A small Christmas gift – getting to know angel artists (Part 2)

Part 2 – 1476 to 2013

Hugo van der Goes

was born around 1440 in Ghent and died in 1482 in the Rood Monastery near Brussels.

The Flemish painter Hugo van der Goes accomplished great things, although his life lasted little more than four decades – he is considered one of the principal masters of Old Netherlandish painting of the second half of the 15th century.

Hugo van der Goes first becomes known to historians on May 4, 1467. On this day, he was admitted as a master to the Ghent "Lucas Painters' ," with Justus van Gent recorded as his witness and guarantor.

The Guilds of St. Luke were the guild-like brotherhoods of the artistic professions, which developed primarily in the Netherlands during the 15th century. Anyone wishing to become a master there had to prove citizenship of the respective city, sometimes property ownership, and usually also their marital status; however, there is never any mention of a woman named van der Goes.

The painter may have already been so deeply involved in a religious brotherhood at that time that the requirement of marriage became obsolete; or perhaps he had a wife then, about whom no record has reached the present day. In any case, registration as a master was a great honor and also a prerequisite for holding higher political and economic guild offices.

Hugo van der Goes was therefore certainly already active as a painter before his admission to the guild, but no evidence of earlier works by the newly minted master has been handed down.

Membership in the guild quickly paid off; in 1468 Hugo van der Goes received the commission for the festive decoration of the city of Bruges for the wedding celebration of Charles the Bold with Margaret of York, working together with guild master Jacques Daret from Tornai and other artists of the guild.

From 1474 to autumn 1476, Hugo van der Goes held the office of dean in the painters' guild. As early as 1475, he also entered the Rood Monastery of the Augustinians near Brussels, but did not give up his work as a painter as an Augustinian friar ; a visit by the future Emperor Maximilian to the monastery, who commissioned paintings, is documented.

We know from such accounts that Hugo van der Goes became famous during his lifetime and his works were highly regarded. All surviving works were commissioned by wealthy citizens or members of the nobility.

From the heyday of the master's career, the 1470s, several magnificent works have survived: the “Monforte Altarpiece” , the “Hippolytus Altarpiece” , a “Death of the Virgin” and a “Mary Altarpiece” , the “Portinari Triptych” , the “Vienna Diptych” and an “Adoration of the Shepherds” .

Nevertheless, the master withdrew from the center of society to the monastery; a suicide attack is documented during a trip to Cologne in 1481; after returning to the monastery, he renounced all privileges and advantages and died in 1482 of unknown cause; it is suspected that he went insane due to his artistic success.

The Angels of December 24th are a detail from the Portinari Altarpiece , created between 1475 and 1478, the triptych can now be seen in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Pietro Perugino

He was born in Città della Pieve (Perugia) between 1446 and 1452 and died in Fontignano near Città della Pieve in 1523.

“Il Perugino” (“the one from Perugia”) was actually named Pietro Vannucci ; his father, Cristoforo Vannucci, was one of the richest men in the area.

Pietro Perugino probably began studying painting in local workshops, perhaps under Bartolomeo Caporali or Fiorenzo di Lorenzo. Sometime between 1466/1470 and 1479, he went to Florence to the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio trained alongside Leonardo da Vinci , Domenico Ghirlandaio , Lorenzo di Credi , Filippino Lippi,

This information (without more precise dates) can be gleaned from the account of his biographer Giorgio Vasari, who also states that Verrocchio studied the art of perspective under Piero della Francesca . His apprenticeship with Verrocchio is said to have ended in 1492, as he is recorded as a member of the painters' guild from that year onward.

Perugino had become known to his contemporaries long before; in 1481 he created “Consegna delle chiavi a Pietro” (“Christ gives the keys to Peter”), a powerful 3.35 × 5.50 m part of the wall fresco cycle in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican.

The most renowned painters in Italy at the time collaborated on this fresco cycle "Christ" is considered Perugino's most famous painting. The painting's depth of perspective greatly impressed Perugino's contemporaries, and this work made him the most celebrated painter in the country.

