BalenciagaBalenciaga had a reputation as a couturier of uncompromising standards and was referred to as "the master of us all" by Christian DiorChristian Dior.
His bubble skirts and odd, feminine, yet "modernistic" silhouettes became the trademarks of the house. Balenciaga closed in 19721972 and was reopened under new ownership in 19861986. The brand is now owned by the luxury group Keringluxury group Kering.
Italian painters Northern Renaissance
Renaissance
Père Goriot"Father Goriot" is one of Balzac's most famous novels, included in his cycle "The Human Comedy". The tragic story of old Goriot, a small merchant who made a great fortune and, like King Lear, gave everything to his daughters, who bring him to poverty, sounds surprisingly modern.
Honoré de BalzacAlberti
Alberti Leon Battista. Italian architect, sculptor, painter and writer
Alberti Leon Battista (1404-1472), Italian architect, sculptor, painter and writer. Alberti was a playwright, musician, mathematician and sportsman, embodying the Renaissance ideal of a "harmonious personality". Born in Genoa and studied in Padua (with the famous humanist Gasparino da Bartsizza), then in Bologna. After graduating from the university, he became a doctor of canon and civil law. Alberti spent most of his life in Rome and other Italian cities, and only occasionally visited Florence.
Honoré de BalzacHonoré de Balzac is one of the most emblematic writers of the French novelFrench novel. Born May 20, 1799 in Tours and died prematurely August 18, 1850 in ParisParis, he is the author of The Human ComedyThe Human Comedy. The Balzac novels, whether adored or criticized, remains unavoidable today; certain characters from La The Human ComedyThe Human Comedy such as Père Goriot, Rastignac or César Birotteau have become veritable literary legends.
Son of a man of peasant origin who managed to climb the social ladder, Honoré de BalzacHonoré de Balzac was born in Tours in 1799. At the age of 8, he was sent to the college of Vendôme, where he fed on books and was passionate about for philosophy.
Six years later, his desire to become a philosopher was confirmed when he became a resident at the Ganser institution in ParisParis. His family predestined him for a career as a notary and the young man began studying law. If he passed his baccalaureate, however, he decided to change paths and try his luck in writing. Living in a small Parisian attic, he devoured the works of Descartes then tried his hand at tragedy by writing a play in Alexandrines, CromwellCromwell (18191819). Proud of his work, he is quickly discouraged by the opinions of those around him. He then turned to various genres and published several novels under pseudonyms.
To survive, he writes various food books, other plays, historical novels or even poems in verse, without success. In 18261826, he sought to make a fortune by opening a printing press, a project which unfortunately went bankrupt and put him in debt.
Three years later, he published for the first time a novel in his name, Les ChouansLes Chouans. Having finally found his style, he really launched his career with La Peau de chagrinLa Peau de chagrin (1831) then Eugénie Grandet Eugénie Grandet (18331833).
He begins to earn his living and frequent fashionable salons. He then had several love affairs, notably with George SandGeorge Sand, Olympe PélissierOlympe Pélissier and the Duchess of CastriesDuchess of Castries. Although he had many female admirers, he only had eyes for one of them, Countess Ewelina HanskaEwelina Hanska, with whom he had a long correspondence from 18321832.
Three years later, Father Goriot Father Goriot consecrated him as a great writer and gave him the idea for his colossal work, The Human ComedyThe Human Comedy.
Leading a life of luxuryluxury, Honoré de BalzacHonoré de Balzac however had the fault of throwing money away, which pushed him to write more and more to try to pay his debts. Towards the end of the 1840s1840s, he was exhausted and thought of only one thing: to marry the Countess Hanska, whom he had been courting for fifteen years. Having stopped writing, he leaves to join her and marries her before dying a few months later of fatigue.
On August 21, 1850, he was buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery in the presence of his many admirers, including Victor HugoVictor Hugo, who pronounced his funeral oration.
Although he sought his own style for a long time, Honoré de Balzac profoundly transformed the French novel in his time. By releasing Le Père GoriotLe Père Goriot, he invented the principle of bringing characters back from one novel to another. It is by going further in this reflection that Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac imagines the plan of The Human ComedyThe Human Comedy.
