The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (183 page)

(1645–1727).
Dutch painter, active mainly in his native Dordrecht. After studying there with
Hoogstraten
, he became one of
Rembrandt's
last pupils in Amsterdam. He was not only one of the most talented of Rembrandt's pupils, but also one of his most devoted followers, for he was the only Dutch artist to continue working in his style into the 18th cent. His religious paintings, in particular, with their imaginative boldness and preference for oriental types, are very much in the master's spirit, although de Gelder often used colours—such as lilac and lemon yellow—that were untypical of Rembrandt, and his palette was in general lighter. One of his best-known works,
Jacob's Dream
(Dulwich College Picture Gal., London), was long attributed to Rembrandt.

 
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(1914– ).
Yugoslav (Croatian)
naïve
painter, the outstanding figure of the school of peasant painters associated with his native village of Hlebine. His repertory is extremely catholic, his favourite themes being scenes from village life, celebrations, festivals, etc., land-scapes, still life in a landscape, figures, and portraits. Some of his pictures are quiet and almost idyllic depictions of peasant activities, but in others there is an element of grotesque fantasy reminiscent of
Bruegel
or Hieronymus
Bosch
, while still others have a
Surrealist
air of the unexpected.

 
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genre
.

Term in art history and criticism for paintings depicting scenes from daily life. It may be applied to appropriate art of any place or period, but most commonly suggests the type of domestic subject-matter favoured by Dutch 17th-cent. artists. In a broader sense, the term is used to mean a particular branch or category of art; land-scape and portraiture, for example, are genres of painting, and the essay and the short story are genres of literature.

 
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(
c.
1370–1427).
Italian painter named after his birthplace, Fabriano in the Marches. He carried out important commissions in several major Italian art centres and was recognized as one of the foremost artists of his day, but most of the work on which his great contemporary reputation was based has been destroyed. It included frescos in the Doges’ Palace in Venice (1408) and for St John Lateran in Rome (1427). In between he worked in Florence, Siena, and Orvieto. His major surviving work is the celebrated altarpiece of the
Adoration of the Magi
(Uffizi, Florence, 1423), painted for the church of Sta Trinità in Florence, which places him alongside
Ghiberti
as one of the greatest exponents of the
International Gothic
style in Italy. It is remarkable not only for its exquisite decorative beauty but also for the naturalistic treatment of light in the
predella
, where there is a night scene with three different light sources. Gentile had widespread influence (much more so initially than his great contemporary
Masaccio
), notably on
Pisanello
, his assistant in Venice, Jacopo
Bellini
, who worked with him in Florence, and Fra
Angelico
, who was his greatest heir.

 
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(1563–1639).
Italian painter. He was born in Pisa, but in about 1576 he settled in Rome. After working in a
Mannerist
style he became one of the closest and most gifted of
Caravaggio's
followers. He was one of the few
Caravaggisti
who was a friend of the master, and in 1603 he and Caravaggio and two other artists were sued for libel by Giovanni
Baglione
. Gentileschi's work does not have the power and uncompromising naturalism of Caravaggio, tending rather towards the lyrical and refined. His graceful figures are stately and clearly disposed, with sharp-edged drapery—qualities recalling his Tuscan heritage. In 1621 he moved to Genoa, where he stayed until 1623; while there he painted an
Annunciation
(Galleria Sabauda, Turin) that is often considered his masterpiece. After working for Marie de
Médicis
in Paris, he settled in England in 1626 and became court painter to Charles I. He was held in great esteem in England and remained until his death. His travels were a factor in spreading the Caravaggesque manner, but by the end of his career he had long abandoned heavy
chiaroscuro
in favour of light colours. His major works in England were a series of ceiling paintings commissioned by Charles I for the Queen's House at Greenwich, now in Marlborough House, London (probably after 1635). His daughter
Artemisia Gentileschi
(1593–1652/3) was one of the greatest of Caravaggesque painters and a formidable personality. She was precociously gifted, built up a European reputation, and lived a life of independence rare for a woman of the time. Born in Rome, she worked mainly there and in Florence until she settled in Naples in 1630 (she also visited her father in England in 1638–40). Artemisia's powerful style—totally different to that of her father—is seen at its most characteristic in paintings of
Judith and Holofernes
, a subject she made her own (one of the finest examples is in the Uffizi, Florence). Her predilection for the bloodthirsty theme has been related to events in her own life. At the age of 19 she was allegedly raped by Agostino
Tassi
(who was eventually acquitted of the charge) and was tortured during the legal proceedings; thus the fierce intensity with which she depicted a woman decapitating a man has been seen as pictorial ‘revenge’ for her sufferings.