Pietro Perugino is said to have subsequently maintained studios in Perugia and Florence, where he is believed to have begun a kind of mass production, primarily of the popular images of the Virgin Mary. However, this did not prevent him from creating unforgettable works of art

The “Crucifixion of Jesus” above the inner entrance of the Portiuncula Chapel (officially Santa Maria degli Angeli) in Assisi. This chapel is famous because Francesco Bernardone (better known as Saint Francis or Francis of Assisi) died there on October 3, 1226; his companions subsequently founded the Franciscan Order.

Between 1489 and 1493 Perugino created the “Vision of Saint Bernard” , from 1493 to 1497 he worked on a “Crucifixion” in Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi in Florence, between 1496 and 1500 he produced a polyptych in San Pietro in Perugia (now the parts are distributed among museums in the French cities of Nantes, Rouen and Lyon and in the Vatican), from 1497 to 1500 frescoes in the Collegio del Cambio in Perugia.

Perugino is considered today to be the most important master of the Umbrian school of Renaissance painting . Perhaps an even greater achievement is that he passed on his skills to the legendary Raphael , who was regarded as the greatest painter of all time well into the 19th century.

Perugino's influence is clearly evident in the early work of the young Raphael. The angel of December 20th is the Archangel Michael from "Assumption of the Virgin with Four Saints ," created in 1500 for the monastery church of Vallombrosa, now in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Master of the Cologne Ursula legend

(or Cologne Master of the Ursula Legend) is just a pseudonym.

of this late Gothic painter from the Old Cologne School, who worked in Cologne from 1480 (1489/90) to 1510/15. Not all of the depictions of the legend of St. Ursula from the Ursula cycle he created for Cologne's St. Severin's Church have survived. The master dedicated at least 19 paintings to the Ursula legend, some of which were destroyed in the Second World War and some of which are lost. What has survived is now scattered among various museums in Europe.

Since his work shows a close connection to Dutch painting of the time, the master may have originated there or at least worked in the Netherlands for a considerable period. His presence in Cologne is certain, however, due to the works in St. Severin's Church, which is why eight of his works are now in the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne. Furthermore, a winged altarpiece, part of a Marian altarpiece, is also attributed to this master; it is now in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery) of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Dresden State Art Collections) .

The Master of the Cologne Ursula Legend is so named because he is not the only master who painted surviving and worthy-of-preservation scenes from the Ursula Legend and remained unknown by name. A master in Bruges also dedicated himself to the subject of Saint Ursula, who is known today as the Bruges Master of the Ursula Legend, the Master of the Bruges Ursula Legend, or the Flemish Master of the Ursula Legend.

This late Gothic painter from Flanders painted altarpieces depicting the Ursula legend for the Convent of the Black Sisters in Bruges as early as 1485 (datable based on images of the then city of Bruges in the background).

Although Saint Ursula to Cologne than to Bruges: The British princess had dedicated her life to Christ and was nevertheless to be married off by a pagan king. She requested a three-year reprieve, embarked on a sea voyage, and had a vision in Cologne in which an angel instructed her to make a pilgrimage to Rome (and prophesied her martyrdom).

Ursula obeys and, on her return journey, passes through Cologne again, which is now under siege by the Huns. Ursula's companions are murdered, and Ursula herself is to become the wife of the Hunnic chieftain. When she refuses, he kills her. A grave mistake: Eleven thousand angels then appear and rout the Huns. In gratitude, the citizens of Cologne build a church in honor of Saint Ursula and make her the patron saint of the city .

The Angel of December 22, the “Apparition of the Angel”, belongs to the Ursula cycle created around 1500 by the Cologne Master and can be seen Wallraf-Richartz Museum

Domenico Beccafumi

He was born around 1486 near Siena, presumably in Montaperti (now part of Castelnuovo Berardenga), and died on May 18, 1551 in Siena.

Another artist with multiple names: Domenico was born Domenico di Pace, the son of the farmer Giacomo di Pace. The farmer worked for Lorenzo Beccafumi, and his son also entered his service. Beccafumi recognized the boy's artistic talent early on, adopted Domenico, and sent him to Siena for his training.