Through this gigantic work containing nearly 90 novels and short stories, the writer wanted to present the different social classes of his time and thus draw up " the history of morals " of 19th century19th century FranceFrance.
To create a coherent whole, Balzac profoundly modified some of his earlier novels, including Les ChouansLes Chouans and La Peau de chagrin La Peau de chagrin, in order to include them in his The Human Comedy The Human Comedy. Considered a precursor of realism, he is also characterized by meticulous descriptions of landscapes and philosophical explanations to make his story as complete as possible. Unfortunately, Honoré de Balzac will not live long enough to finish his work, which was, according to his plans, to have 145 titles. After his death, his wife Ewelina Hanska Ewelina Hanska published the many sketches of tales and novels written by her husband, thus forming an incredible documentation allowing a better understanding of this gigantic project.
Apart from La The Human ComedyThe Human Comedy, the extremely prolific author wrote a profusion of books and articles during his lifetime. He has also worked as a journalist for various magazines, participated in the birth of the serial novel and has written numerous art and literary reviews.
The titanic work of Honoré de Balzac inspired the writers of his time and of the following centuries. Its influence is particularly visible in Gustave FlaubertGustave Flaubert, who draws his inspiration from The Woman of Thirty Years (1842) to write Madame Bovary Madame Bovary (1857), and takes Le Lys dans la vallée as a model for Sentimental EducationSentimental Education (1869).
After his death, Balzac will continue to arouse the admiration of young revolutionary authors, such as Émile Zola Émile Zola and Marcel ProustMarcel Proust.
But one of his greatest admirers is undoubtedly his contemporary Victor HugoVictor Hugo. The two authors had a high regard for each other.
However, Honoré de Balzac's influence is not limited to literature. His gift for dialogue and his precision in the description of the sets meant that a good number of his works were adapted for the screen from the beginning of the 20th century20th century. A great defender of copyright, Honoré de Balzac also left a legacy to the Société des gens de lettres, founded under his initiative in 1838. In addition to his immeasurable influence on generations of authors, he was rewarded during his lifetime by becoming Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1845.
Renaissance art, painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and literature produced during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries in Europe under the combined influences of an increased awareness of nature, a revival of classical learning, and a more individualistic view of man. Scholars no longer believe that the Renaissance marked an abrupt break with medieval values, as is suggested by the French word renaissance, literally “rebirth.” Rather, historical sources suggest that interest in nature, humanistic learning, and individualism were already present in the late medieval period and became dominant in 15th- and 16th-century Italy concurrently with social and economic changes such as the secularization of daily life, the rise of a rational money-credit economy, and greatly increased social mobility.
Renaissance (Renaissance), an era of intellectual and artistic flourishing that began in Italy in the 14th century, peaked in the 16th century and had a significant impact on European culture. The term "Renaissance", which meant a return to the values of the ancient world (although interest in the Roman classics arose as early as the 12th century), appeared in the 15th century and received theoretical justification in the 16th century in the works of Vasari, dedicated to the work of famous artists, sculptors and architects. At this time, an idea was formed about the harmony reigning in nature and about man as the crown of her creation. Among the prominent representatives of this era are the painter Alberti; architect, artist, scientist, poet and mathematician Leonardo da Vinci .
Honoré de Balzac is one of the most emblematic writers of the French novel. Born May 20, 1799 in Tours and died prematurely August 18, 1850 in Paris, he is the author of The Human Comedy. The Balzac novels, whether adored or criticized, remains unavoidable today; certain characters from La The Human Comedy such as Père Goriot, Rastignac or César Birotteau have become veritable literary legends.
Son of a man of peasant origin who managed to climb the social ladder, Honoré de Balzac was born in Tours in 1799. At the age of 8, he was sent to the college of Vendôme, where he fed on books and was passionate about for philosophy.
