Norman Rockwell

popular name: Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun

date_of_death: March 30, 1842

age: 86

cause_of_death: Ill health due to stroke

claim_to_fame: Artists

best_know_for: Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun was one of the great portrait artists in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, easily the equal of Quentin de La Tour or Jean Baptiste Greuze. Born into relatively modest circumstances, she firmly established herself in society’s upper crust. After earning the favours of the king and his family, she became the official artist of Queen Marie Antoinette. One of the most successful women artists (unusually so for her time), particularly noted for her portraits of women, her father and first teacher, Louis Vigée, was a noted portraitist who worked chiefly in pastels. Her great opportunity came in 1779 when she was summoned to Versailles to paint a portrait of Queen Marie-Antoinette. The two women became friends, and in subsequent years Vigée-Lebrun painted more than 20 portraits of Marie-Antoinette in a great variety of poses and costumes. She also painted a great number of self-portraits, in the style of various artists whose work she admired. During her 60+ years as an artist, Le Brun created 660 portraits and 200 landscapes. In addition to many works in private collections, her paintings are owned by major museums such as the Louvre in Paris, Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, National Gallery in London, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and many other collections in Europe and the United States. Since 1999 the record price for an original Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun at auction is $7,185,900 USD for Portrait of Muhammad Dervish Khan (full-length holding his sword in a landscape).

popular name: Eugène Delacroix

date_of_death: August 13, 1863

age: 65

cause_of_death: Throat infection

claim_to_fame: Artists

best_know_for: Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school. In contrast to the Neoclassical perfectionism of his chief rival Ingres, Delacroix took for his inspiration the art of Rubens and painters of the Venetian Renaissance, with an attendant emphasis on colour and movement rather than clarity of outline and carefully modelled form. Dramatic and romantic content characterized the central themes of his maturity, and led him not to the classical models of Greek and Roman art, but to travel in North Africa, in search of the exotic. Delacroix was trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and quickly gained attention for his dramatic, expressive style. His breakthrough came with the painting La Barque de Dante (1822), which was showcased at the Salon and received acclaim for its bold use of color and intense emotion. This set the stage for other iconic works, such as Liberty Leading the People (1830), a powerful allegorical depiction of the July Revolution in France. Delacroix's use of vivid colors, dynamic compositions, and passion in his works became a hallmark of Romanticism. Throughout his career, Delacroix was inspired by literature, history, and contemporary events, drawing from sources like Shakespeare, Byron, and the Bible. His works often depicted intense emotions, dramatic landscapes, and scenes of violence and heroism. He was also influenced by the art of the Dutch Masters and the emerging techniques of the Impressionists, though he remained primarily associated with the Romantic tradition. Delacroix's later years were marked by a move toward lighter, more fluid compositions. Though he never embraced the academic style of the time, he remained a prominent figure in French art circles. His legacy deeply influenced generations of artists, including the Impressionists, particularly in terms of color theory and the expressive use of brushwork. He died at his home in 1863, leaving behind a legacy as one of the great masters of 19th-century art. He was interred at Cimetière du Père-Lachaise in Paris, France.

popular name: Camille Corot

date_of_death: 22 February 22, 1875

age: 78

cause_of_death: Stomach disease

claim_to_fame: Artists

best_know_for: Camille Corot (1796–1875) was a French artist known for his landscape paintings and his role in the development of the Barbizon School. Born in Paris, he initially studied at the Académie des Beaux-Arts, but he also developed a deep passion for nature, which greatly influenced his work. Corot’s early career involved portrait painting, but he gained fame for his landscapes, especially those inspired by his travels in Italy. Corot became renowned for his poetic approach to nature, with a focus on light and atmosphere. His innovative use of color and brushwork had a significant impact on later artists, particularly the Impressionists. Corot was known for working both outdoors, directly from nature, and in the studio, creating a balance between realism and a more emotional, idealized vision of the landscape. Some of most important works include Ville d'Avray (1865), Venise, La Piazetta and The Bridge at Narni. Throughout his life, Corot received recognition and success, but he remained modest and humble about his work. He exhibited widely, particularly at the Salon, and was highly respected by his contemporaries including Jean-François Millet, Théodore Rousseau, Charles-François Daubigny and Honoré Daumier. His legacy endures as one of the key figures in the transition from classical to modern art, influencing both landscape painting and the evolution of plein-air techniques. Upon his death, he was laid to rest at Cimetière du Père-Lachaise in Paris, France.