Interesting history of the famous painting. Interesting facts about painting (10 facts)

Even those masterpieces of painting that seem familiar to us have their secrets.

Recently, a strange and unusual discovery was made in art history - an American student deciphered the musical notation depicted on the buttocks of a sinner from a painting by Bosch. The resulting tune has become one of the Internet sensations of recent times.

We believe that in almost every significant work art is a mystery, a “double bottom” or secret history, which I want to reveal. Today we will share a few of them.

Music on the buttocks

Hieronymus Bosch, "The Garden" earthly pleasures", 1500-1510.

Fragment of the right side of the triptych.

Disputes about the meanings and hidden meanings of the famous work Dutch artist have not subsided since its appearance. The right wing of the triptych called “Musical Hell” depicts sinners who are tortured in the underworld with the help of musical instruments. One of them has music notes stamped on his buttocks. Oklahoma Christian University student Amelia Hamrick, who studied the painting, translated the 16th-century notation into a modern twist and recorded “a 500-year-old butt song from hell.”

Nude Mona Lisa

The famous “La Gioconda” exists in two versions: the nude version is called “Monna Vanna”, it was written by little-known artist Salai, who was a student and model of the great Leonardo da Vinci. Many art historians are sure that it was he who was the model for Leonardo’s paintings “John the Baptist” and “Bacchus”. There are also versions that Salai, dressed in a woman’s dress, served as the image of the Mona Lisa herself.

Old Fisherman

In 1902, the Hungarian artist Tivadar Kostka Csontvary painted the painting “The Old Fisherman”. It would seem that there is nothing unusual in the picture, but Tivadar put into it a subtext that was never revealed during the artist’s lifetime.

Few people thought of placing a mirror in the middle of the picture. In each person there can be both God (the Old Man's right shoulder is duplicated) and the Devil (the Old Man's left shoulder is duplicated).

Doubles at the Last Supper

Leonardo da Vinci, "The Last Supper", 1495-1498.

When Leonardo da Vinci wrote The Last Supper, he gave special meaning two figures: Christ and Judas. He spent a very long time looking for models for them. Finally, he managed to find a model for the image of Christ among the young singers. Leonardo was unable to find a model for Judas for three years. But one day he came across a drunkard on the street who was lying in a gutter. He was a young man who had been aged by heavy drinking. Leonardo invited him to a tavern, where he immediately began to paint Judas from him. When the drunkard came to his senses, he told the artist that he had already posed for him once. It was several years ago, when he sang in the church choir, Leonardo painted Christ from him.

The innocent history of "Gothic"

Grant Wood, " American Gothic", 1930.

Grant Wood's work is considered one of the strangest and most depressing in history. American painting. The picture with the gloomy father and daughter is filled with details that indicate the severity, puritanism and retrograde nature of the people depicted. In fact, the artist did not intend to depict any horrors: during a trip to Iowa, he noticed a small house in gothic style and decided to portray those people who, in his opinion, would be ideal as inhabitants. Grant's sister and his dentist are immortalized as the characters Iowans were so offended by.

"Night Watch" or "Day Watch"?

Rembrandt, "Night Watch", 1642.

One of Rembrandt’s most famous paintings, “The Performance of the Rifle Company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburg,” hung in the different halls and was discovered by art historians only in the 19th century. Since the figures seemed to appear against a dark background, it was called “Night Watch,” and under this name it entered the treasury of world art. And only during the restoration carried out in 1947, it was discovered that in the hall the painting had managed to become covered with a layer of soot, which distorted its color. After clearing the original painting, it was finally revealed that the scene represented by Rembrandt actually takes place during the day. The position of the shadow from Captain Kok's left hand shows that the duration of action is no more than 14 hours.

Overturned boat

Henri Matisse, "The Boat", 1937.

At the New York Museum contemporary art in 1961, Henri Matisse's painting "The Boat" was exhibited. Only after 47 days did someone notice that the painting was hanging upside down. The canvas depicts 10 purple lines and two blue sails on a white background. The artist painted two sails for a reason; the second sail is a reflection of the first on the surface of the water. In order not to make a mistake in how the picture should hang, you need to pay attention to the details. The larger sail should be the top of the painting, and the peak of the painting's sail should be toward the top right corner.

Deception in self-portrait

Vincent van Gogh, Self-Portrait with a Pipe, 1889.

There are legends that Van Gogh allegedly cut off his own ear. Now the most reliable version is that van Gogh damaged his ear in a small brawl involving another artist, Paul Gauguin. The self-portrait is interesting because it reflects reality in a distorted form: the artist is depicted with his right ear bandaged because he used a mirror when working. In fact, it was the left ear that was affected.