Six years later, his desire to become a philosopher was confirmed when he became a resident at the Ganser institution in Paris. His family predestined him for a career as a notary and the young man began studying law. If he passed his baccalaureate, however, he decided to change paths and try his luck in writing. Living in a small Parisian attic, he devoured the works of Descartes then tried his hand at tragedy by writing a play in Alexandrines, Cromwell (1819). Proud of his work, he is quickly discouraged by the opinions of those around him. He then turned to various genres and published several novels under pseudonyms.
To survive, he writes various food books, other plays, historical novels or even poems in verse, without success. In 1826, he sought to make a fortune by opening a printing press, a project which unfortunately went bankrupt and put him in debt.
He begins to earn his living and frequent fashionable salons. He then had several love affairs, notably with George Sand, Olympe Pélissier and the Duchess of Castries. Although he had many female admirers, he only had eyes for one of them, Countess Ewelina Hanska, with whom he had a long correspondence from 1832.
Three years later, Father Goriot consecrated him as a great writer and gave him the idea for his colossal work, The Human Comedy.
Leading a life of luxury, Honoré de Balzac however had the fault of throwing money away, which pushed him to write more and more to try to pay his debts. Towards the end of the 1840s, he was exhausted and thought of only one thing: to marry the Countess Hanska, whom he had been courting for fifteen years. Having stopped writing, he leaves to join her and marries her before dying a few months later of fatigue.
On August 21, 1850, he was buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery in the presence of his many admirers, including Victor Hugo, who pronounced his funeral oration.
To create a coherent whole, Balzac profoundly modified some of his earlier novels, including Les Chouans and La Peau de chagrin, in order to include them in his The Human Comedy. Considered a precursor of realism, he is also characterized by meticulous descriptions of landscapes and philosophical explanations to make his story as complete as possible. Unfortunately, Honoré de Balzac will not live long enough to finish his work, which was, according to his plans, to have 145 titles. After his death, his wife Ewelina Hanska published the many sketches of tales and novels written by her husband, thus forming an incredible documentation allowing a better understanding of this gigantic project.
Apart from La The Human Comedy, the extremely prolific author wrote a profusion of books and articles during his lifetime. He has also worked as a journalist for various magazines, participated in the birth of the serial novel and has written numerous art and literary reviews.
The titanic work of Honoré de Balzac inspired the writers of his time and of the following centuries. Its influence is particularly visible in Gustave Flaubert, who draws his inspiration from The Woman of Thirty Years (1842) to write Madame Bovary (1857), and takes Le Lys dans la vallée as a model for Sentimental Education (1869).
But one of his greatest admirers is undoubtedly his contemporary Victor Hugo. The two authors had a high regard for each other.
However, Honoré de Balzac's influence is not limited to literature. His gift for dialogue and his precision in the description of the sets meant that a good number of his works were adapted for the screen from the beginning of the 20th century. A great defender of copyright, Honoré de Balzac also left a legacy to the Société des gens de lettres, founded under his initiative in 1838. In addition to his immeasurable influence on generations of authors, he was rewarded during his lifetime by becoming Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1845.
Honoré de Balzac is one of the most emblematic writers of the French novel. Born May 20, 1799 in Tours and died prematurely August 18, 1850 in Paris, he is the author of The Human Comedy. The BalzacianBalzac novelnovels, whether adored or criticized, remains unavoidable today; certain characters from La The Human Comedy such as Père Goriot, Rastignac or César Birotteau have become veritable literary legends.
Son of a man of peasant origin who managed to climb the social ladder, Honoré de Balzac was born in Tours in 1799. At the age of 8, he was sent to the college of Vendôme, where he fed on books and was passionate about for philosophy.
To survive, he writes various food books, other plays, historical novels or even poems in verse, without success. In 1826, he sought to make a fortune by opening a printing press, a project which unfortunately went bankrupt and put him in debt.
He begins to earn his living and frequent fashionable salons. He then had several love affairs, notably with George Sand, Olympe Pélissier and the Duchess of Castries. Although he had many female admirers, he only had eyes for one of them, Countess Ewelina Hanska, with whom he had a long correspondence from 1832.
Three years later, Father Goriot consecrated him as a great writer and gave him the idea for his colossal work, LaThe ComédieHuman HumaineComedy.