There he studied under the regionally renowned artist Mechero, which is why his contemporaries supposedly called him “il Mecherino” , the little Mechero (others believe this nickname derives from his small stature).

In 1509/1510, Domenico Beccafumi went to Rome to study the latest developments in painting – in Siena, they were more conservative and worked according to traditional principles.

In Rome, Domenico was able to study the revolutionary innovations: Raphael and his pupils had begun in 1508 with the “Stanze” (Italian stanza = room), the painted decoration of the four papal apartments on the second floor of the Apostolic Palace, commissioned by Pope Julius II, which was continued under Pope Leo X until 1524.

At the same time, Michelangelo on the ceiling frescoes in the Sistine Chapel have studied Renaissance painters in Rome

Beccafumi returned to Siena quite quickly, where he received a number of public commissions; in 1513, for example, he painted frescoes for the chapel of the municipal hospital of Siena, Santa Maria della Scala, depicting the “Meeting of Joachim and Anne” .

A number of works for private clients are also documented, such as frescoes on the facade of the Palazzo Borghesi. However, only the preliminary drawings for both commissions survive; other early works by Beccafumi from his beginnings in Siena or his time in Rome have not survived.

Only towards the end of this decade are Beccafumi's commissions better documented: in 1519 Beccafumi received "the commission of his life", the decoration of the marble floor in the cathedral of Siena, with which he was occupied until his death.

Since then, Beccafumi continued to work for the municipality of Siena and for private clients, also mainly in Siena; he never became a sought-after “celebrity painter” (court painter at one of the Italian princely courts), and commissions from other parts of Italy, such as in 1540 for Admiral Andrea Doria in Genoa, were rare.

Most of the works preserved by Beccafumi can therefore be admired in Siena; an altarpiece ( “Moses smashing the tablets of the law” ) from 1537 is located in the Cathedral of Pisa; two of his “Holy Families” can be admired in Florence, in the Uffizi and in the Palazzo Pitti; the “Madonna with the Christ Child and the Infant John” adorns the Palazzo Barberini in Rome.

Beccafumi is accused of not having gained much from his time in Rome, unlike other Sienese artists. While Il Sodoma and Baldassare Peruzzi , for example, absorbed all the nuances of the leading artists of the time during their stay in Rome, Beccafumi's painting style remained provincial.

Beccafumi may have been deeply attached to his homeland, but he was certainly an artist who developed an independent and sometimes idiosyncratic creativity. Perhaps he consciously chose to remain largely uninfluenced by the prevailing Mannerist trend, as evidenced by the unique eccentricity and sometimes dreamlike, emotional details that characterize his work.

His depictions also differ in tone from the often quite colorful works of the classical Roman masters. Beccafumi prefers delicate, very natural-looking colors, employs a not necessarily neatly linear, but rather slightly "jagged" line, likes to envelop his pictures in a light mist, and paints soft transitions, in contrast to the sharply defined clarity of the paintings of the fashionable masters of his time.

Furthermore, he was very versatile; he not only painted but also experimented with various woodcut techniques, worked as a sculptor (equestrian statue of Emperor Charles V, angel sculptures in Siena Cathedral) and was active as an illustrator of manuscripts .

The angel of December 17th belongs to the “Annunciation” , which Domenico Beccafumi created in 1545/1546 for the church of San Martino in Siena.

Titian

was probably born between 1488 and 1490 (or around 1477) in Pieve di Cadore near Belluno (Republic of Venice) and died in Venice in 1576.

Titian was actually called Tiziano Vecellio, or during his lifetime he was called “Tiziano da Cadore” (from Cadore) after his birthplace, or also “the sun among the stars” – his talent made a name for himself early on.

To later generations, the painter is considered a leading representative of Venetian painting in the 16th century , and one of the main masters of the Italian High Renaissance in general; “Titian” is enough for the art lover to know who is meant.

Tiziano Vecellio was the eldest of four children in a wealthy family of the lower nobility; his father Gregorio was the chief clergyman at the castle of Pieve, and his grandfather held a leading position in the city administration.

It is documented that the talent of little Titian and his brother Francesco was noticed early on; at the age of nine, Titian was sent to an uncle in Venice who was to find him an artistic apprenticeship.

