In order to create a real masterpiece of painting, artists have been carrying an idea for years and spending several years of their lives creating their own work. Alexander Ivanov wrote "The Appearance of Christ to the People" exactly 20 years, a little less time Viktor Vasnetsov spent on the famous "Bogatyrs". For such a long and painstaking work, a simple signature will not be enough. Therefore, the authors immortalized themselves on the famous canvases.
Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn "Nightwatch"
"Nightwatch" is considered a fatal picture in the life of an artist. Initially, he painted a group portrait for the Rifle Society. After the work was completed, the fame of Rembrandt died out, he impoverished, his students became more in demand than the famous teacher.
Art historians believe that the artist hid his self-portrait among the military. His face can be seen behind the right shoulder of Jan Ockersen, the shooter in a grey cylinder. He also captured his deceased lover and muse, Saskia. This is a girl in a white dress with blonde hair on the left side of the painting.
Victor Vasnetsov's "Bogatyrs"
For 19 years Viktor Vasnetsov wrote the famous "Bogatyrs". Soon they were bought by Pavel Tretyakov for his gallery. Ivan Petrov, a blacksmith, and a coachman from the village of Bolshie Mytishchi were the prototypes of Ilya Muromets. "I'm walking along the quay near the Crimean bridge, - said the artist, - and I see: there is a huge child near the regiment, exactly like my Ilya.
Dobrynya Nikitich reminds us of Vasnetsov himself. Some art historians are sure that in the image of a famous hero, the master hid his portrait.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio's "St. Matthew's Martyrdom"
Painting for the Chapel of Contarelli in the Roman Church of San Luigi dei Francesi. For the artist, this work became a challenge to himself. Previously, he had not painted such large-scale canvases with a large number of people.
He reworked the drawing several times, changed the composition, body positions, added and removed the characters. Caravaggio decided to immortalize himself on canvas. The figure in the background behind the killer is a self-portrait of the artist.
Carl Briullov "The Last Day of Pompeii"
Briullov's brushwork is a pearl of the collection of the State Russian Museum. It depicts the events in Pompeii during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. Painting "The Last Day of Pompeii" became incredibly popular all over the world. She has fans in Russia, Europe and the United States. Pushkin dedicated the picture poem "Vesuvius zeus discovered ...", and Gogol called it "a bright resurrection of painting".
There's a crowd of people on the steps of the tomb. Among them is a young artist with a box full of brushes and paints. This is Karl Briullov. Judging by the sketches for the picture, the young painter appeared shortly before the end of the work.
Eduard Manet's "Music in the Tuileries"
"Music in the Tuileries" was criticized by critics for being too bright and mixing colors. Here is a crowd of Parisians who gathered for a weekly concert in the Tuileries Garden near the Louvre.
Among this motley crowd are the contemporaries of the artist: composer Jacques Offenbach, writer Theophilus Gaultier, poet Charles Baudelaire and many others. And at the left-hand edge of the painting stands Manet himself.
Ian Vermeer "The Pimp"
For a long time Vermeer wrote mainly biblical and mythological stories. The artist decided to master a new genre of painting and began to depict scenes of everyday life. One of the first such works was "Painter".
Scientists believe that this is a very unusual portrait of the artist's family. Vermeer is a musician, his wife Katharina is a harlot, and his brother Willem is a lustful soldier.
Alexander Ivanov, "The Appearance of Christ to the People."
For more than 20 years Ivanov wrote the main work of his life, he studied the works of the Renaissance and the Holy Scriptures, especially the New Testament. He had been collecting copies for such a large canvas for years. The artist did not miss the chance to portray himself. The man with the grey hat and staff next to John the Baptist is Ivanov.
El Greco "Saint Luke"
Luke, the evangelist, is considered to be the first iconographer and created about 10 icons of the Mother of God. His name was worn by the Guild of Artists, which included El Greco. The artist studied icon painting, and religious motives were very close to him.
The master wanted to emphasize the role of the saint in the creation of the Bible and the first icons. Perhaps that is why he used his face and hands to embody the image of Luke. Although El Greco's paintings were posed by his disciples.
Vasily Surikov "The Lady of the Morozov"
Surikov from childhood was interested in Old Belief, so the plot of the picture he used the biography of Feodosiya Morozova - one of the leaders of the dissenters. For her work she was exiled to the Paphnutievo-Borovskiy monastery, placed in a pit, where she was starved.
The artist's aunt Avdotya Torgoshina, a laughing merchant and former deacon of Varsanofiy Zakourtzev, became the prototype of Morozova, and Surikov himself became a traveler with a dark beard.
Jan van Eyck "Madonna with the canonical van der Pale"
Van Eyck is a fan of hiding self-portraits in paintings. On the famous "Portrait of the Arnolfini Couples" the artist depicted himself in a red turban. Here, too, it is not so easy to find him. Pay attention to St. George in luxurious armor. If you look carefully, you can find van Eyck behind the easel in the shield behind his back. Finding the artist is a task for the most sighted.