The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (362 page)

 
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(1924– ).
American painter, a leading proponent of the return to naturalism and interest in the human figure that was one aspect of the move away from the dominance of
Abstract Expressionism
in American art. His early works (mainly landscapes) were painted with a vigorous
Gestural
handling, but in the 1960s he developed a cooler, more even type of brushwork. He specializes in starkly unidealized portrayals of the nude figure (singly or in pairs), usually set in domestic surroundings. Because of the clarity of his compositions and the relentlessness of his scrutiny, he is sometimes described as a
Superrealist
, but his work has an individuality that puts him outside this classification. He uses harsh lighting, oblique angles, and cropping of the image (heads are often excluded and the body is seen in voyeuristic close-up) in a way that suggests candid photography, but his pictures do not try to counterfeit the effect of photographs; the handling of paint is smooth—but vigorous rather than finicky.

 
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(1881–1955).
German
Expressionist
painter and graphic artist. He studied in Dresden and in 1906 became a member of the
Brücke
. In 1908 he moved to Berlin which became his home for the rest of his life. His energy and charm quickly made him a leading figure in the city's artistic life and in 1910 he was elected president of the Neue
Sezession
. In 1913–14, showing an interest in the exotic shared with other Expressionists, Pechstein visited the Palau Islands in the Pacific and he painted bright and lively anecdotal pictures depicting the paradisal life of the island fishermen in a near-
Fauvist
manner. His other subjects included nudes, landscapes, portraits, and opulent flower pieces. He was the most French in spirit of the German Expressionists (he was particularly influenced by
Matisse
) and probably because his work was decorative rather than emotionally intense, he was the first of the Brücke to achieve success and general recognition; the 1920s marked the height of the fashion for his work. Since then his reputation has faded whilst those of his former colleagues have grown. In 1918 he was one of the founders of the
Novembergruppe
and he taught in the Berlin Academy from 1923, being dismissed in 1933 by the Nazis and reinstated in 1945. His later work became repetitive and the high quality of his work during his Brücke period is sometimes forgotten.

 
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peep-show box
.

A cabinet with scenes portrayed on the interior walls which, when viewed through a small opening or eyepiece, give a strong illusion of three dimensional reality.
Alberti
may have been the inventor of the peep-show box, for some such device is ascribed to him in a contemporary, anonymous biography, but they had their greatest popularity in the 17th cent. Samuel van
Hoogstraten
was a noted exponent.

 
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(1614–52).
Flemish marine painter. He was virtually the only noteworthy practitioner in the genre in his country, seascapes being much more a Dutch than a Flemish speciality. In his early works Peeters was influenced by Dutch masters, such as Simon de
Vlieger
, but later he tended to introduce elaborate motifs and bright colour in a decorative vein less impressive than his earlier style. Various other members of the family were artists, including his sister
Catharina
(1615–76), a seascape and stilllife painter, but
Clara Peeters
(1594–1657?), an outstanding Antwerp still-life painter, was no relation.

 
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peinture à l'essence
.

See
DEGAS
.

 
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