Massimo Stanzione (1585-1656) | Baroque painter

Massimo Stanzione was an Italian Baroque painter, mainly active in Naples, where he and his rival Jusepe de Ribera dominated the painting scene for several decades. Most of his work, in both oils and fresco (these usually for ceilings), depicted religious subjects.

A papal knight, he is often referred to as Cavalliere Massimo Stanzione, especially in older sources.

Born in Frattamaggiore, Naples in 1585, Massimo Stanzione was influenced by Caravaggio.

What distinguished Massimo’s art from that of Caravaggio's was that he combined the latter's dramatically lit and brutally realistic style with the classical and lyrical manner of Bolognesi painters, earning him the nickname of the Napolitan Guido Reni.

Christmas Cards

Norman Rockwell | Christmas Card | Two sleeping children, 1952

The first recorded Christmas cards were sent by Michael Maier to James I of England and his son Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales in 1611.

The next cards were commissioned by Sir Henry Cole and illustrated by John Callcott Horsley in London on 1 May 1843.

The central picture showed three generations of a family raising a toast to the card's recipient: on either side were scenes of charity, with food and clothing being given to the poor.

Louis Béroud | Les copistes au Louvre, 1909

Per i studenti del diciannovesimo secolo, il Louvre custodiva l'intera storia dell'arte sulle sue affollate pareti ed offriva una generosa scelta di studio; a differenza della maggior parte delle Accademie e degli atelier, tuttavia, l'accesso era aperto ad uomini e donne.

Vedere e copiare i capolavori del museo era una parte importante della formazione di un artista ed una pratica che Louis Béroud apprezzava es, abilmente ed in modo alquanto unico, usava come soggetto di almeno ventisei delle sue composizioni.

Rembrandt | Adoration of the Magi, 1632 | Hermitage Museum

The Adoration of the Magi (anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: A Magis adoratur) is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, lay before him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and worship him.

Leonardo da Vinci | Nativity paintings

Giorgio Vasari🎨, in the enlarged edition of Lives of the Artists (1568) introduced his chapter on Leonardo with the following words:

"In the normal course of events many men and women are born with remarkable talents; but occasionally, in a way that transcends nature, a single person is marvellously endowed by Heaven with beauty, grace and talent in such abundance that he leaves other men far behind, all his actio ns seem inspired and indeed everything he does clearly comes from God rather than from human skill".

André Derain | Still life

André Derain (1880-1954), French painter, sculptor, printmaker and designer - was one of the principal Fauvists.

Derain studied painting in Paris at the Académie Carriere from 1898-1899.

He developed his early style in association with Maurice de Vlaminck, whom he met in 1900, and with Henri Matisse, who had been Derain’s fellow student at the Académie Carriere.

Together with these two painters, Derain was one of the major exponents of Fauvism from 1905-1908.

Fra Angelico | Early Renaissance painter

Fra Angelico, (Italian: “Angelic Brother”) original name Guido di Pietro, also called Fra Giovanni da Fiesole and Beato Angelico (born c. 1400, Vicchio, republic of Florence [Italy] - died Feb. 18, 1455, Rome), Italian painter, one of the greatest 15th-century painters, whose works within the framework of the early Renaissance style embody a serene religious attitude and reflect a strong Classical influence.

A great number of works executed during his career are altarpieces and frescoes created for the church and the priory of San Marco in Florence while he was in residence there.

San Domenico Period

Baptized Guido di Pietro, he appeared in a document of 1417 as a lay painter. Later, between the years 1420-1422, he became a Dominican friar and resided in the priory of San Domenico at Fiesole, there taking the name of Fra Giovanni da Fiesole.

At Fiesole he was probably influenced by the teachings of Giovanni Dominici, the militant leader of the reformed Dominicans; the writings of Dominici defended traditional spirituality against the onslaught of humanism.

Il Verismo, la pittura degli umili

Filippo Palizzi (Italian, 1818-1899) | Girl on the rock in Sorrento, 1871

The "Verismo" (meaning "realism", from Italian vero, meaning "true") refers to a 19th-century Italian painting🎨 style. This style was practiced most characteristically by the Macchiaioli group of painters🎨, who were forerunners of the French Impressionists.

The link pin between European verismo in painting and the States could be considered to be the work of John Singer Sargent🎨, in regard to technique, but not in comments on the working classes.