Two "Breakfasts on the Grass"

Edouard Manet, Luncheon on the Grass, 1863.

Claude Monet, Luncheon on the Grass, 1865.

The artists Edouard Manet and Claude Monet are sometimes confused - after all, they were both French, lived at the same time and worked in the style of impressionism. Monet even borrowed the title of one of Manet’s most famous paintings, “Luncheon on the Grass,” and wrote his own “Luncheon on the Grass.”

Alien bears

Ivan Shishkin, “Morning in Pine forest", 1889.

The famous painting belongs not only to Shishkin. Many artists who were friends with each other often resorted to “the help of a friend,” and Ivan Ivanovich, who painted landscapes all his life, was afraid that his touching bears would not turn out the way he wanted. Therefore, Shishkin turned to his friend, the animal artist Konstantin Savitsky.

Savitsky painted perhaps the best bears in the history of Russian painting, and Tretyakov ordered his name to be washed off the canvas, since everything in the picture “from concept to execution, everything speaks about the manner of painting, about creative method, characteristic of Shishkin."

Interesting Facts about painting
Some famous paintings have a very interesting, and sometimes even funny, history of creation. Facts will tell you something you may not already know about famous artists and their masterpieces.

1 Leonardo da Vinci for a long time could not find a sitter for the image of Judas in The Last Supper.

For many historians and art critics, Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” is greatest work world art. In The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown focuses readers' attention on some of the symbolic elements of this painting in the moments when Sophie Neveu, while in Lee Teabing's house, learns that Leonardo may have encrypted some great secret in his masterpiece.
“The Last Supper” is a fresco painted on the wall of the refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria della Grazie in Milan. Even in the era of Leonardo himself, it was considered his best and famous work. The fresco was created between 1495 and 1497, but already during the first twenty years of its existence, as is clear from written evidence of those years, it began to deteriorate. It measures approximately 15 by 29 feet. The fresco was painted with a thick layer of egg tempera on dry plaster. Beneath the main layer of paint is a rough compositional sketch, a study in red, in a manner anticipating the usual use of cardboard. This is a kind of preparation tool.
It is known that the customer of the painting was the Duke of Milan Lodovico Sforza, at whose court Leonardo gained fame as a great painter, and not at all the monks of the monastery of Santa Maria della Grazie.
The theme of the picture is the moment when Jesus Christ announces to his disciples that one of them will betray him. Pacioli writes about this in the third chapter of his book “The Divine Proportion”. It was this moment - when Christ announces betrayal - that Leonardo da Vinci captured. To achieve accuracy and lifelikeness, he studied the poses and facial expressions of many of his contemporaries, whom he later depicted in the painting. The identities of the apostles have repeatedly been the subject of controversy, however, judging by the inscriptions on a copy of the painting kept in Lugano, these are (from left to right): Bartholomew, James the Younger, Andrew, Judas, Peter, John, Thomas, James the Elder, Philip, Matthew, Thaddeus and Simon Zelotes.
Many art historians believe that this composition should be perceived as an iconographic interpretation of the Eucharist - communion, since Jesus Christ points with both hands to the table with wine and bread.
Almost all researchers of Leonardo's work agree that perfect place to view the painting - from a height of approximately 13-15 feet above the floor and at a distance of 26-33 feet from it. There is an opinion - now disputed - that composition and its system of perspective are based on the musical canon of proportion.
What gives The Last Supper its unique character is that, unlike other paintings of its kind, it shows the amazing variety and richness of the characters’ emotions caused by Jesus’ words that one of his disciples would betray him. No other painting of the Last Supper can even come close to the unique composition and attention to detail in Leonardo's masterpiece.
So what secrets could he encrypt in his creation? great artist? In The Discovery of the Templars, Clive Prince and Lynn Picknett argue that several elements of the structure of the Last Supper indicate symbols encrypted in it.
Firstly, they believe that the figure is right hand from Jesus (for the viewer she is on the left) - not John, but a certain woman. She is wearing a robe, the color of which contrasts with the clothes of Christ, and she is tilted in the opposite direction from Jesus, who is sitting in the center. The space between this female figure and Jesus is shaped like the letter V, and the figures themselves form the letter M.
Secondly, in the picture, in their opinion, next to Peter a certain hand is visible, clutching a knife. Prince and Picknett claim that this hand does not belong to any of the characters in the film.
Thirdly, sitting directly to the left of Jesus (to the right for the audience), Thomas, addressing Christ, raised his finger. According to the authors, this is a typical gesture of John the Baptist.
And finally, there is a hypothesis that the Apostle Thaddeus sitting with his back to Christ is actually a self-portrait of Leonardo himself.

Zloty section" Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo's most famous work - the famous "Last Supper" in the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan - was completed between 1495 - 1497.
Leonardo's brush captured the latter sharing a meal(dinner) of Jesus Christ and the twelve apostles on the eve of the day (Good Friday) of Christ's death on the cross.

Leonardo prepared carefully and for a long time for the Milan painting. He completed many sketches in which he studied the poses and gestures of individual figures. “The Last Supper” attracted him not for its dogmatic content, but for the opportunity to unfold a great human drama before the viewer, show different characters, reveal the spiritual world of a person and accurately and clearly describe his experiences. He perceived the “Last Supper” as a scene of betrayal and set himself the goal of introducing into this traditional image that dramatic element, thanks to which it would acquire a completely new emotional sound.

While pondering the concept of “The Last Supper,” Leonardo not only made sketches, but also wrote down his thoughts about the actions of individual participants in this scene: “The one who drank and put the cup in its place turns his head to the speaker, the other connects the fingers of both hands and with frowning eyebrows looks at his companion, the other shows the palms of his hands, raises his shoulders to his ears and expresses surprise with his mouth..." The record does not indicate the names of the apostles, but Leonardo, apparently, clearly imagined the actions of each of them and the place to which each was called borrow in overall composition. Refining poses and gestures in his drawings, he looked for forms of expression that would draw all the figures into a single whirlpool of passions. He wanted to capture living people in the images of the apostles, each of whom responds to the event in their own way.

“The Last Supper” is Leonardo’s most mature and complete work.
There are several legends telling about the great Master and his painting.

So, according to one of them, when creating the fresco “The Last Supper,” Leonardo da Vinci faced a huge difficulty: he had to depict Good, embodied in the image of Jesus, and Evil in the image of Judas, who decided to betray him at this meal. Leonardo interrupted his work in the middle and resumed it only after he had found the ideal models.

Once, when the artist was present at a choir performance, he saw a perfect image of Christ in one of the young singers and, inviting him to his workshop, made several sketches and studies from him.
Three years have passed. The Last Supper was almost completed, but Leonardo had not yet found a suitable model for Judas. The cardinal in charge of painting the cathedral was hurrying him, demanding that the fresco be completed as soon as possible.
And after many days of searching, the artist saw a man lying in a gutter - young, but prematurely decrepit, dirty, drunk and ragged. There was no time left for sketches, and Leonardo ordered his assistants to deliver him directly to the cathedral, which they did.
With great difficulty they dragged him there and put him on his feet. He didn’t really understand what was happening, but Leonardo captured on canvas the sinfulness, selfishness, and wickedness that his face breathed.
When he finished the work, the beggar, who by this time had already sobered up a little, opened his eyes, saw the canvas in front of him and cried out in fear and anguish:
- I've already seen this picture before!
- When? - Leonardo asked in bewilderment.
- Three years ago, before I lost everything. At that time, when I sang in the choir and my life was full of dreams, some artist painted Christ from me.

According to another legend, dissatisfied with Leonardo’s slowness, the prior of the monastery persistently demanded that he finish his work as soon as possible. “It seemed strange to him to see Leonardo standing immersed in thought for the whole half of the day. He wanted the artist to never let go of his brushes, just as he never stops working in the garden. Not limiting himself to this, he complained to the Duke and began to pester him so much that he was forced to send for Leonardo and in a delicate manner ask him to take up the work, while making it clear in every possible way that he was doing all this at the insistence of the Prior.” Having started a general conversation with the Duke artistic themes, Leonardo then pointed out to him that he was close to finishing the painting and that he only had two heads left to paint - Christ and the traitor Judas. “He would still like to look for this last head, but in the end, if he does not find anything better, he is ready to use the head of this same prior, so intrusive and immodest. This remark greatly amused the Duke, who told him that he was right a thousand times. Thus, the poor embarrassed prior continued to push on with the work in the garden and left Leonardo alone, who completed the head of Judas, which turned out to be the true embodiment of betrayal and inhumanity.”

2 It turns out that the term “miniature” has nothing to do with small sizes. This word comes from the Latin "minium" - the name of the red lead paint, which had the color of red cinnabar. This paint was used to write the initial letters of texts and to draw small illustrations in ancient and medieval books.

3 Marcelino Sanz de Sautola, whose daughter was the first to find cave drawings in the Altamira Cave, was accused of having forged the images. Allegedly primitive people could not create a masterpiece with such a complex composition.

4 Researchers, having studied dozens of paintings by great artists written from 1000 to 1800, came to the conclusion that during this period the amount of food depicted increased by 69%.

This conclusion was made by scientists who analyzed the dynamics of changes in portions of food depicted in the paintings of various masters...

Modern man eats twice as much as his ancestor who lived a thousand years ago. This conclusion was made by American scientists who analyzed the dynamics of changes in portions of food depicted in the paintings of masters of different eras.

Experts studied 52 paintings from the “Last Supper” series, which were painted from 1000 to 2000. The researchers compared the sizes of the plates depicted on the canvases and the volumes of food portions. The size of the heads of Christ's disciples was taken as a constant indicator on the basis of which the comparison was made.

It turned out that from century to century the volumes of food depicted in the paintings increased. In particular, over the past thousand years, the portion of the main dish has increased by 69%, a piece of bread has become larger by 25%, and the size of plates has increased by 66%.

Modern man gets fat not only because he eats more. Most modern foods are high in calories and have little nutritional value. In addition to the fact that modern people do not receive enough nutrients, kidney and liver cells can cope with preservatives, dyes and leavening agents, which are rich in current products. Therefore, the load on these organs increases and metabolism is disrupted.

IN Lately The so-called cave diet is gaining popularity. Its adherents believe that if you give up modern food, you can lose from 7 to 18 kg in 3-4 months excess weight and at the same time cleanse the body of harmful substances.

The amount of food in paintings depicting the last supper of Christ and the apostles has increased significantly over the last 1000 years. As a study of 52 masterpieces of world painting showed, this trend corresponds to the development of a consumer society that tends to eat more and more.

Two brother professors, nutritional psychologist and theologian Brian and Craig Wansink, worked together to analyze the amount of food depicted in 52 of the most famous paintings on Earth. biblical story Last Supper. It was then that Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” In addition, it was the last meal of Christ that became the prototype of the rite of communion, where bread personifies the body of the Lord, and wine his blood.

Scientists have researched paintings created in last thousand years. She measured the size of the food depicted and correlated them with the average size of the apostle’s head in each painting in order to obtain a certain specific value that did not depend on the size of the canvas. A curious thing emerged: the size of portions, the size of plates and the size of pieces of bread have been constantly increasing since the 11th century to the present day. Thus, the size of the main dish increased by 69%, the size of the plates by 66%, and the size of the bread by 23%.

Analysis of the paintings revealed a number of interesting moments. In the Middle Ages, the apostles were portrayed as ascetics. However, the meals appearing in paintings before 1498 (the year in which the world's most famous Last Supper, by Leonardo da Vinci, was painted) were quite large. The 16th century Mannerist artist Jacopo Tintoretto turned out to be the most “generous” with food: in his painting the plates are the fullest.

Scientists believe that the gradual increase in portion sizes in the paintings reflects the overall increase in consumption in the world. According to the authors of the scientific work, the paintings are only a reflection of “the impressive sociohistorical growth of production, accessibility, safety, abundance and cheapness of food.”

5 “Black Square” was not the first painting in this style. Long before Malevich, Alle Alphonse exhibited his masterpiece “The Battle of Negroes in a Cave in the Dead of Night” - an all-black rectangular canvas - at the Vivienne Gallery.

“Black Square” was first painted not by Malevich, but by the French poet Bilot, calling the painting “Battle of the Negroes in the Tunnel”

In 1882 (33 years before Malevich’s “Black Square”), at the “Exposition des Arts Incohérents” exhibition in Paris, the poet Paul Bilot presented the painting “Combat de nègres dans un tunnel” (“Battle of Negroes in a Tunnel”). True, it was not a square, but a rectangle.

To a French journalist, the writer and eccentric humorist Alphonse Allais liked the idea so much that he developed it further in 1893, calling his black rectangle “Combat de nègres dans une cave, pendant la nuit” (“Battle of the Negroes in a Cave in the Dead of Night”). Without stopping at success achieved, then Allais put out a pristine white sheet of Bristol paper entitled “The First Communion of Girls Suffering from Chlorosis in the Snowy Season”

. Six months later, Alphonse Allais's next painting was perceived as a kind of “coloristic explosion.” The rectangular landscape “Harvesting tomatoes on the shores of the Red Sea by apoplectic cardinals” was a bright red monochrome painting without the slightest sign of an image (1894). Finally, in 1897, Allais published a book of 7 paintings, Album primo-avrilesque (April Fool's Album).

