Nikolai Sverchkov | Equine painter

Nikolai Yegorovich Sverchkov / Николай Егорович Сверчков (1817-1898) was a Russian painter who specialized in genre and hunting scenes with horses.

He was also a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts.

His father was an Imperial groom and coachman. As a child, he worked with his father and began drawing animals.

Impressed with his work, his parents arranged for him to take lessons at the Imperial Academy of Arts with the battle painter, Alexander Sauerweid, from 1827 to 1829.

Eugène Lami | Fashion in Paris

Eugène Louis Lami (1800-1890) was a French painter and lithographer.

He was a painter of fashionable Paris during the period of the July Monarchy and the Second French Empire and also made history paintings and illustrations for books such as Gil Blas and Manon Lescaut.

He worked at the studio of Horace Vernet then studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris with Camille Roqueplan and Paul Delaroche under Antoine-Jean Gros.

Anna Sahlsten | Genre painter

Anna Sofia Sahlstén (1859-1931) was a Finnish painter, primarily known for portraits and genre scenes.

Her father, Clas Vilhelm Sahlstén (1826-1897), was a Chamber Counselor who later became a writer.

Her mother was Edla Elisabeth Heinricius.

When she was eight, her family moved to Helsinki, where she attended a Swedish girls' school; receiving her certificate in 1877.

She then studied at the Finnish Society Drawing School from 1877 to 1880, then at a private school operated by Adolf von Becker, from 1880 to 1882.

Pietro Longhi | Rococò painter

Pietro Longhi (1701-1785) was a Venetian painter of contemporary genre scenes of life.

Pietro Longhi was born in Venice in the parish of Saint Maria, first child of the silversmith Alessandro Falca and his wife, Antonia. He adopted the Longhi last name when he began to paint.

He was initially taught by the Veronese painter Antonio Balestra, who then recommended the young painter to apprentice with the Bolognese Giuseppe Maria Crespi, who was highly regarded in his day for both religious and genre painting and was influenced by the work of Dutch painters.

Longhi returned to Venice before 1732.

Alfonso Simonetti | Romantic painter

Alfonso Simonetti (29 December 1840 - 22 August 1892) was an Italian painter of historical scenes, portraits and landscapes; best known for his works with moonlight and sunset effects.

Simonetti was born in Naples, Italy, to the painter Giuseppe Simonetti (1840-1864) and his wife Vincenza, née Piccirillo.

In 1859, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied under Gabriele Smargiassi and Giuseppe Mancinelli.

Angelo Inganni | Spazzacamino, 1843

Il tondo con lo Spazzacamino, esposto per la prima volta all’Ateneo di Brescia nel 1843, raffigura un soggetto caro e più volte replicato da Angelo Inganni (Brescia, 1807 - Gussago, 1880) e rientra nella serie delle opere inviate nella città natale durante il suo periodo milanese.

Il quadro fu commissionato da Camillo Brozzoni, che ne fece poi dono alla Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo con il legato del 1863.

Al centro del tondo un giovane spazzacamino, seduto su una panchina di pietra, sta mangiando un pane con un pesce, tiene sotto il braccio sinistro uno scopino di saggina, ai suoi piedi una sacca; sul muro alle sue spalle dei disegni.

Angelo Inganni | Spazzacamino, 1843 | Museo del Risorgimento, Brescia

Antonio Mancini | La lacrima, 1883-1890

Dopo un duro ricovero nel manicomio Provinciale di Napoli nel 1881, Antonio Mancini (1852-1930) trovò ospitalità a Roma, presso gli zii Andrea e Noemi, e durante il suo soggiorno in città può dedicarsi alla pittura utilizzando i nipoti come modelli.

In questa tela si vede infatti Agrippina, con lo sguardo delicato e sofferente e gli occhi lucidi inumiditi dalle lacrime.

Proprio questo dettaglio dà il titolo all’opera, e si dice fosse stato un rimprovero del pittore a far scaturire il pianto.

Antonio Mancini | La lacrima, 1883-1890 (detail) | GAM - Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Milano

Pierre-Édouard Frère | Genre painter

Pierre Édouard Frère (1819-1886), was a French genre painter.

Frère studied under Paul Delaroche, entered the École des Beaux-Arts in 1836 and exhibited first at the Salon in 1843.

Among his chief works are the two paintings, Going to School and Coming from School, The Little Glutton (his first exhibited picture) and L'Exercice (in the 19th century this work was in John Jacob Astor's collection).

Johannes Vermeer died on this day, in 1675

Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) passed away on this day December 15th, 1675.

He was 43 years old.

Vermeer’s small oeuvre is remarkable.

It is estimated that Vermeer created around 40 to 50 paintings, which is not a big number compared to other master painters of the time.

For example, Rembrandt made around 300 paintings and Frans Hals around 200.

