artists known as the "Bentvueghels" ("Birds of a feather"), and Withoos went by the alias "Calzetta Bianca" ("White Hose") — a translation of his name into Italian. Withoos' work caught the eye of the cardinal Leopoldo de Medici, who commissioned various paintings from him. |
In 1653, the artist returned to Amersfoort. When French troops occupied Amersfoort in the "Disastrous Year" of 1672, Withoos fled from Amersfoort to Hoorn, where he would remain until his death in 1703. Many of Withoos' seven children also followed in his footsteps, including the botanical artist Alida Withoos. |
Following the artist's career as a painter of cityscapes, his student Caspar van Wittel was instrumental in developing the genre of architecture vedute in Rome. Jacob van Staverden was possibly also one of his pupils. |
Works |
Still life paintings by Withoos, like those of his teacher Van Schrieck, are notable for their close-ups of dark and mysterious wild plants and undergrowth inhabited by insects, reptiles and other creatures from the natural world. These paintings, many of which have a vanitas motif, were popular with collectors of cabinet paintings. |
Additionally, he painted numerous large cityscapes, such as the View of the city of Amersfoort acquired in 2001 by the Museum Flehite in Amersfoort. This work of a size of 2.5 x 4 m was the largest city view in the Netherlands. Two versions of "De Grashaven" were in the collection of the Westfries Museum in Hoorn until they were stolen at the end of 2005. |
References |
External links |
Media related to Matthias Withoos at Wikimedia Commons |
Matthys or Matthijs Naiveu (16 April 1647 in Leiden – 4 June 1726 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. |
Biography |
According to Houbraken he was trained in drawing by Abraham Toorenvliet (1620–1692), a glass painter and drawing instructor (and father of Jacob Toorenvliet), and he learned the art of painting from Gerrit Dou. At the time Houbraken was writing he was still alive and painting in Amsterdam, where he worked as the "Hop inspector" for the brewers of Amsterdam. His works were genre pieces; merry company interiors with people drinking tea or playing cards, but also kraamkamertjes, or visits to newborn baby's. His largest work was a seven works of mercy, which Houbraken found his best work. In 1671 he entered the Leiden Guild of St. Luke and he was highly productive as a painter of signed work; his earliest dated painting is from 1668, and his last from 1721. |
Paintings |
His paintings from his earlier years such as the children blowing soap bubbles (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) are strongly influenced by Gerrit Dou, with architectural elements framing the scene. Later he adopted a more general genre-works style. |
References |
External links |
Kremer collection - Man smoking a pipe |
The Met - Visit to the newborn |
MFA Boston - Boy and girl blowing bubbles |
Rijksmuseum - The Holy Heronymous |
Mattia Bortoloni (31 March 1696 – 9 June 1750) was a painter of the early Italian Rococo period. He began his career as a student of Antonio Balestra of Verona and was active throughout northern Italy. |
Biography |
For many years the growth of Bortoloni's reputation was constrained by two factors. First, his work was heavily centered on frescos (that is, wall paintings created in wet plaster), which generally must be viewed on-site and are often located in places of restricted accessibility. Second, some of his most important work became, through the years, anonymous or mis-attributed to others, including his better-known rival, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, who was born in the same year. Since 1950, however, appreciation of Bortoloni's work has been revived by new scholarly discoveries and several exhibitions with informative catalogs. |
The first major breakthrough came in 1950 with publication of Nicola Ivanoff's provocative discovery that the mysterious and anonymous 104-panel fresco cycle at Villa Cornaro-Gable, the acclaimed villa in Piombino Dese designed by the Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio in 1551, was in fact the precocious work of Bortoloni, executed in 1717 when the artist was just 21 years old. The new attribution and the dating of the frescos moved Bortoloni out from Tiepolo's shadow so that he could be seen as an innovative artist in his own right. Antonio Romagnolo made the point when he noted that the fresco cycle at Villa Cornaro introduces "a richness of new elements that anticipates the rococo of Tiepolo." |
The early 20th century brought the further discovery that Bortoloni had flexibly based his imagery at Villa Cornaro-Gable in large part upon an illustrated Bible published in Amsterdam in 1700, apparently in response to the requirement of the patron, Proc. Cornaro. |
Another event prompting reevaluation of Bortoloni's work was the ambitious program launched in 1982 to restore Bortoloni's most spectacular work, the cupola of the Sanctuario Basilica "Regina Montis Regalis" in Vicoforte, south of Turin. Bortoloni's immense fresco ceiling spans one of the world's largest free-standing cupolas, more than 6,000 square meters in area. |
Other notable Bortoloni works can be found in: (Venice) the Church of S. Nicolò da Tolentino and Ca' Vendramin-Calergi: (Veneto) the parish churches of Castelguglielmo and Rovigo; (Lombardy) Palazzo Clerici in Milan and the Cathedral in Monza; (Piedmont) the parish church of San Lorenzo and Palazzo Falletti di Barolo in Turin. |
References |
Sources |
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