01 Work, RELIGIOUS ART – Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem’s Susanna and the Elders, With Footnotes – #129

Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem
Detail; Susanna and the Elders, c. 1599
Oil on canvas
98.5 x 87 cm
National Gallery of Canada

A fair Hebrew wife named Susanna was falsely accused by lecherous voyeurs. As she bathes in her garden, having sent her attendants away, two lustful elders secretly observe the lovely Susanna. When she makes her way back to her house, they accost her, threatening to claim that she was meeting a young man in the garden unless she agrees to have sex with them.

She refuses to be blackmailed and is arrested and about to be put to death for promiscuity when a young man named Daniel interrupts the proceedings, shouting that the elders should be questioned to prevent the death of an innocent. After being separated, the two men are questioned about details of what they saw, but disagree about the tree under which Susanna supposedly met her lover. In the Greek text, the names of the trees cited by the elders form puns with the sentence given by Daniel. The first says they were under a mastic, and Daniel says that an angel stands ready to cuthim in two. The second says they were under an evergreen oak tree, and Daniel says that an angel stands ready to saw him in two. The great difference in size between a mastic and an oak makes the elders’ lie plain to all the observers. The false accusers are put to death, and virtue triumphs. More about Susanna

Susanna, caught unaware at her bath, is threatened by the two men who demand she give in to their lust. The popular subject was an opportunity for artists to depict emotions – Susanna’s shock and fear, the men’s lust – and to explore female beauty. Unexpectedly, Cornelis portrayed himself as the man to the right. Rather than implying the artist’s self-identification with the guilty Elder, it instead suggests how the troubling subject matter had been tamed – that the story was no more than a pretext for the display of artistic skill. More on this painting
Cornelis Corneliszoon van Haarlem (1562 – 11 November 1638), Dutch Golden Age painter and draughtsman, was one of the leading Northern Mannerist artists in the Netherlands, and an important forerunner of Frans Hals as a portraitist. He is known among art historians as a member of the Haarlem Mannerists. He painted mainly portraits as well as mythological and Biblical subjects. Initially Cornelis Cornelisz painted large-size, highly stylized works with Italianate nudes in twisted poses with a grotesque, unnatural anatomy. Later, his style changed to one based on the Netherlandish realist tradition.

When his parents fled Haarlem in 1568, as the Spanish army laid siege to the city during the Eighty Years’ War, Cornelis Cornelisz remained behind and was raised by the painter Pieter Pietersz the Elder. Later, in 1580-1581 Corneliszoon studied in Rouen, France, and Antwerp, before returning to Haarlem, where he stayed the rest of his life. In 1583 he received his first official commission from the city of Haarlem, a militia company portrait, the Banquet of the Haarlem Civic Guard. He later became city painter of Haarlem and received numerous official commissions. As a portrait painter, both of groups and individuals, he was an important influence on Frans Hals. More Cornelis Corneliszoon van Haarlem

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01 Work, RELIGIOUS ART – Interpretation of the bible, Susanna and the old men. With Footnotes – #145

17TH CENTURY VENETIAN ARTIST
Susanna and the old men
Oil on canvas
32 x 22 cm
Private collection

A fair Hebrew wife named Susanna was falsely accused by lecherous voyeurs. As she bathes in her garden, having sent her attendants away, two lustful elders secretly observe the lovely Susanna. When she makes her way back to her house, they accost her, threatening to claim that she was meeting a young man in the garden unless she agrees to have sex with them.