Thus, twenty years before the Suprematist revelations of Kazimir Malevich, the venerable artist Alphonse Allais became the “unknown author” of the first abstract paintings. Alphonse Allais also became famous for the fact that almost seventy years later he unexpectedly anticipated the famous minimalist musical piece “4′33″” by John Cage, which is four and a half “minutes of silence”. Perhaps the only difference between Alphonse Allais and his followers was that, while displaying his stunning innovative works, did not at all try to look like a meaningful philosopher or a serious discoverer.

6 Abstract artist Henri Matisse's painting "The Boat" hung upside down in the Museum of Modern Art for forty-seven days. During this time, 116 thousand people managed to see it.

A boat is depicted sailing and its reflection in the water surface)) And you need to look at it by turning it 90 degrees
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In my opinion, a wonderful illustration of the true “value” of such art.

7 Idea to depict soft watch came to the mind of Salvador Dali when he watched Camembert cheese melt in the sun.

8 Vincent Van Gogh sold only one painting in his entire life.

Tragic life Vincent Van Gogh is popular today as some kind of sacred legend that people seem to need more than the shine of his stars and sunflowers. A hungry, almost beggarly existence, full of loneliness and contempt of others, has already turned into worldwide excitement and interest in the 20th century. During his life, Van Gogh sold only one painting (“Red Vineyards at Arles”), and exactly one hundred years later at Christie’s auction in New York, his “Portrait of Doctor Gachet” was bought for $82.5 million (a record among paintings) . Against the background of this unhealthy worship, the image of the artist himself is lost, powerful and vulnerable at the same time, who ended his dramatic path on earth with despair and suicide. Van Gogh lived only 37 years, of which only the last seven were devoted to painting. However, his creative heritage amazing. This is about a thousand drawings and almost the same number of paintings, created as a result of volcanic creative eruptions, when for many weeks Van Gogh painted one or two paintings every day. Van Gogh became the last truly great artist in history, an unattainable example for others, whose selfless and heroic art, like a torch, like a rainbow, now shines over humanity. His paintings are amazing, full of love and suffering dialogue - with oneself, with God, with the world...

9 Edgar Degas painted about 1,500 paintings of ballet dancers .

10 Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky “Chaos. The Creation of the World,” which was written based on the Bible, was bought by Pope Gregory XVI, awarding the artist a gold medal.

Aivazovsky’s “Italian” paintings, presented at exhibitions in Naples and Rome, brought recognition and success to the painter. Critics wrote that no one had ever depicted light, air and water so vividly and authentically. English artist Joseph Mallord William Turner, who visited one of the exhibitions where the works of the Russian painter were exhibited, was so shocked by what he saw that he dedicated a poem to him:

Forgive me, great artist, if I was wrong,
Taking your picture for reality.
But your work fascinated me
And delight took possession of me.
Your art is high and monumental,
Because you are inspired by genius.

World creation. Chaos. 1841

The largest work created by the master in Italy is “The Creation of the World. Chaos" (1841, Museum of the Armenian Mekhitarist Congregation, Venice).

Focusing on the skill of Karl Petrovich Bryullov, Aivazovsky created a canvas grandiose in its expressiveness, depicting the confrontation and at the same time the interrelation of two primordial elements - sky and water, which are illuminated by divine light, piercing and uniting them. This work, which is based on the words from the book of Genesis: “The earth was formless and empty, and darkness fell over the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters” was highly appreciated by Pope Gregory XVI.

Thank you..

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TIHAMIR VON MARGITAI. DESTINY WITH UPS AND FALLS

The great masterpieces of painting that you encounter every day in museums, books, games, movies and even advertising are not just Nice picture, but also a code with a lot of details and semantic interpretations.

Therefore, it is not surprising that pictures that everyone has already seen a million times can test your logic, attention, intelligence and knowledge of history more than once. Look for picturesque scenes, expose homegrown myths. This is not just mental training, but also good way to outshine all the annoying smart guys in the next conversation. And impress a pretty person with a faint glimmer of thought in her bottomless eyes.

BOTTICELLIAN MOOD

Botticelli Sandro. Birth of Venus, 1482-1486.

Uffizi, Florence

Style: early Renaissance

At first sight Venus, just born from the foam of the sea, chastely covering her breasts and womb, swims to the shore on a shell. On the left, Zephyr and his wife Chloris are blowing roses at her. On the shore, the nymph Ora for some reason hurries to cover the nakedness of Venus with a purple cloak. But the naked shameless woman feels great and in what her mother gave birth to, she does not pay attention to worries and looks forward, through the viewer. A light sadness froze in the eyes of the goddess, as if she was going into earthly life to earn money... sorry, she was going to suffer torment.