Titian and Francesco were initially trained by the mosaicist Sebastiano Zuccato, who then introduced the brothers to the workshops of Venice's most renowned painters. During his apprenticeship in the workshops of Gentile and Giovanni Bellini, Titian came into contact with other painters, including Giorgione .

A stroke of luck for the then very young Titian, in 1507 the already quite well-known Giorgione received a commission from the city of Venice to design the exterior frescoes of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi (German Exchange), which had just been rebuilt after a fire.

The “Arte Moderna” laid down here, highly praised by his contemporaries, was Titian’s professional breakthrough; at around 17 years old, he was a sought-after artist.

Gentile Bellini in 1507 , Giorgione, who had become his rival, died in 1510, Titian opened his own workshop in Venice in 1513, and the death of Giovanni Bellini in 1516 freed Titian from the last serious rival of the Venetian school. From this favorable position, Titian developed into a world-renowned artist, remaining the undisputed leading master of Venetian painting in the cultural world of the time for the next sixty years.

At the beginning of his second decade, Titian acquired several municipal privileges that, among other things, entitled him to complete works by his famous teachers, such as Bellini's painting in the Great Council Chamber of Venice. He also negotiated shrewd contracts with the city of Venice, securing a fixed salary and tax exemption in exchange for the obligation to paint portraits of all the Doges for a fixed price.

His rise was unstoppable; Titian portrayed the prominent figures of his time and produced commissioned works for them, married in 1525, moved to what was then probably the most prestigious district of Venice, and in 1533 was appointed court painter by Emperor Charles V and elevated to the nobility (Titian is said to have previously painted two very flattering portraits of the emperor).

Since 1542, Pope Paul III had wanted to see Titian in Rome, who had by then achieved such prominence that he did not feel it necessary to accept the invitation until 1545; in 1548 and 1550, Titian accompanied Emperor Charles V and his son Philip II to the Imperial Diets in Augsburg, and during the last years of his life until 1576, Titian worked mainly for Emperor Philip II. Titian died at an advanced age in 1576 from the plague, probably the most successful painter that Venetian history has produced.

Titian's "career" is very reminiscent of that of a modern-day elite protégé, with support from birth, access to the right education and the right circles, even "modern marketing methods" such as the value-enhancing signature of his paintings and mass production of engravings, and luck (if one can call the timely death of rivals that) certainly played a part as well.

But (birth-independent) talent and the further development of one's own skills contributed to Titian's success: He was a versatile painter, especially for his time, which was often limited to religious themes; he also painted portraits, landscapes, and mythological motifs , and even addressed themes of earthly love.

He invented a characteristic and distinctive use of color for his work, was one of the first painters in Italy to use modern oil paints, and found his own sculptural style, shaped by his childhood in the Dolomites, through several upheavals and crises.

The angel of December 1st is the “Annunciation Angel” “Resurrection of Christ” created in 1520-1522 for the church of San Nazzaro e Celso in Brescia.

Bavarian Champion

is named the unknown artist who painted the “Annunciation to Mary” on wood around 1500 in a size of 107 × 80.5 cm in the late Gothic style.

We know nothing about the artist; he left us neither his name nor dates of birth and death, but a lot of symbols on his picture tell us something: The angel who presents Mary with the pot of flowers is the Archangel Gabriel – the angel of resurrection, grace and the Annunciation, when he appears as a female being in Christian art.

When Gabriel is depicted in male form, he is considered a messenger of God who can interpret visions. According to Christian and Jewish tradition, he is also the leader of the Cherubim (winged, hybrid creatures of animal and human form who perform protective functions or serve God) and Seraphim (angels with six wings who fly around God's throne, calling out "Holy, holy, holy"). Gabriel – also known as Gabriel, Jabrīl, Jabrāʾīl – plays an important role in Islam as the transmitter of revelation to the Prophet Muhammad.

The pot presented by the angel of the Annunciation contains white lilies, a symbol of pure, virginal love in Christianity. The master has not painted just any white lilies here, but rather the species "Lilium candidum" in the botanical genus of lilies, the Madonna lily.