She refuses to be blackmailed and is arrested and about to be put to death for promiscuity when a young man named Daniel interrupts the proceedings, shouting that the elders should be questioned to prevent the death of an innocent. After being separated, the two men are questioned about details of what they saw, but disagree about the tree under which Susanna supposedly met her lover. In the Greek text, the names of the trees cited by the elders form puns with the sentence given by Daniel. The first says they were under a mastic, and Daniel says that an angel stands ready to cuthim in two. The second says they were under an evergreen oak tree, and Daniel says that an angel stands ready to saw him in two. The great difference in size between a mastic and an oak makes the elders’ lie plain to all the observers. The false accusers are put to death, and virtue triumphs. More about Susanna

The Venetian School of Painting: Around the end of the 15th Century Venice’s art scene began to flourish and differentiate itself from the style of art being made in the rest of Italy at the time. These paintings are characterized with more of an emphasis on color instead of strong lines. While influenced by many outside artists some people claim that perhaps it was the hazy lighting of Venice that led these painters to be so enamored with using glowing light and soft brush strokes. The true Venetian School of Painting ended around the late 17th Century but it’s influence reaches far past that. There are far more artists that were a part of this beautiful movement but Giovanni Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Veronese, Jacob Bassano (de Ponte), and Tintoretto are some of the most significant. More on Around the end of the 15th Century Venice’s art scene began to flourish and differentiate itself from the style of art being made in the rest of Italy at the time. These paintings are characterized with more of an emphasis on color instead of strong lines. While influenced by many outside artists some people claim that perhaps it was the hazy lighting of Venice that led these painters to be so enamored with using glowing light and soft brush strokes. The true Venetian School of Painting ended around the late 17th Century but it’s influence reaches far past that. There are far more artists that were a part of this beautiful movement but Giovanni Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Veronese, Jacob Bassano (de Ponte), and Tintoretto are some of the most significant. More on The Venetian School of Painting

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Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don’t own any of these images — credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

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26 Works, December 11th. is Johann Michael Rottmayr’s day, his art, illustrated with footnotes #247

Johann Franz Michael Rottmayr (Austrian, 1654–1730)
Venus and Adonis
Oil on Canvas
95 x 197 cm. (37.4 x 77.6 in.)
Private collection

Venus and Adonis is a narrative poem by William Shakespeare published in 1593. It is probably Shakespeare’s first publication.

The poem tells the story of Venus, the goddess of Love; of her unrequited love; and of her attempted seduction of Adonis, an extremely handsome young man, who would rather go hunting. The poem is pastoral, and at times erotic, comic and tragic. It contains discourses on the nature of love, and observations of nature. More on Venus and Adonis

Johann Michael Rottmayr (11 December 1656–25 October 1730) was the first native-born Austrian painter of the 18th century to achieve preeminence over the Italians, thus beginning the great century of Austrian baroque painting.

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14 Works, July 22nd. is Orazio de Ferrari’s day, his story, illustrated with footnotes #199

Orazio De Ferrari
The rape of the Sabine women, c. 1640
Oil on canvas
Height: 180 cm, Width: 244 cm
Private collection

The Rape of the Sabine Women is an episode in the legendary history of Rome, traditionally dated to 750 BC, in which the first generation of Roman men acquired wives for themselves from the neighboring Sabine families. The English word rape is a conventional translation of the Latin raptio, which in this context means “abduction” rather than its prevalent modern meaning in English language of sexual violation. The story provided a subject for Renaissance and post-Renaissance works of art that combined a suitably inspiring example of the hardihood and courage of ancient Romans with the opportunity to depict multiple figures, including heroically semi-nude figures, in intensely passionate struggle. More on the rape of the Sabine women

The work constitutes a very relevant testimony of Orazio De Ferrari’s production, both for its undoubted executive quality, and for the presence of the painter’s monogram combined with the date 1640, an element which allows us to have a precise chronological reference not only for the dating of the canvas itself, but more generally for the reconstruction of the artist’s mature production. Recently considered “a masterpiece of great scenic impact and coloristic exuberance, reminiscent of Rubens and Van Dyck”, the composition emerges, in the context of the “profane” production by Orazio De Ferrari, destined to embellish the paintings of the Genoese nobility, for its theatricality the layout of the episode, linked to the foundation of Rome. More on this painting

