Posts in Category: february 24

Winslow Homer in New York (Photograph by Napoleon Sarony), 1880 Albumen silver print, 5.9 × 4.3 in Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine Winslow Homer in New York (Photograph by Napoleon Sarony), 1880 Albumen silver print, 5.9 × 4.3 in Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine

Winslow Homer

On February 15, 2026 - 19th Century, 20th Century, American, february 24

Winslow Homer, February 24, 1836–September 29, 1910, was an American painter, watercolorist, and illustrator born in Boston and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He apprenticed with the lithographer John H. Bufford, later studied briefly at the National Academy of Design, and took painting lessons from Frédéric Rondel. He moved to New York in 1859 and worked as an illustrator for Harper’s Weekly, reporting on the Civil War.

Homer painted scenes of military life, rural communities, children, fishing, and the coast. He visited France in 1866–1867, began working extensively in watercolor in 1873, and ended his magazine illustration work in 1875. He lived in Cullercoats, England, in 1881–1882, where he depicted the local fishing community.

In 1883 Homer settled at Prouts Neck, Maine, continuing to make painting trips to the Adirondacks, Canada, Bermuda, Florida, and the Caribbean. He worked there until his death in 1910. His paintings and watercolors are held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Clark Art Institute.

Portrait of Charles Le Brun (Nicolas de Largillière), 1683–1686 Oil on canvas, 91.3 × 73.6 in Louvre Museum, Paris Portrait of Charles Le Brun (Nicolas de Largillière), 1683–1686 Oil on canvas, 91.3 × 73.6 in Louvre Museum, Paris

Charles le Brun

On February 14, 2026 - 17th Century, february 24, French

Charles Le Brun, February 24, 1619 (baptism)–February 12, 1690, was a French painter born in Paris. He studied with François Perrier and Simon Vouet and worked in Rome with Nicolas Poussin from 1642–1646.

He helped establish the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1648, directed the Gobelins manufactory, and became First Painter to Louis XIV. His work included history paintings, portraits, and decorative schemes for Vaux-le-Vicomte, the Louvre, and Versailles, including the Hall of Mirrors.

After Colbert died in 1683, royal patronage increasingly favored Pierre Mignard. Le Brun continued painting until his death in Paris. His pupils included Charles de La Fosse, Jean Jouvenet, and René-Antoine Houasse. Major holdings of his work are at the Louvre and Versailles; paintings are also held by the Hermitage and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Mattia Preti

On February 6, 2026 - 17th Century, february 24, Italian

Mattia Preti, February 24, 1613–January 3, 1699, was an Italian painter born in Taverna, Calabria. He trained in Rome with his elder brother, Gregorio Preti, and studied paintings by Caravaggio and Paolo Veronese.

He worked in Rome and Naples before settling in Malta in 1661. A knight of the Order of St John, he received numerous church commissions, including the painted ceiling of St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta.

His paintings are held by the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid, Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam.