Old Masters Academy

Posts Tagged "Studio"

Palettes of Famous Artists.  The Anders Zorn Palette

Palettes of Famous Artists. The Anders Zorn Palette

Palettes of Famous Artists. Zorn Palette Swedish painter Anders Zorn (1860-1920)  has long been associated with a limited palette of four colors. Rosemary Hoffman, in the book Northern Light: Nordic Art at the Turn of the Century wrote, “Zorn was noted for executing paintings using a sober color scale limited to white, ochre, vermilion, and ivory black.” Hans Henrik Brummer, writing in the 1986 catalog on Zorn, said “basically his register was limited to black, white, earth yellows and vermilion; other pigments could be used if local accents were needed.” Several art teachers, such as Jeff Watts, use the “Zorn palette” (sometimes substituting cadmium red light for vermilion) as a teaching tool because it provides students with a finite range of color choices with a…

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Fine Artist Studio. Rembrandt’s Studio

Fine Artist Studio. Rembrandt’s Studio

The former residence of Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn has been restored to its former glory; the way it was when Rembrandt lived here in the 17th century. Everything’s there: his studio, his living quarters and his art. You’ll most definitely be surprised by his curiosity cabinet. When Rembrandt filed bankruptcy in 1656 an inventory was made and his valuable possessions were sold. Thankfully the list with Rembrandt’s inventory was saved and that’s how you can get a representative glimpse on Rembrandt’s life today. Besides the rooms of the house, the Rembrandt House Museum shows:  Paintings by Rembrandt’s contemporaries, his pupils and his teacher ‘Pieter Lastman’. Rembrandt’s graphical work: The museum harbors a large collection of 260 Rembrandt etchings (in…

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Palettes of Famous Artists. Art materials

Palettes of Famous Artists. Art materials

Palettes of Famous Artists Gauguin believed in: “Pure colour! Everything must be sacrificed to it.” Yet, overall, his tones were muted, and quite close together. Marion-Boddy Evans draws our attention to a portable palette found in his painting studio after he died, from which it would appear Gauguin didn’t lay out his colours in any particular order. Nor does he seem to have ever cleaned his palette, instead mixing fresh colours on top of dried-up paint.

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The famous Swedish painter

Anders Zorn is the famous Swedish painter. He is famous for his paintings of the people of Dalarna, the part of Sweden where he was born, and his nudes in the open space. He earned a world-wide reputation as a portraitist. He made seven journeys to the USA. His models included three different American presidents. His art made him wealthy and he was thus able to build up a considerable collection of art. The objects were not only bought in his native country but also during the many travels he made abroad. In their joint will, Anders and Emma Zorn donated their entire holdings to the Swedish State. Some of his most important works can be seen at the National…

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Artist in his Studio: a French impressionist painter

Artist in his Studio This is a view of Claude Monet standing in his first studio amidst his favorite canvases. The light of the afternoon is almost palpable. This room located in his main house at Giverny was turned into his sitting-room after 1890. The picture was made in springtime according to the tulips behind Monet. The photo reveals how much the painter loved flowers. There were at least six vases in his studio on this day! When Monet became successful, he built a new house in the corner of his garden, where he moved his studio. He had now a well lit large room to work in and to store his paintings. The former studio became a place where he used…

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Victorian Classical Realist Painter

An English Classical Realist painter and sculptor. Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, an English Classical Realist painter and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical and classical subject matter. The Classical Realist movement is currently sustained through art schools based on the Atelier Method.  These ateliers are founded with the goal of revitalizing art education by reintroducing rigorous training in traditional drawing and painting techniques, employing teaching methodologies that were used in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. These schools pass on a method of instruction which melds formal academic art training with the influence of the French Impressionists. Under the atelier model, art students study in the studio of an established master to learn how to draw and paint with realistic accuracy and an emphasis on rendering form convincingly. The foundation of these programs rests on an intensive study of the human figure, renderings of plaster casts of classical sculpture, and the…

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French Portrait Artist in his studio: Henri Fantin-Latour

French Portrait Artist in his studio: Henri Fantin-Latour

Henri Fantin-Latour (14 January 1836 – 25 August 1904) was a French painter and lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers. As a youth, he received drawing lessons from his father, who was an artist. In 1850 he entered the Ecole de Dessin, where he studied with Lecoq de Boisbaudran. After studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1854, he devoted much time to copying the works of the old masters in the Louvre. Although he befriended several of the young artists who would later be associated with Impressionism, including Whistler and Manet, Fantin’s own work remained conservative and classical  in style. Whistler brought attention to Fantin in England, where his still-lifes sold so well that they were “practically unknown in France during his lifetime”. In addition to his realistic paintings, Fantin-Latour created imaginative lithographs inspired by…

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What you Need to Know About Being a Self-supporting Artist or Designer

What is it like to be a freelance artist, and what exactly do you study to become one? I will tell you what courses I took in college that were useful to me later as a professional, and what I needed to know beyond my college education. There are many facets to being a successful artist, many of which aren’t taught in art school. First of all, become well skilled in color theory, or, how to use color effectively. Using color is important especially to painters, interior designers and anyone who needs to choose colors for clients. There are many books on the subject, but make sure to learn about the Color Wheel, and buy the expensive colored paper packs…

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