When Gabriel announces the birth of Jesus to Mary, the Madonna lily is his attribute, which he carries on or in his hands, as seen here in the painting by the Bavarian master. He may also have – as here – a scroll with him, or a trumpet, or his raised index finger may indicate the Annunciation.

Another symbol that the Bavarian master presents to us is the bird in the cage . It symbolizes the power of thought, which elevates the soul within the body, allowing it to expand and enabling humankind to speak thoughtfully. The angel of December 16th announces the birth of Jesus to the Mother of God in the "Annunciation to Mary," a painting that can be viewed today at the Kunsthaus Zürich.

Rembrandt

was born on July 15, 1606 in Leiden and died on October 4, 1669 in Amsterdam.

Rembrandt is the first name of one of the most famous and important Dutch Baroque artists, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn , who was born in 1606 as the eighth of nine children of miller Harmen Gerritszoon van Rijn and baker's daughter Neeltgen Willemsdochter van Zuytbrouck and lived during the time of the famous Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi .

After primary school and Latin school, with lessons in biblical history, reading the classics and rhetoric, Rembrandt enrolled in the philosophy faculty of Leiden University in 1620, but broke off his studies after a short time to become a painter.

Rembrandt became a pupil of the Leiden history painter Jacob Isaacsz van Swanenburgh , who, trained in Italy, taught him the basics of painting and his own specializations from 1620 to 1624: architectural painting and scenic depictions of hell; the hellfires painted during this training are said to be responsible for Rembrandt's mastery in the depiction of light and shadow in his paintings.

Afterwards, Rembrandt undertook a six-month apprenticeship with the famous history painter Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam, which is said to have influenced him more profoundly than his years with van Swanenburgh. History painting was then considered the highest genre of painting, and Lastman thoroughly introduced his pupil to the subject.

With lasting success, Rembrandt opened his first studio in Leiden in 1625 and soon attracted attention with his painting. So much attention, in fact, that by the end of 1628 the secretary of the Stadtholder of the United Provinces (precursor to the modern Netherlands) began supporting the artist and securing commissions for him. In 1629 and 1630, Rembrandt was even able to sell paintings to the English king.

Rembrandt subsequently gave up his Leiden studio in 1631 and moved to Amsterdam, where he used the proceeds from the royal portraits to buy his way into the large and important workshop of the art dealer Hendrick van Uylenburgh. In this workshop, which flourished primarily through copying and restoration, Rembrandt was quickly able to secure portrait commissions from wealthy merchants. Governor Frederick Henry, through his secretary, purchased paintings and commissioned a Passion cycle. By 1632, Rembrandt had painted 30 pictures and was financially secure – at the age of 26.

Rembrandt still lacked some prerequisites for admission to the Amsterdam Guild (a condition for independence in the city), which were fulfilled in the following years, from working in the workshop of another master to entering into marriage; Rembrandt carried out the latter in 1634, conveniently with the niece of his art dealer and daughter of a rich patrician, and in the same year he joined the Guild of St. Luke.

The angel of December 12th was created by Rembrandt, “Jacob Struggles with the Angel” from 1659; Rembrandt’s further fate is described in the text about the angel of December 15th.

Rembrandt

He had been admitted to the Guild of St. Luke in 1634 and thus seemed to have secured his future; his rise was described in the text accompanying the calendar image of December 12th, and it continues as follows:

As an independent master, Rembrandt was now permitted to take on students and apprentices, train them, and have them work for him. He continued to paint and sell his work and soon after moved into his own house with his wife. That was in 1635. In addition to his work as an artist, Rembrandt also began trading in artworks and started collecting a wide variety of historical and scientific treasures, rare plants, animals, and exotic objects (expensive items from distant lands).

What reads like the textbook career of a nouveau riche who can't get enough initially continued in a fairly typical way for such a person: in 1638, Rembrandt had squandered his wife's inheritance of around 40,000 guilders.

Perhaps both spouses were lavish; in any case, it was Saskia Rembrandt who was reprimanded by her relatives for extravagance, whereupon Rembrandt sued his wife's relatives for defamation.

