British Culture - User contributions [en]

File:Charles.jpg

2010-07-13T21:53:13Z

Scorch Luminas:

Anthony van Dyck

2010-07-13T12:42:35Z

Scorch Luminas:

'''Anthony van Dyck''' (born on 22 March 1599 in Antwerp and died on 9 December 1641 in London) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman who was also active in Italy and England.
Van Dyck was considered the leading Flemish painter after Rubens in the first half of the 17th century.

He was the seventh child of Franchois van Dyck, a successful merchant of cloth and silk. Since his grandfather had been a painter and there being artists in his mother’s family, he became the apprentice of one of Antwerp’s leading artists at the age of ten. His teacher, Hendrik van Balen was also a neighbour of Jan Brueghel the elder.
In 1618, van Dyck became master craftsman; at that time he had already worked with his friend Jan Brueghel the younger in a studio of his own for two years (since his father’s business was a failure, he had to make a living of his own). His early works were mainly religious paintings, for instance of apostles (inspired by similar works of Rubens).
However, while Rubens studied ancient sculptures and developed a spatial idea of his figures in his pictures, van Dyck was more interested in the structures and textures of surfaces.

As his fame became known also to foreign visitors of Antwerp, Thomas Howard, the Earl of Arundel as well as the Duke of Buckingham (both the most important contemporary English art collectors) were interested in van Dyck. Van Dycks stay in London brought a change in his style which is contributed to his studying of Italian Renaissance masterworks that he could not find in Antwerp. Especially Titian was very important, as van Dyck was influenced by his depiction of texture and light, while still keeping Rubens’ style of composition.
His first stay in London lasted only 8 months. Afterwards, he travelled to Genoa, Palermo and Rome and back to Antwerp.
In 1632, van Dyck moved to London where Charles I. found him to be the “heir” of Titian and wanted to support him. He became “principalle paynter in ordinary to their Majesties”, getting paid an annual salary of 200 pounds and was knighted in the same year.
His portraits of the monarch became the most famous depiction of Charles I. and his wife Henrietta Maria who were often shown much idealised. For example, Charles on horseback resembles the riding statue of emperor Marcus Aurelius and Titian’s painting of Charles V.

His lasting influence on British artists can be measured in Thomas Gainsboroughs last words: “We are all going to heaven and Van Dyck is of the company”.

Bibliography:

Brown, Christopher. ed. Van Dyck. 1599-1641. München: Hirmer Verlag, 1999.

Turner, Jane.ed. The Dictionary of Art. New York: Grove’s Dictionaries Inc., 1996.

http://www.uni-muenster.de/HausDerNiederlande/zentrum/Projekte/NiederlandeNet/Dossiers/Kultur/Malerei/vandyck.html

Anthony van Dyck

2010-07-09T13:16:35Z

Scorch Luminas: Created page with 'Anthony van Dyck (22 March 1599 - 9 December 1641) was a flamish painter and student of Peter Paul Rubens.'

Anthony van Dyck (22 March 1599 - 9 December 1641) was a flamish painter and student of Peter Paul Rubens.

William Turner

2010-05-31T21:43:43Z

Scorch Luminas: Created page with ''''Joseph Mallord William Turner''' (born on April 23rd 1775 in London, died there on December 19th 1851) was an English painter who dominated British landscape painting througho…'

'''Joseph Mallord William Turner''' (born on April 23rd 1775 in London, died there on December 19th 1851) was an English painter who dominated British landscape painting throughout the first half of the 19th century.
Turner began his career with topographical drawings of buildings and and town vistas. In 1796, he turned to oil painting and quickly established a reputation at the Royal Academy of Arts as a painter of sublime and historical landscapes.

In the beginning, he was influenced by Richard Wilson, whereas from 1800 on he turned to Claude Lorrain, Gaspard Dughet, Nicolas Poussin and Dutch painters of the sea. His landscapes and sea pictures were often elevated to romanticism by mythological figures and dramatic motives. In 1802 he visited France and Switzerland, in 1817 Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, in 1819 Italy for the first time. From there on he began moving away from representing figurative things, but rather depicting the effects of light and air. His late paintings are thus pictorial visions whose forms are lost in floods of light and dazzling vivid colours.

Turner had rather radical views in regards of politics and being fearful and melancholic, Turner was easily convinced that England stood on the brink of an abyss, as by 1806, Napoleon had conquered Europe and now threatened Britain. Turner’s paintings from this era (such as ''Hannibal and his army crossing the Alps'') express his own notion of crisis symbolically. Later, after Queen Victoria began her long and thriving reign, Turner’s revolutionary spirit faded. His pictures became more cheerful and gained beauty, being less influenced by his fear of catastrophes.