Orazio de Ferrari (1606–1657) was an Italian artist, active in the Baroque period, born in Voltri, a suburb of Genoa. de Ferrari was a pupil of Giovanni Andrea Ansaldo. He was a member of the family of Genoese artists, with surnames de Ferrari, which also included Giovanni Andrea de Ferrari and Gregorio De Ferrari. During the 17th century, he painted murals in the chapel and many of the state rooms of the Royal Palace in Monaco…

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20 Works, Today, June 7th. is Anton Maulbertsch’s day, his story, illustrated with footnotes #156

Franz Anton Maulbertsch
Éliézer et Rebecca
Oil on canvas
30 x 40 cm. 11 13/16 x 15 ¾ in.
Private collection

After the death of Sarah, Isaac, her son, was lonely; and as he was now old enough to marry, Abraham went about finding a wife for Isaac, who was already 37 years old. He commanded his servant, Eliezer of Damascus, to journey to his birthplace of Aram Naharaim to select a bride from his own family.

As Eliezer stood at the central well in Abraham’s birthplace with his men and ten camels laden with goods, a young girl immediately came out and offered to draw water for him to drink, as well as water to fill the troughs for all his camels.

The servant recounted the oath he made to Abraham and all the details of his trip to and meeting with Rebecca in fine detail, after which her brother Laban and her father Bethuel agreed that she could return with him. Her family sent her off with her nurse, Deborah, and blessed her. More on Rebekah’s journey to Canaan

Franz Anton Maulbertsch (7 June 1724–8 August 1796) was the son of a painter. He studied in Vienna with Peter van Roy and in 1741 enrolled at the academy, where he received the painting prize in 1750. Maulbertsch became a member of the academy in 1759 and a professor there in 1770, for which occasion he produced his Allegory of the Destiny of Art…

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Marco Benefial, SUSANNA AND THE OLD MEN 01 Work, Interpretation the bible, With Footnotes – 122

Marco Benefial, 1684 – 1764, train.
SUSANNA AND THE OLD MEN
Oil on canvas
230 x 297 cm.
Private collection

Presentation of the biblical theme incorporated into a fountain garden architecture animated by tiered marble blocks and garden vases. On the right, sliding down a red cloth, on which lie gilded silver objects with fully figurative decor. In the middle the half-naked Susanna, who is about to pull a white cloth over her shoulder, her breast already covered by this cloth, as anticipation of the hidden nakedness. To the left of her are the two old people who have lurked behind the balustrade. More on this painting

A fair Hebrew wife named Susanna was falsely accused by lecherous voyeurs. As she bathes in her garden, having sent her attendants away, two lustful elders secretly observe the lovely Susanna. When she makes her way back to her house, they accost her, threatening to claim that she was meeting a young man in the garden unless she agrees to have sex with them.

She refuses to be blackmailed and is arrested and about to be put to death for promiscuity when a young man named Daniel interrupts the proceedings, shouting that the elders should be questioned to prevent the death of an innocent. After being separated, the two men are questioned about details of what they saw, but disagree about the tree under which Susanna supposedly met her lover. In the Greek text, the names of the trees cited by the elders form puns with the sentence given by Daniel. The first says they were under a mastic, and Daniel says that an angel stands ready to cuthim in two. The second says they were under an evergreen oak tree, and Daniel says that an angel stands ready to saw him in two. The great difference in size between a mastic and an oak makes the elders’ lie plain to all the observers. The false accusers are put to death, and virtue triumphs. More about Susanna

Marco Benefial (25 April 1684 – 9 April 1764) was an Italian, proto-Neoclassical painter, mainly active in Rome. Benefial is best known for his repudiation of 18th century decorative Rococo styles pre-eminent in the Rome dominated by Carlo Maratta pupils. His paintings portrayed tangible human figures, with complex treatment of space, and luminous, warm colors. Along with the altarpieces and frescoes, he also painted many portraits. Because he partnered with some inferior artists who subsequently received credit, some of his paintings have been frequently misidentified. More on Marco Benefial

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, And visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don’t own any of these images – credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.