Leading a life of luxury, Honoré de Balzac however had the fault of throwing money away, which pushed him to write more and more to try to pay his debts. Towards the end of the 1840s, he was exhausted and thought of only one thing: to marry the Countess Hanska, whom he had been courting for fifteen years. Having stopped writing, he leaves to join her and marries her before dying a few months later of fatigue.
On August 21, 1850, he was buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery in the presence of his many admirers, including Victor Hugo, who pronounced his funeral oration.
The Balzac novel
The Balzac novel
To create a coherent whole, Balzac profoundly modified some of his earlier novels, including Les Chouans and La Peau de chagrin, in order to include them in his ComédieThe humaineHuman Comedy. Considered a precursor of realism, he is also characterized by meticulous descriptions of landscapes and philosophical explanations to make his story as complete as possible. Unfortunately, Honoré de Balzac will not live long enough to finish his work, which was, according to his plans, to have 145 titles. After his death, his wife Ewelina Hanska published the many sketches of tales and novels written by her husband, thus forming an incredible documentation allowing a better understanding of this gigantic project.
Apart from La ComédieThe HumaineHuman Comedy, the extremely prolific author wrote a profusion of books and articles during his lifetime. He has also worked as a journalist for various magazines, participated in the birth of the serial novel and has written numerous art and literary reviews.
However, Honoré de Balzac's influence is not limited to literature. His gift for dialogue and his precision in the description of the sets meant that a good number of his works were adapted for the screen from the beginning of the 20th century. A great defender of copyright, Honoré de Balzac also left a legacy to the Société des gens de lettres, founded under his initiative in 1838. In addition to his immeasurable influence on generations of authors, he was rewarded during his lifetime by becoming Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1845.
Honoré de Balzac is one of the most emblematic writers of the French novel. Born May 20, 1799 in Tours and died prematurely August 18, 1850 in Paris, he is the author of The Human Comedy. The Balzacian novel, whether adored or criticized, remains unavoidable today; certain characters from La The Human Comedy such as Père Goriot, Rastignac or César Birotteau have become veritable literary legends.
Son of a man of peasant origin who managed to climb the social ladder, Honoré de Balzac was born in Tours in 1799. At the age of 8, he was sent to the college of Vendôme, where he fed on books and was passionate about for philosophy.
Six years later, his desire to become a philosopher was confirmed when he became a resident at the Ganser institution in Paris. His family predestined him for a career as a notary and the young man began studying law. If he passed his baccalaureate, however, he decided to change paths and try his luck in writing. Living in a small Parisian attic, he devoured the works of Descartes then tried his hand at tragedy by writing a play in Alexandrines, Cromwell (1819). Proud of his work, he is quickly discouraged by the opinions of those around him. He then turned to various genres and published several novels under pseudonyms.
To survive, he writes various food books, other plays, historical novels or even poems in verse, without success. In 1826, he sought to make a fortune by opening a printing press, a project which unfortunately went bankrupt and put him in debt.
Three years later, he published for the first time a novel in his name, Les Chouans. Having finally found his style, he really launched his career with La Peau de chagrin (1831) then Eugénie Grandet (1833).
He begins to earn his living and frequent fashionable salons. He then had several love affairs, notably with George Sand, Olympe Pélissier and the Duchess of Castries. Although he had many female admirers, he only had eyes for one of them, Countess Ewelina Hanska, with whom he had a long correspondence from 1832.
Three years later, Father Goriot consecrated him as a great writer and gave him the idea for his colossal work, La Comédie Humaine.
Leading a life of luxury, Honoré de Balzac however had the fault of throwing money away, which pushed him to write more and more to try to pay his debts. Towards the end of the 1840s, he was exhausted and thought of only one thing: to marry the Countess Hanska, whom he had been courting for fifteen years. Having stopped writing, he leaves to join her and marries her before dying a few months later of fatigue.
On August 21, 1850, he was buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery in the presence of his many admirers, including Victor Hugo, who pronounced his funeral oration.
The Balzac novel
Although he sought his own style for a long time, Honoré de Balzac profoundly transformed the French novel in his time. By releasing Le Père Goriot, he invented the principle of bringing characters back from one novel to another. It is by going further in this reflection that Honoré de Balzac imagines the plan of The Human Comedy.
