The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (128 page)

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists
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Dalmau , Luis
(active 1428–60).
Spanish painter, active mainly in Valencia. He was court painter to Alfonso V of Aragon, under whose patronage he went to Bruges in 1431 to study tapestry weaving. Dalmau's visit to Flanders is the first recorded contact of a Spanish painter with the Netherlandish School, and the only surviving painting certainly by him, the
Virgin of the Councillors
(Barcelona Mus., 1445), is clearly inspired by Jan van
Eyck
.
Dalou , Aimé-Jules
(1838–1902).
French sculptor, the most important pupil of
Carpeaux
. Although his name is particularly associated with the
naturalistic
movement in French sculpture, he produced many works of
Baroque
inspiration, notably his largest completed monument, the allegorical
Triumph of the Republic
(Place de la Nation, Paris, 1879–99). His most ambitious work, a vast
Monument to Labour
, was left uncompleted at his death, but clay models for many of the figures, reminiscent of
Millet's
peasants in their rather sentimental view of human toil, are preserved in the Petit Palais, Paris. Dalou's other work included the memorial to
Delacroix
in the Luxembourg Gardens (1890). He spent the years 1871–9 as a political exile in England after taking part in the Paris Commune (1871).
Dalziel Brothers
.
Firm of English
wood
engravers founded in London in 1839 by
George Dalziel
(1815–1902) and
Edward Dalziel
(1817–1905). Two other brothers,
John
and
Thomas
, worked for the firm, which was the most prolific source of book illustrations in Victorian England, producing more than 50,000 plates. George and Edward collaborated on the book
The Brothers Dalziel: A Record of Work
, 1840–90 (1901).
Danby , Francis
(1793–1861).
Irish painter. He worked mainly in Bristol and London, but between 1829 and 1841, owing to financial and marital problems, he settled in Switzerland. He is remembered mainly for his bombastic apocalyptic paintings, such as
The Delivery of Israel out of Egypt
(Harris Mus. and Art Gal., Preston, 1825), which were a direct challenge to John
Martin
. However, his best works are now usually considered to be the romantic sunset landscapes of his later years, with their mood of melancholy and solemn serenity (
Temple of Flora
, Tate, London, 1840).
Dance , Nathaniel
(1735–1811).
English painter, primarily of portraits. He studied under
Hayman
and spent the years 1755–64 in Rome, where he was much influenced by the sophisticated portrait style of Pompeo
Batoni
. In 1768 he became a foundation member of the
Royal Academy
, but on inheriting a fortune in 1776 he retired from professional practice. He later became an MP and was created a baronet with the surname Dance-Holland. One of his best-known portraits is
Captain Cook
(Nat. Maritime Mus., London, 1766). He was the son and brother of architects, both called
George Dance
.
Daniele da Volterra
(Daniele Ricciarelli )
(
c.
1509–66).
Italian
Mannerist
painter and sculptor, born in Volterra, where he was a pupil of
Sodoma
. In about 1536 he moved to Rome, where he became a friend of
Michelangelo
and one of his most gifted and individual followers. Michelangelo helped to gain him commissions and (as with
Sebastiano del Piombo
) supplied him with drawings to work from, but Daniele's finest picture owes little to the direct influence of the master. This is his fresco of the
Deposition
(commissioned 1541) in the Cappella Orsini in SS. Trinità dei Monti, a powerful and moving work, based compositionally on
Rosso Fiorentino's
famous painting of the same subject in Volterra, but with an eloquent richness of its own. It was one of the most admired works of its generation in Rome and continued to be influential into the next century:
Domenichino
(Hatton Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne) was among the artists who copied it, and
Rubens
was clearly inspired by it in his painting of the subject in Antwerp Cathedral. Daniele was present at Michelangelo's deathbed and his most famous work of sculpture is a bronze bust of him based on the death mask (casts are in the Casa Buonarroti, Florence, the Louvre, and elsewhere). Ironically, in view of his devotion to the master, Daniele is perhaps best remembered for painting draperies over the nude figures in Michelangelo's
Last Judgement
, a concession to Counter-Reformation ideals that earned him the nickname ‘II Bragghettone’ (the breeches-maker).
BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists
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