Perhaps claiming compensation for pain and suffering, Rembrandt in any case bought a new house on January 5, 1639, a real large town house, for which he also took out a loan that was to be paid off in five or six years.

The path to ruin, initiated by extravagance and borrowing for the large property, was now accelerated by one tragedy after another: Rembrandt's first son had already survived only a few months in 1635; in the year of the libel suit, his first daughter died shortly after birth; in 1640, not only did Rembrandt's second daughter die shortly after her baptism, but a month later, Rembrandt's mother also passed away. In 1641, his son Titus was born, but in June 1642, his mother, Rembrandt's wife Saskia, died.

During the period before Saskia's death, Rembrandt had been able to maintain a high level of productivity despite all his losses; his wife's death was now too profound a blow, and his artistic activity declined significantly. Added to this was the worry about his young son, which involved hiring two nannies, Rembrandt's romantic relationships with them, subsequent disputes among the women, and legal proceedings concerning alimony and wills.

Rembrandt was eventually unable to pay his loans and had to borrow even more money; shortly before declaring insolvency in 1656, he transferred his house to his son, but even the auction of his house and collections was not enough to settle the debts.

Rembrandt had to move to a poor neighborhood, where he led a secluded life for four years. This was briefly revitalized in 1660 when his son and foster mother took him on as an employee in their art business. Rembrandt was able to cultivate business contacts, accept commissions, and teach students. His foster mother died in 1663, and in 1668 his son Titus died at the young age of 27. Rembrandt followed him just over a year later.

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was a brilliant artist, celebrated and well-paid by his contemporaries and revered by posterity as one of the most important artists of all time. He lived in a golden age, a period of economic, artistic, and political flourishing. He worked diligently for much of his life, creating hundreds of paintings that command high prices—and yet he managed to impoverish himself through senseless consumption and a loan secured only by future earnings.

The Angel of December 15th was created by Rembrandt in 1626; it is the angel from the painting “Prophet Balaam and the Donkey” .

Ssemyon Fedorovich Ushakov

He was born in Moscow around 1626 and died there on June 25, 1686.

Ssemyon or Simon Ushakov was a renowned Russian icon painter . Nothing is known about his life until he assumed a position of authority. Ssemyon Fedorovich Ushakov served the Russian state as an artist, and as head of the icon workshop of the Kremlin Armoury, he was a very well-known and highly respected artist.

The artists who created art for Russian tsars and supreme rulers were not granted personal fame – they created icons (religious images of the Eastern churches, especially the Orthodox churches) in the name of their rulers, who were to receive religious support, and secular art for the glory of their rulers.

Many of Ssemyon Ushakov's works are therefore unknown to us; however, his main area of ​​work and his mastery are said to have been in the creation of icons.

Ssemyon Ushakov, for example, was involved in the magnificent decoration of the Uspensky Cathedral (Assumption Cathedral) in the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius in Sergiev Posad (1930–1991 Zagorsk). Tsar Ivan the Terrible began construction of this cathedral in honor of the Mother of God in 1559, and it was completed by 1585 under his son Fyodor.

It was built following the model of the Uspensky Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin, the largest church in the Kremlin (and today the oldest fully preserved building in Moscow); the Trinity Lavra, located about 70 km northeast of Moscow, was founded around 1340 by Saint Sergius of Radonezh and has since been one of the most important religious centers of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The masterful decoration of the cathedral's interior was begun in 1684; court painter Simon Ushakov participated in the work on the five-tiered iconostasis . An iconostasis is a wall adorned with icons and featuring doors between the nave and the chancel; the iconostasis of the Uspensky Cathedral was ultimately intended to consist of 76 icons.

The two magnificent icons of a gilded wooden iconostasis, preserved in the Trinity Church of Nikitniki in the Kitai-Gorod district of Moscow, are also attributed to Simon Fyodorovich Ushakov.

Ssemyon Ushakov recently came back into the spotlight in Moscow when, in the spring/summer of 2012, the Faceted Palace in the Moscow Kremlin (oldest part of the Grand Kremlin Palace, oldest secular building in Moscow) was restored to its original form – the interior was restored based on descriptions made by the icon painter in the 17th century.