Turner’s ambition always was to confirm the status of landscape as a serious art form. His exploration of the effects of light in the pursuit of new demonstrations of sublimity has led to his purposes being confounded with that of the Impressionists, whereas Turner saw himself in a direct line from 17th century classicists like Poussin.
Most of his paintings are exhibited in London’s National Gallery and the Tate Britain.

'''Bibliography:'''

Walker, John. Joseph Mallord William Turner. Cologne: DuMont Buchverlag, 1989.

Brockhaus Enzyklopädie. Wiesbaden: F.A. Brockhaus, 1974.

Turner, Jane.ed. The Dictionary of Art. New York: Grove’s Dictionaries Inc., 1996.

Oscar Wilde

2010-05-03T22:04:03Z

Scorch Luminas:

'''Oscar Fingal O' Flahertie Wills Wilde (October 16 1854 - November 30 1900)''' was an Irish Writer and poet and among his contemporaries a controversial advocate for the aestheticist movement.

== Early Life ==

Wilde was born the second son of an Irish protestant family. His father was the famous eye surgeon Sir William Wilde (knighted in 1864), while his mother Jane Francisca Elgee was a poet under the well-known pen name “Speranza”. This being the Italian word for “hope”, she wrote poetry for the revolutionary “Young Irelanders” and supported the Irish Home Rule movement. Oscar began his academic career at Trinity College in Dublin and went to Magdalen College in Oxford in 1874. In 1878, Wilde won the Newdigate Prize with his poem Ravenna. While at Oxford, he became deeply fascinated by the lectures and theories of Walter Pater and John Ruskin, who claimed an “art for art’s sake”. This aestheticist movement left its impression on British literature and decorative arts and it also turned the artist and his lifestyle into a piece of art himself.

== The peak of Success ==

In 1881, he published his Poems and in 1882, Wilde went on a lecturing tour to the United States of America and Canada, which he intrigues by his flamboyant style and his witticisms. He also writes plays such as Vera or the Duchess of Padua. In 1884, he marries Constance Lloyd with whom he got two sons, Cyril and Vyvyan. The following years witness works like The Happy Prince or the Canterville Ghost, but it is only in 1890 that Wilde publishes his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray in Lippincott’s magazine. Due to criticism and allegedly immorality regarding this work, Wilde included a defensive preface to the book. He also wrote theoretical texts such as “The Critic as Artist” to promote his aestheticist views. In 1893 followed his play Salome, which was first staged in French and in 1895 his satirical play The Importance of Being Earnest.

== The downfall ==

However, it was Wilde’s homosexual relationship with his younger friend and lover Lord Alfred Douglas, called “Bosie” that led to a quarrel with his father, the Marquess of Queensberry and ultimately his social downfall. In 1895, Wilde had to face a series of now famous trials, leading to his conviction and sentence to two years imprisonment and hard labour. In 1897, Wilde was released, but broken. He went to Europe and ultimately spent his last years in France, where he died of cerebral meningitis in a hotel in Paris.

Selected Works:

Poems (1881)
The Happy Prince and Other Stories (1888)
Intentions (1891)
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891)
Lady Windermere's Fan (1892)
A Woman of No Importance (1893)
An Ideal Husband (1895)
The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)
Salomé (1896)
De Profundis (1905)

References:

1.) http://www.litencyc.com/

2.) http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Main_Page

3.) Wilde, Oscar. Collins Complete Works of Oscar Wilde. Intro. by Merlin Holland.
New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2003.

Oscar Wilde

2010-05-03T22:03:42Z

Scorch Luminas:

'''Oscar Fingal O' Flahertie Wills Wilde (October 16 1854 - November 30 1900)''' was an Irish Writer and poet and among his contemporaries a controversial advocate for the aestheticist movement.

== Early Life ==

Wilde was born the second son of an Irish protestant family. His father was the famous eye surgeon Sir William Wilde (knighted in 1864), while his mother Jane Francisca Elgee was a poet under the well-known pen name “Speranza”. This being the Italian word for “hope”, she wrote poetry for the revolutionary “Young Irelanders” and supported the Irish Home Rule movement. Oscar began his academic career at Trinity College in Dublin and went to Magdalen College in Oxford in 1874. In 1878, Wilde won the Newdigate Prize with his poem Ravenna. While at Oxford, he became deeply fascinated by the lectures and theories of Walter Pater and John Ruskin, who claimed an “art for art’s sake”. This aestheticist movement left its impression on British literature and decorative arts and it also turned the artist and his lifestyle into a piece of art himself.

