St. John School, St. Pete Beach, Florida - Art - Grades 6-7-8

Instructor: Ms. Claudette Rietveld Downing, M.S.

Art lifts our mind and our heart and through the centuries there

have been many artists that have shown us the beauty of our world in a

different way.   Here we will find some of the works of the "Famous Aritsts"

that we study about in the 6, 7, and 8th grade.

"A VIEW OF DELFT"

Jan Vermeer

Nationality: Dutch

Style: Dutch School

In 1866, a Frenchman named Joseph Burger saw a painting

that changed the course of Art History.   The Painting was the one above,

a city scene painted nearly 200 years earlier by an unknown artist

named Jan van der Meer.  From that moment, Burger scoured Europe

hoping to find other works by this artist.  He uncovered 70 paintings

by the artist who is now known as Jan Vermeer.

Today we know of 36 paintings that could be positively identified as Vermeer's work.

Vermeer's paintings are some of the rarest most sought-after of art treasures.

We know little of the artist but his works are filled with light bouncing off the figures. 

"Starry Night" 1889 Museum of Modern Art, New York
"12 Sunflowers in a vase" 1888 - Neue Pinakothek Munich	"Self Portrait" 1887 - Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

Vincent Willem Van Gogh

Nationalily: Dutch

Style: Imperssionist

Vincent Willem van Gogh was born in the village of  Groot Zundert

onMarch 30, 1853.  His father was a pastor of

the Dutch Reformed Church.

He loved to draw and started when he was a child.

He learned how to speak, Dutch, German, French and English.

He travelled all over the Netherlands, Belgium, England and France.

The impact of Paris is most evident on his canvases. In Paris he painted

some 250 paintings.  After leaving Paris in 1888, he went to Arles.

He had a mental disorder whic led him to cut off his ear. After that incident he was

admitted to the hospital.  He continued to paint, and his paintings took

on a mystical, magical quality.  He died on January 25, 1891.  He left behind huindreds of

beautiful paintings that leave his greatness unchallenged.

John James Audubon

Nationality: American

Style: Natural

Audubon Watercolors of North American Birds 

"Self Portrait"

"The Scream" 1893

National Museum

Oslo, Norway

Edvard Munch

Nationality: Norwegian

Style: Expressionism

The Norwegian painter, Edvard Munch (1863-1944) had a sad childhood, and was ill most of his life. He used art and writing to come to terms with the mental demons that plagued him throughout his life. His works are simple, yet powerful. In "the Scream" he captures a moment of fear. We wonder what this person has seen!

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