The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (457 page)
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Spitzweg , Karl
(1808–85).
German painter and graphic artist, active in his native Munich. He began his career as a pharmacist, and turned fairly late to art, first as a newspaper
caricaturist
, then as a painter. Although he travelled widely (England, France, Italy, and elsewhere), he was provincial in his choice of subjects and is an outstanding representative of the
Biedermeier
style. His pictures are generally small, humorous in content, and full of lovingly depicted anecdotal detail (
The Poor Poet
, Neue Pinakothek, Munich, 1839, and other versions). He also painted excellent landscapes that show a debt to the
Barbizon School
.
German painter and graphic artist, active in his native Munich. He began his career as a pharmacist, and turned fairly late to art, first as a newspaper
caricaturist
, then as a painter. Although he travelled widely (England, France, Italy, and elsewhere), he was provincial in his choice of subjects and is an outstanding representative of the
Biedermeier
style. His pictures are generally small, humorous in content, and full of lovingly depicted anecdotal detail (
The Poor Poet
, Neue Pinakothek, Munich, 1839, and other versions). He also painted excellent landscapes that show a debt to the
Barbizon School
.
Spranger , Bartholomeus
(1546–1611)
. Netherlandish painter and designer who had an international career and played an important part in the spread of
Mannerism
in northern Europe. He trained in his native Antwerp, where he came under the influence of Frans
Floris
, then travelled via France to Italy, where he spent a decade (1565–75), mainly in Rome. After five years in Vienna, he finally settled in Prague, where he was appointed court painter by the emperor Rudolf II in 1581. His paintings are often of mythological or allegorical subjects and are highly polished and sophisticated—close in style to those of his fellow court painter Hans von
Aachen
. Spranger had met van
Mander
in Rome and through drawings that he gave him his style was carried to Haarlem, where it became a formative influence in the Haarlem Academy.
Goltzius
and other engravers made many prints of his designs (Spranger also made a few etchings himself) and his work was widely influential in the years around 1600.
. Netherlandish painter and designer who had an international career and played an important part in the spread of
Mannerism
in northern Europe. He trained in his native Antwerp, where he came under the influence of Frans
Floris
, then travelled via France to Italy, where he spent a decade (1565–75), mainly in Rome. After five years in Vienna, he finally settled in Prague, where he was appointed court painter by the emperor Rudolf II in 1581. His paintings are often of mythological or allegorical subjects and are highly polished and sophisticated—close in style to those of his fellow court painter Hans von
Aachen
. Spranger had met van
Mander
in Rome and through drawings that he gave him his style was carried to Haarlem, where it became a formative influence in the Haarlem Academy.
Goltzius
and other engravers made many prints of his designs (Spranger also made a few etchings himself) and his work was widely influential in the years around 1600.
Squarcione , Francesco
(1397–
c.
1468).
Italian painter, active in Padua. He is an enigmatic figure, who is important in terms of the pupils he trained, rather than for his own work. A Paduan writer of 1560 patriotically described him as a famous and benevolent master, with many pupils and a large collection of
antique
sculpture gathered on youthful journeys through Greece and Italy. More recent research, however, gives a picture of a tailor who, turning painter in his middle thirties, was for many years discreditably involved in a series of lawsuits with pupils who, resentful of his exploitation of their talents, had broken their apprenticeships with him (
Mantegna
was the most famous litigant). No traces of his collection remain, but it is likely that something of the antiquarian erudition of the university town of Padua rubbed off on the young men who spent time in his workshop. It is impossible to assess any stylistic debt to Squarcione himself, however, as so little is known about his work, and his traditional role as the founder of a distinctive ‘Paduan style’ is highly questionable.
c.
1468).
Italian painter, active in Padua. He is an enigmatic figure, who is important in terms of the pupils he trained, rather than for his own work. A Paduan writer of 1560 patriotically described him as a famous and benevolent master, with many pupils and a large collection of
antique
sculpture gathered on youthful journeys through Greece and Italy. More recent research, however, gives a picture of a tailor who, turning painter in his middle thirties, was for many years discreditably involved in a series of lawsuits with pupils who, resentful of his exploitation of their talents, had broken their apprenticeships with him (
Mantegna
was the most famous litigant). No traces of his collection remain, but it is likely that something of the antiquarian erudition of the university town of Padua rubbed off on the young men who spent time in his workshop. It is impossible to assess any stylistic debt to Squarcione himself, however, as so little is known about his work, and his traditional role as the founder of a distinctive ‘Paduan style’ is highly questionable.
Staël , Nicolas de
(1914–55).
Russian-French painter, born in St Petersburg, son of Baron Vladimir Ivanovich de Staël-Holstein . In 1919 his family was forced to leave Russia (he would later become incensed if anyone suggested they had ‘fled’) and moved to Poland. Both parents had died by 1922 and Nicolas and his two sisters were adopted by a family of rich Russian expatriates in Brussels, where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, 1932–6. In the next two years he travelled widely (France, Italy, Spain, North Africa), then in 1938 settled in Paris, where he studied briefly with
Leger.
. On the outbreak of war in 1939 he joined the Foreign Legion and was sent to Tunisia. He was demobilized in 1941 and moved to Nice, where he turned from figurative to abstract art, although the forms he used were usually suggested by real objects. In 1943 he returned to Paris and after the war he quickly gained a reputation as one of the leading abstract painters of the School of
Paris
, his work showing a sensuous delight in handling paint that was unrivalled at the time. Typically his works feature luscious blocks or patches of thick paint (often applied with a knife), subtly varied in colour and texture. In 1951 he began to reintroduce figurative elements into his work, his subjects including landscapes and still life. From 1952 he spent much of his time working in the bright light of the South of France, and his late works are often very intense in colour. In spite of critical and financial success, de Staël felt that he had failed to reach a satisfactory compromise between abstraction and figuration, and he committed suicide.
Russian-French painter, born in St Petersburg, son of Baron Vladimir Ivanovich de Staël-Holstein . In 1919 his family was forced to leave Russia (he would later become incensed if anyone suggested they had ‘fled’) and moved to Poland. Both parents had died by 1922 and Nicolas and his two sisters were adopted by a family of rich Russian expatriates in Brussels, where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, 1932–6. In the next two years he travelled widely (France, Italy, Spain, North Africa), then in 1938 settled in Paris, where he studied briefly with
Leger.
. On the outbreak of war in 1939 he joined the Foreign Legion and was sent to Tunisia. He was demobilized in 1941 and moved to Nice, where he turned from figurative to abstract art, although the forms he used were usually suggested by real objects. In 1943 he returned to Paris and after the war he quickly gained a reputation as one of the leading abstract painters of the School of
Paris
, his work showing a sensuous delight in handling paint that was unrivalled at the time. Typically his works feature luscious blocks or patches of thick paint (often applied with a knife), subtly varied in colour and texture. In 1951 he began to reintroduce figurative elements into his work, his subjects including landscapes and still life. From 1952 he spent much of his time working in the bright light of the South of France, and his late works are often very intense in colour. In spite of critical and financial success, de Staël felt that he had failed to reach a satisfactory compromise between abstraction and figuration, and he committed suicide.
staffage
.
.
Term applied to small figures and animals in a painting that are not essential to the subject but are used to animate the composition. Landscape painters, notably in 17th-cent. Flanders and Holland, have often employed other artists to paint the staffage in their work (see, for example,
POELENBURGH
).
POELENBURGH
).
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