Enoch Wood Perry | A Month’s darning, 1876

In their subject matter and compositional format, Enoch Wood Perry’s watercolor paintings are quite similar to his oils, and his method of applying paint was consistently characterized by fastidious attention to detail.

Like his colleague Eastman Johnson, Enoch Wood Perry (1831-1915) studied in Düsseldorf and Paris, where he acquired a respect for careful draftsmanship.

He exhibited "A Month’s Darning" in 1876 at the American Society of Painters in Water Colors and later the same year at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, where it was acclaimed for its evocation of times past.

The critic for the "New-York Tribune" found the woman’s head to be "the best part" of the composition and only regretted "that the sweet-faced girl . . . should have such large-footed men-folks to darn for". | Source: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Enoch Wood Perry | A Month’s Darning, 1876 | Metropolitan Museum of Art

Eduardo León Garrido | Belle Époque painter

Spanish painter Eduardo León Garrido (1856-1949), was a significant figure in the Impressionist movement.

Trained at the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, he later moved to Paris where he was influenced by French artistic trends, particularly the works of Manet and the Impressionists.

He is known for his elegant portraits and genre scenes, often bathed in soft, natural light.

Johannes Vermeer | View of Houses in Delft, 1658

View of Houses in Delft / Het Straatje, known as 'The Little Street' is an unusual painting in Vermeer’s oeuvre, and remarkable for its time as a portrait of ordinary houses.

The composition is as exciting as it is balanced.

The old walls with their bricks, whitewash, and cracks are almost tangible.

The location is Vlamingstraat 40-42 in Delft.

Vermeer’s aunt Ariaentgen Claes lived in the house at the right, with her children, from around 1645 until her death in 1670. | Source: © Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Sylvius D. Paoletti | Genre painter

Sylvius D. Paoletti (1864-1921) was born in Venice, where he worked all his life.

He is the son of the famous genre and landscape painter Antonio Ermolao Paoletti (1833-1912) and learned the art of painting in his father's workshop.

In his works Paoletti devoted himself mainly to serene genre scenes settled in Venice, in which he skillfully captures the southern light with bright and glowing colors.

Paoletti died in 1921.

Robert Kemm | Admiring the painting, 1880

Robert Kemm (1837-1895) was a British painter.

He was considered a Romantic painter of genre scenes, especially Andalusia landscapes and figures.

This artwork called "Admiring the painting" was painted in oil and is a highly staged piece of work.

The room setting could easily be the artists studio, with the easel, palette and assortment of props.

Georges Girardot | Le reverences de la lune, 1890

Georges Marie Julien Girardot (1856-1914) was a French figure, landscape and marine painter.

Girardot was born in Besançon, Doubs on 4 August 1856.

He was trained by the artist Albert Maignan in Paris.

Girardot was active in Paris, painting mostly genre paintings, female nudes and landscapes.

Louis Rolland Trinquesse | After the Soirée, 1774

Louis Rolland Trinquesse (1746-1800) was a French Rococo painter.

He was a student at the Académie Royale from 1758 to at least 1770 and worked both as a portrait painter and a Genre painter.

His portraits are usually gentle and uncomplicated likenesses painted in pastel colours, for example the Young Girl (1777; Paris, Louvre).

Alphonse Spring | Violin Player, 1890

Alphons Spring (1843-1908) was a genre painter of the Munich School and co-founder of the artists' society Allotria in Munich.

Alphons Spring, who wrote himself Alfons Spring from around 1878, was born in Liepaja in Latvia and studied at the art school and academy in Saint Petersburg.

He moved to Munich 1870 where he became a student of Professor Wilhelm Diez.

Luigi Busi | Genre painter

Luigi Busi (1837-1884) was an Italian painter, born in Bologna.

Busi studied at the Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna, though by 1868, he is documented to be in Milan.

He was named academic professor at the Bolognese Academy in 1871.

In 1876, he was named Honorary Associate of the Brera Academy.

His early training was in an environment characterized by Realist depictions.

Jakob Kulle | Genre painter

Swedish artist Jakob Kulle Ohlsson (1838-1898) produced genre scenes depicting everyday moments from rural life.

They’re quiet and respectful, and generally lacking sentimental embellishments.

Grandmothers teach granddaughters the family craft, couples exchange loving glances, and the house cat polishes off the last of the chicken.

Alfred Elmore | Victorian painter

Alfred Elmore RA (1815-1881) was a British history and genre painter.

Alfred Elmore was born in Clonakilty, Ireland, the son of John Richard Elmore, a surgeon who retired from the British Army to Clonakilty.

His family moved to London, where Elmore studied at the Royal Academy of Arts.

His early works were in the troubadour style of Richard Parkes Bonington, but he soon graduated to religious work, notably The Martyrdom of Thomas à Becket, commissioned by Daniel O'Connell for Westland Row Church in Dublin.