==
The peak of Success ==

In 1881, he published his Poems and in 1882, Wilde went on a lecturing tour to the United States of America and Canada, which he intrigues by his flamboyant style and his witticisms. He also writes plays such as Vera or the Duchess of Padua. In 1884, he marries Constance Lloyd with whom he got two sons, Cyril and Vyvyan. The following years witness works like The Happy Prince or the Canterville Ghost, but it is only in 1890 that Wilde publishes his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray in Lippincott’s magazine. Due to criticism and allegedly immorality regarding this work, Wilde included a defensive preface to the book. He also wrote theoretical texts such as “The Critic as Artist” to promote his aestheticist views. In 1893 followed his play Salome, which was first staged in French and in 1895 his satirical play The Importance of Being Earnest.

== The downfall ==

However, it was Wilde’s homosexual relationship with his younger friend and lover Lord Alfred Douglas, called “Bosie” that led to a quarrel with his father, the Marquess of Queensberry and ultimately his social downfall. In 1895, Wilde had to face a series of now famous trials, leading to his conviction and sentence to two years imprisonment and hard labour. In 1897, Wilde was released, but broken. He went to Europe and ultimately spent his last years in France, where he died of cerebral meningitis in a hotel in Paris.

Selected Works:

Poems (1881)
The Happy Prince and Other Stories (1888)
Intentions (1891)
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891)
Lady Windermere's Fan (1892)
A Woman of No Importance (1893)
An Ideal Husband (1895)
The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)
Salomé (1896)
De Profundis (1905)

References:

1.) http://www.litencyc.com/

2.) http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Main_Page

3.) Wilde, Oscar. Collins Complete Works of Oscar Wilde. Intro. by Merlin Holland.
New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2003.

Oscar Wilde

2010-05-03T22:01:50Z

Scorch Luminas:

'''Oscar Fingal O' Flahertie Wills Wilde (October 16 1854 - November 30 1900)''' was an Irish Writer and poet and among his contemporaries a controversial advocate for the aestheticist movement.

'''Early Life:'''

Wilde was born the second son of an Irish protestant family. His father was the famous eye surgeon Sir William Wilde (knighted in 1864), while his mother Jane Francisca Elgee was a poet under the well-known pen name “Speranza”. This being the Italian word for “hope”, she wrote poetry for the revolutionary “Young Irelanders” and supported the Irish Home Rule movement. Oscar began his academic career at Trinity College in Dublin and went to Magdalen College in Oxford in 1874. In 1878, Wilde won the Newdigate Prize with his poem Ravenna. While at Oxford, he became deeply fascinated by the lectures and theories of Walter Pater and John Ruskin, who claimed an “art for art’s sake”. This aestheticist movement left its impression on British literature and decorative arts and it also turned the artist and his lifestyle into a piece of art himself.

'''The peak of Success'''

In 1881, he published his Poems and in 1882, Wilde went on a lecturing tour to the United States of America and Canada, which he intrigues by his flamboyant style and his witticisms. He also writes plays such as Vera or the Duchess of Padua. In 1884, he marries Constance Lloyd with whom he got two sons, Cyril and Vyvyan. The following years witness works like The Happy Prince or the Canterville Ghost, but it is only in 1890 that Wilde publishes his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray in Lippincott’s magazine. Due to criticism and allegedly immorality regarding this work, Wilde included a defensive preface to the book. He also wrote theoretical texts such as “The Critic as Artist” to promote his aestheticist views. In 1893 followed his play Salome, which was first staged in French and in 1895 his satirical play The Importance of Being Earnest.

'''The downfall'''

However, it was Wilde’s homosexual relationship with his younger friend and lover Lord Alfred Douglas, called “Bosie” that led to a quarrel with his father, the Marquess of Queensberry and ultimately his social downfall. In 1895, Wilde had to face a series of now famous trials, leading to his conviction and sentence to two years imprisonment and hard labour. In 1897, Wilde was released, but broken. He went to Europe and ultimately spent his last years in France, where he died of cerebral meningitis in a hotel in Paris.

Selected Works:

Poems (1881)
The Happy Prince and Other Stories (1888)
Intentions (1891)
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891)
Lady Windermere's Fan (1892)
A Woman of No Importance (1893)
An Ideal Husband (1895)
The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)
Salomé (1896)
De Profundis (1905)

References:

1.) http://www.litencyc.com/

2.) http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Main_Page

3.) Wilde, Oscar. Collins Complete Works of Oscar Wilde. Intro. by Merlin Holland.
New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2003.

Oscar Wilde

2010-05-03T20:00:22Z

Scorch Luminas: Created page with ''''Oscar Fingal O' Flahertie Wills Wilde (October 16 1854 - November 30 1900)''' was an Irish Writer and poet and among his contemporaries a controversial advocate for the aesthe…'

'''Oscar Fingal O' Flahertie Wills Wilde (October 16 1854 - November 30 1900)''' was an Irish Writer and poet and among his contemporaries a controversial advocate for the aestheticist movement.