In fact The painting illustrates the myth of the birth of Venus. Main role played by Simonetta Vespucci - the first beauty of Florence, the lover of Giuliano Medici and, according to rumors, the secret passion of Botticelli himself. Need I say that the most noble Simonetta was married to a third, stranger? The gestures and proportions of Venus's body are written in accordance with the canons of classical greek sculpture. The mantle in Ora’s hands symbolizes the border between two worlds, and the shell symbolizes purity and purity, but as soon as she steps ashore...

That's it! Thanks to Botticelli watering the painting protective layer from egg yolk“The Birth of Venus” has been preserved much better than many masterpieces.

CHEESE HOUR

Dali Salvador. The Persistence of Memory, 1931.

Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Style: surrealism.

At first sight The clock melts against the sultry backdrop of the landscape from Port Ligat.

In fact The molten clock is an image of the relativity and gluttony of time, which devours itself and everything else, and the clock covered with ants symbolizes death. On deserted shore, personifying the inner emptiness, the head of Dali himself is sleeping, who is the main prisoner of all-consuming time.

That's it! Inspired by melted Camembert cheese, Dali decided to melt a clock on his canvas. The artist often gave funny explanations for his paintings in order to deliberately mislead people. And this is no exception.

MAGICAL REALISM

Rene Magritte. Son of Man, 1964.

Private collection

Style: surrealism.

At first sight A neatly dressed yuppie is about to get hit in the face with an apple... but he doesn't.

In fact In Magritte's paintings, the most interesting thing is always, as luck would have it, hidden by some simple object. In this case it is an apple, symbolizing temptation. It persistently levitates in the face of a reserved businessman, in whose face the artist depicted the “son of Adam” and himself. Therefore, we are not so offended, because we know what Magritte’s face looks like.

EYES, LIPS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, HANDS

Mona Lisa, 1503-1505.

Louvre, Paris

Style: High Renaissance

At first sight A curvaceous woman with shaved eyebrows and sparse breasts, turning half-turn, sits in a chair against the backdrop of a mysterious landscape. In fact, the miracle of the picture is in the technique called sfumato: thanks to the smooth transitions from light to shadow and the light shading of the eye sockets, corners of the lips and graceful hands, a contradictory image of a bashful girl and a voluptuous mistress is formed. The second advantage of the picture is the contrast of the fantastic landscape and a very real figure. Plucked eyebrows and a shaved forehead are not a sign of extremism, but just a tribute to the fashion of the Quattrocento era.

That's it! Contrary to the abyss of nonsense written by art critics, Da Vinci's main task was to revive the model's face.

REVELATION OF THE "PROFESSOR OF NIGHTMARES"

Bosch Hieronymus. The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1500-1510.

Prado Museum, Madrid

Style: Northern Renaissance

At first sight Triptych on biblical themes, reminiscent huge collection kinder surprises.

In fact On the left, in Paradise, God introduces Eve to the stunned Adam. The peaceful life of the animals is disrupted by the lion's meal, and an owl, a messenger of misfortune, sticks out from the source of Life (the building in the center). In the center is a prototype of hippie erotic parties - a garden of pleasures, where everyone lets out divine instructions through the forest: they play, eat and indulge in carnal pleasures. According to psychoanalysis: cherries, strawberries, strawberries and grapes, which are eaten here, mean sinful sexuality, fish - lust, and birds - lust and debauchery. On the right, as an inevitable result, are monsters led by Satan the Eggshell and torture machines. Bosch shows us the corrupting influence of lust. And it all started so well!

That's it! Despite the BDSM bacchanalia depicted here, this painting fully complies with strict biblical canons and is liked by church authorities.

Style: Baroque.

At first sight A stylish young man with a crowd of boys flew in on a winged horse to flirt with a naked fetishist.

In fact The beautiful Andromeda, chained to a rock, was planning to be eaten by a sea monster. But while it was rummaging around with seasonings, young Perseus, wearing winged sandals in the latest fashion, turned the monster to stone. Here we see all the trendy attributes of the ancient Greek hipster: an invisibility helmet, a mirror shield with the head of the Gorgon Medusa and the winged horse Pegasus. But ancient myths served Rubens more as a pretext for depicting naked female charms. It is not for nothing that Andromeda’s light, slightly overweight body is the dominant part of the picture, to which the viewer first of all pays attention. Is not it so?

That's it! Despite Rubens's great contribution to the depiction of naked beauties, he also has his share of ill-wishers who accuse him of being overly enthusiastic about the blooming beauty of the nude. female body. Isn't it stupid?