Ssemyon Fedorovich Ushakov created the Angel of December 19th, the Archangel Gabriel, as a Russian icon ; it is dated to the second third of the 17th century.

An unknown Russian artist

left us an icon of Saint Nicholas.

We know absolutely nothing about this artist, since a Saint Nicholas is depicted and, as it is an icon, it is clearly a depiction of a saint in the Orthodox Church. This particular form of veneration through images of saints painted on wooden panels is a form of worship unique to the Orthodox Church. The choice of Saint Nicholas as the subject of an icon is also typical of the Orthodox Church

In church history, there are two Saint Nicholases. Bishop Nicholas of Myra was born around 270/280 near Myra, east of Rhodes (present-day Demre, Antalya, Turkey), and died there in 345/351. Bishop Nicholas of Pinara was abbot of the Sion Monastery near Myra and served as bishop in Pinara for the last five years of his life; his birthdate is unknown, and he died in 564.

Both Saint Nicholases are thus closely associated with the city of Myra and were venerated as saints in the Greek Orthodox Church as early as the sixth century. Since then, Myra has been a pilgrimage site for the Orthodox Church, and Saint Nicholas is also a popular motif in the Eastern Orthodox churches; he is probably depicted more frequently than any other saint on icons.

Saint Nicholas is recognizable by his attributes. He wears the robes of an Orthodox bishop, a brocade strip of fabric adorned with crosses called an omophorion around his shoulders, and holds a book in his hand. The artwork's style—the egg tempera applied to wood, adorned with a silver halo, and featuring a silver sheet frame and background—indicates that this icon was created approximately 350 years ago, around 1665.

In the West, Saint Nicholas is also venerated, primarily as the Bishop of Myra, and so much so that his relics were stolen from Myra by Italian merchants. This happened in 1078, and from 1087 onwards, a church was built around the "stolen relics," the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in Bari , which today attracts around 200,000 pilgrims annually.

Saint Nicholas is not only venerated as a saint because he was a bishop, but many legends surround Nicholas of Myra: He is said to have saved innocent people from death, rescued a debtor's daughters from being sold into prostitution and given them three gold nuggets as a dowry, brought young men who had been killed and salted by angry innkeepers back to life, magically multiplied wheat to save the people of Myra from starvation, healed the sick, saved boys from drowning, and drove demons out of poisoned wells.

Nicholas of Sion/Pinara was simply said to have been friendly and charitable; both saints merged into one figure of a great benefactor.

Saint Nicholas of Myra died on December 6, 343; later his feast day became our Saint Nicholas Day, on which Saint Nicholas, in remembrance of the gold nuggets for the poor daughters, fills their shoes with gifts .

The unknown Russian artist created the Angel of December 6th, the icon of Saint Nicholas .

William Blake

was born in London on November 28, 1757 and died there on August 12, 1827.

William Blake was born into the family of a well-to-do stocking merchant and homeschooled by his mother, Catherine Wright Armitage Blake. He is said to have displayed such a headstrong temperament that his parents dared not send him to school.

He seemed equally unsuited for a normal, subservient profession, which is why he was enrolled in a drawing school at the age of ten. It was one of the most important drawing schools in London and evidently the right fit for William Blake; from 1772 he completed an apprenticeship as an engraver, and from 1779 he became a student at the Royal Academy of Arts .

Actually, admission to the Royal Academy should have guaranteed a successful career as a history painter, but Blake fell out with the Academy president, Sir Joshua Reynolds, a portrait painter more committed to tradition than originality, and his hopes for a great career were thus dashed.

He found the right woman for this, Catherine Boucher, who came from humble beginnings, and whom he married in 1783. Catherine couldn't even read, but she was blessed with a strong curiosity, learned from her husband, and educated herself.

After some time, she became a valuable help to Blake, who opened a printing shop in 1784; some difficulties related to the couple's childlessness were overcome, and the marriage, which lasted until Blake's death (over 40 years), is said to have been an exceptionally happy and fruitful partnership.

