Petites Inspirations a la French

Angels entertaining the Holy Child by Marianne Stokes   Madonna and Child by Marianne Stokes Marianne Stokes (1855-1927) was an Austrian painter. She started her career as an artist under the tutelage of Pascal Jean Dagnan Bouveret( 1852-1928) , Gustave Courtois ( 1853-1923) and Jules Bastian Lepage.  One can recognized their influence in her choice of the subject matter from rustic sceneries to mystical religious compositions.   She met her future husband in England, Adrian Scott( 1854-1935) a landscape painter.  Childless, the couple main interest was their artistic pursuits .  Their journey took them in Italy, Netherlands and Hungary, and she also developed an interest in tempera as a result.  In 1848, the pre-Raphaelite movement was created, and once again Marianne Stokes found a great source of inspiration, she changed medium from oil to tempera and gesso. Her paintings are designed as flat sceneries reminding the viewer of medieval artist, such as Giotto.  She joined t

Peasant Wedding The Flemish painter, Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c.1525-69) was  born in Belgium at the end of the high  Renaissance .  To put this in an historical context Michael Angelo had  already created his master pieces, and the Reformation was rapidly spreading throughout north of Europe .  The religious theme was becoming less prevalent.  Artists had the opportunity to expand and show their interests in portraiture, mythology, landscape and  other genre. At first glance, Bruegel 's subject matter concentrates on the interrelationship between Man and Nature.  He specialized in folk scenes depicting jovial peasants with  bright and vivid manners.  One might almost expects to hear  laughter and music floating in the air.  One finds more evidence of such work when his biographer underlines his decision to accept a secular commission (1565)  at a time of great turmoil between the Catholic Church and the Reformation.  The substantial commission consisted of the depicti