CHAIROSHADOW MARTYR...

Rembrandt van Rijn. Night Watch, 1642.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Style: Baroque

At first sight Captain Cock (center) gave the order to march to Lieutenant Reitenburg (right), and everyone immediately began to fuss.

In fact Even the details of the shooters’ clothing move in the picture. Notice the masterful play of light and shadow: the contrast of the dark alley (behind) and the illuminated square. A girl in a bright golden dress compensates for Reitenburg's bright camisole, and his halberd sets the direction of movement for the entire canvas.

That's it! Because of the soot that covered the picture, for a long time no one realized that the action was taking place during the day - look at the shadow of Captain Kok's left hand.

NORTHERN MONA LISA

Vermeer Jan. Girl with a Pearl Earring, ca. 1565.

Mauritshuis, The Hague.

Style: Baroque

At first sight An ordinary face of an ordinary girl.

In fact The artist sought to convey the moment of spontaneous movement when the girl turns her head, noticing our presence. According to the name and statements of art critics, the viewer's attention is primarily attracted by the pearl earring. In our opinion, captivated by the attractive gaze and sensual lips, which have remained mysteriously silent for more than three hundred years, the discerning viewer is unlikely to remember the earring.

That's it! This painting has a modern, very indecent “reproduction”, but we didn’t tell you about it!

ANCIENT ROMAN DISASTER WITH A HEAP OF MALOA

Bryullov Karl. The last day of Pompeii, 1830-1833.

State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.

Style: romanticism

At first sight The city is in a sea of ​​fire, chaos reigns all around. In the center of the composition lies the body of a rich woman, who fell to her death from a chariot, which the horses carry into the depths of the picture. On the right, two brothers save their elderly father. Everyone is panicking.

In fact In the distance, the volcano Vesuvius, the culprit of the disaster, is burning. But the main scene is illuminated not by his flame, but by Bryullov’s remarkable find - a second flash of lightning. The color scheme of the painting is blue, red and yellow colors, illuminated by white light, was very brave for its time.

That's it! Bryullov conceived “Pompeii” as quick way to become famous and did not fail - the painting became the object of universal worship of the Russians, Italians and French.

When visiting a city or country, travelers do not ignore famous museums. There they closely examine famous paintings, trying to understand what is special about them. Some facts will help you understand this.

The most mysterious smile in the world: “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

• Most mysterious picture in the world they consider “La Gioconda (Mona Lisa)”.
• It is not known for certain who the model was and for whom the painter painted. There is an opinion that the painting was commissioned by a wealthy Florentine. But who would wait that long for a job? Other researchers believe that the woman depicted is the ideal of the Renaissance. There is an opinion that Leonardo da Vinci painted the picture from himself.

• No one knows exactly when the painting was started.
• The canvas is not finished.
• The title is a spelling error. "Mona" - short form"Madonna".
• The Mona Lisa is not entirely perfect. The woman has no eyebrows.

• Damaged painting. In 1956, a stone was thrown at the area above the woman's left elbow.
• Leonardo da Vinci was an unusual person. He is not only a painter, but also an inventor, scientist, sculptor, engineer, and architect. He even came up with designs for handbags!
• The artist made personal notes from right to left, with his left hand and in a mirror manner, dismembering corpses to understand the structure of muscles.

• The painter left behind a small artistic legacy - only 20 canvases.
• Leonardo da Vinci played the lyre very well and sang well.
• Most often the master depicted women.

“The first day for the Russian brush”: Karl Bryullov (1799-1852) and “The Last Day of Pompeii”

• Thousands of people besieged the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts in 1834 to see The Last Day of Pompeii.
• The artist devoted six whole years to creating this painting.
• There was one more thing in the first drafts actor- robber. But then the artist removed it.

• K. Bryullov created the picture for Demidov. The breeder then gave her as a gift.
• A walk through the ruins of Pompeii greatly inspired the painter. He even participated in archaeological excavations.
• Bryullov made himself one of the characters - a man with a sketchbook on his head.
• Several women in the picture have the features of the creator’s beloved, Yulia Samoilova.

• The dead woman in the foreground is a symbol of the fall of Antiquity.
• Bryullov was the one who opened the way Russian artists. His paintings were exhibited as a guide for beginning painters. · After painting “The Last Day of Pompeii,” the master began to be called “the divine Charles.”

• The painting became the first Russian painting to make a splash throughout the world.
• The artist was deaf in one ear due to a slap in the face that his father gave him.
• “And the “Last Day of Pompeii” became the first day for the Russian brush,” so exclaimed the poet E. A. Baratynsky.