William Blake's professional life was less successful without support from the right circles; he worked as a printer, engraver, and illustrator until his death, poor and unnoticed by the crème de la crème of the art world. However, he did have friends and benefactors who helped him through the worst periods of financial hardship by providing him with commissions.

Only very late in his life did Blake experience a new generation of artists beginning to appreciate his work – from around 1818 onwards, the textbook career of a highly gifted man who was inconvenient and misunderstood by ponderous thinkers slowly took a positive turn.

These young artists had a good sense for talent, even if it was ahead of its time, and these were William Blake's highly innovative works, which were discovered by the Pre-Raphaelites around the middle of the 19th century and now found widespread recognition – the painter was almost a century ahead of his time.

Since then, he has remained popular in both high culture and popular culture. The paintings and etchings of this exceptional artist, his work as a poet, and his views as a nature mystic have been continually rediscovered. William Blake possessed many remarkable talents; for example, he relief etching and gave free rein to his boundless imagination in visions that he transformed into poems and paintings.

The list of writers, classical composers, jazz composers, rock musicians, pop musicians and directors who were decisively influenced in their work by William Blake is legendary, and it doesn't look like this list will end anytime soon.

William Blake created the angel of December 21st, the “Archangel Raphael with Adam and Eve” , in 1808.

Inga Schnekenburger

She was born Ingrid Hübler on June 28, 1949 in Winsen an der Luhe and died on November 20, 2013 in Tenerife.

Inga Schnekenburger is the artist who, together with her husband Willi Schnekenburger, gifted www.onlinekunst.de/engel

Inga Schnekenburger (then Ingrid Hübler) won prizes in creative competitions early on, studied at the School of Applied Arts in Hamburg from 1967 to 1968; her first solo exhibition was in Geesthacht in 1969, and she completed her training as a graphic designer by 1971.

She married Artur Kaesmacher in 1969, and their children were born in 1971 and 1973; from 1976 to 1980 she studied art, crafts, pedagogy, psychology and philosophy at the Lüneburg University of Applied Sciences and passed her first state examination for teaching art and crafts in 1980.

In 1977 she divorced Artur Kaesmacher and began working as an art lecturer at the adult education center in Lüneburg, followed by teacher training and examinations, from 1986 teaching as an art teacher at the grammar school and from 1989 a teaching assignment at the University of Applied Sciences Northeast Lower Saxony for creativity training.

During this time, Ingrid Hübler had organized five solo exhibitions, two group exhibitions and a retrospective, and founded an art school. In 1991, she bid farewell to Lower Saxony with an exhibition in the Städtisches Glockenhaus in Lüneburg and moved to Donaueschingen in Baden-Württemberg.

There, she directed the Municipal Youth Art School until the end of January 1992 and married the artist Willi Schnekenburger. This was followed by teaching positions for creativity training at Furtwangen University of Applied Sciences until 1997 and numerous exhibition participations until 2001

Multiple appearances at the International Ceramics Weeks in Hüfingen, a “mirror cross” in Munich, watercolors, objects and ceramics, some in collaboration with Willi Schnekenburger, at the State Garden Show Bad Dürrheim, in Koblenz, Asbach, Furtwangen, Lohmar, Schwerin, Düsseldorf, Meiningen, Berlin and Hochfelden in Alsace, France.

Meanwhile, Inga Schnekenburger's painting, object art and ceramics had joined the move into the digital world: in 1995, with “Pictures about I Ching – Bilder zum I Ching” , the first presentation on the Internet took place, from 1997 to 1998 the artist trained as a multimedia developer, in 1998 Willi and Inga Schnekenburger founded onlinekunst.de, on this platform for art and culture on the Internet many exhibitions and art projects have taken place since then.

Even though the site is currently not being maintained (as of 12/2014) following Inga Schnekenburger's death in 2013, a visit is definitely worthwhile; the art project computergarten.de, for example, was also started in 1998 and has grown over many years, and today contains a wealth of computer art and artistic digital photography.

Inga Schnekenburger left us the angels of December 2nd, 4th and 9th, the “Angel of John” , “Time marches on” and “Guardian Angel” , beautiful computer graphics and watercolors.