Through this gigantic work containing nearly 90 novels and short stories, the writer wanted to present the different social classes of his time and thus draw up " the history of morals " of 19th century France.
To create a coherent whole, Balzac profoundly modified some of his earlier novels, including Les Chouans and La Peau de chagrin, in order to include them in his Comédie humaine. Considered a precursor of realism, he is also characterized by meticulous descriptions of landscapes and philosophical explanations to make his story as complete as possible. Unfortunately, Honoré de Balzac will not live long enough to finish his work, which was, according to his plans, to have 145 titles. After his death, his wife Ewelina Hanska published the many sketches of tales and novels written by her husband, thus forming an incredible documentation allowing a better understanding of this gigantic project.
Apart from La Comédie Humaine, the extremely prolific author wrote a profusion of books and articles during his lifetime. He has also worked as a journalist for various magazines, participated in the birth of the serial novel and has written numerous art and literary reviews.
An author admired during his lifetime
The titanic work of Honoré de Balzac inspired the writers of his time and of the following centuries. Its influence is particularly visible in Gustave Flaubert, who draws his inspiration from The Woman of Thirty Years (1842) to write Madame Bovary (1857), and takes Le Lys dans la vallée as a model for Sentimental Education (1869).
After his death, Balzac will continue to arouse the admiration of young revolutionary authors, such as Émile Zola and Marcel Proust.
But one of his greatest admirers is undoubtedly his contemporary Victor Hugo. The two authors had a high regard for each other.
However, Honoré de Balzac's influence is not limited to literature. His gift for dialogue and his precision in the description of the sets meant that a good number of his works were adapted for the screen from the beginning of the 20th century. A great defender of copyright, Honoré de Balzac also left a legacy to the Société des gens de lettres, founded under his initiative in 1838. In addition to his immeasurable influence on generations of authors, he was rewarded during his lifetime by becoming Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1845.
Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet.
One of the most famous sculptors, artists, poets, painters and architects of all time - Michelangelo Buonarotti was born on 03/06/1475 in the city of Caprese, where he studied in primary school, and upon graduation, in 1488, began to study sculpture, being a student of Bertoldo in the workshop of the greatest painter stories - Domenico Ghirlandaio.
The attention of Lorenzo Medici was attracted by the boy's talent, so he took him into his house and financially helped Michelangelo develop. When Lorenzo died, Buonarotti went to Bologna, where he erected a marble angel with a candelabra, as well as a statue for the church of St. Petronius. In 1494 he returned to Florence again. A new period of his work began, in which he boldly exaggerated the forms of nature in order to express his ideas and better convey the characters.
In 1503, Michelangelo was invited to Rome by Julius II to build a tombstone that Julius wanted to make for himself during his lifetime. The sculptor agreed and arrived. Two years later, Buonarotti considered that the pope's attention to him was not enough and, offended, returned to Florence.
In Rome, the artist was already in 1508, where he was again called by Julius II to continue the work he had begun, as well as to complete a new order - decorating the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Palace with fresco painting. Julius II died a couple of months after the completion of the painting of the Sistine ceiling.
The fall of Florence, which threatened Michelangelo with the danger of death, produced a serious shock in his soul, and also worsened his health. And being so unsociable and harsh, he became even more unsociable and gloomy, immersed entirely in his ideological world, which could not but affect the nature of his work.
In 1532, he received an invitation from the "new" pope to Rome to complete the decoration of the Sistine Chapel, depicting the "Last Judgment" on the altar wall, and the "Fall of Lucifer" on the opposite. Only the first was performed by Buonarotti in 1534-1541 without assistants.
Michelangelo's last works were frescoes in the chapel of the Vatican Palace. Buonarotti parted with sculpture a little later, his favorite industry in which he worked, being in old age.
The artist was engaged in architecture, living out his last years. He was appointed in 1546 as the chief architect of Peter's Cathedral, because Michelangelo was not only talented, but also experienced in building.
Michelangelo Buonarotti died in Rome on February 18, 1564.