• In Bryullov’s studio one could often hear poetry – reading aloud made it easier for the artist to work.
• Some of the painter’s paintings were completed by his students.
• He even dedicated a poem to this picture.

Union of 14 best artists: the Wanderers

• Their story began in 1863, when graduates of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts demanded the right free choice topics of the competition work in order to receive gold medal. They were refused. Then the "Artel of Artists" appeared, including painters from Moscow and St. Petersburg.
• More famous name connections - "Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions".

• The artists were dissatisfied with the slogan of the Academy of Arts - “Art for art’s sake.” They proclaimed that art should be for people.
• The first exhibition took place in St. Petersburg in 1871.
• One of the founders of the community was. His most famous paintings are “Unknown” and “Inconsolable Grief.”

• There are many opinions about the canvas “Unknown” by I. N. Kramskoy. Some believe that I. N. Kramskoy portrayed Anna Karenina. Others suggest that this is the wife of the Decembrist. Sometimes you hear the idea that this is an actress or the daughter of an artist. Many people confuse the woman with the heroine of the poem “The Stranger”.
• The artists were actively supported by P. Tretyakov, many works of the Peredvizhniki are now stored in his gallery - one of the largest and famous museums Russia. It is in it that you can see the canvas “Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan”, “The Morning of the Streltsy Execution”, “Above eternal peace"I. I. Levitan and much more.

Painting by Ilya Repin "Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan"

• I. N. Kramskoy often worked in portraiture; M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, I. I. Shishkin, P. A. Tretyakov painted with his brush.
• Characters genre works I. N. Kramskoy often paints women, and portraits - men.
• V.I. Surikov preferred to create paintings where the main character was the whole people, as in the painting “The Morning of the Streltsy Execution.”

• Almost all the paintings feature a church.
• It was Isaac Levitan who considered “the best Russian landscape painter.”
• Most of all, I. I. Levitan was inspired by the Volga. He especially liked the town of Ples, whose church is visible in the painting “Above Eternal Peace.”

• V.I. Surikov attached great importance to details. To such big paintings, like “Lady Morozova,” he always did a lot of sketches.
• The painting “Mermaids” by I. N. Kramskoy was created based on “May Night”.

Song of the Sea: Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (1817 – 1900)

• One of the most talented artists was a philanthropist and collector.
• He was born in Feodosia, and since childhood he saw the sea and ships.
• “I.K. Aivazovsky” really became the artist’s real name in 1841. Before that, he was officially addressed as Hovhannes Ayvazyan.

• The artist played the violin beautifully.
• He became the first Russian painter whose paintings were exhibited at the Louvre.
• The artist had four daughters. He was very worried that his last name had not been passed on to his grandchildren. And so he adopted the son of his eldest daughter.

• Some paintings are signed "Guy". After all, the marine painter’s father, having arrived in Feodosia, changed his surname to “Gayvazovsky”.
• The abyss and ships most often appear in the paintings of this artist. But there are also canvases with landscapes of the East, and on a religious theme.
• During his lifetime, the painter was called the pioneer of the genre sea ​​painting in Rome.

Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky "Battle of Navarino"

• For battle paintings naval battles the creator adored the fleet.
• In 1846, during the tenth anniversary exhibition creative activity I.K. Aivazovsky’s squadron of warships under the command of V.A. Kornilov arrived in Feodosia to congratulate the hero of the day.
• The most famous painting by I.K. Aivazovsky is “The Ninth Wave”. In terms of skill, it was compared to Karl Bryullov’s painting “The Last Day of Pompeii.”

Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky "The Ninth Wave"

• The name “Ninth Wave” appeared because in many countries sailors consider this wave to be the most destructive.
• Tretyakov liked the painting “The Ninth Wave” so much that he wanted to buy it for his gallery, but the canvas is kept in the Russian Museum. IN Tretyakov Gallery You can see more than two dozen paintings by the marine painter, including “Rainbow” and “Black Sea”.

Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky "Black Sea"

• The painter created about 6,000 paintings in a variety of formats during his life.
• Aivazovsky never painted from life, he only thoughtfully and carefully examined the object, and then painted it in his studio.
• Aivazovsky didn’t do well with people, so the painting “Pushkin’s Farewell to the Sea” was painted in a duet with Repin.

Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky "Pushkin on the Black Sea"

• On any artist’s canvas, be it a storm or a battle, there is always an image of hope.
• The artist's canvases often become targets of theft.
• The Marinist received ten orders. He threw five of them (those that were given to him in Turkey) into the sea.