The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (377 page)
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Pliny the Elder
(Gaius Plinius Secundus )
(Gaius Plinius Secundus )
(AD 23 or 24–79).
Roman encyclopaedist. As a side-line to his career in public office, Pliny produced (among many other things) the
Historia Naturalis
(Natural History), a massive compilation in thirty seven books intended to embrace not only the whole of the natural sciences but also their application to the arts and crafts of civilized life. His only extant work, it has been condemned as uncritical, unreliable, and superficial, but it contains much information that would otherwise have been completely lost. The chapters on the history of painting and sculpture are especially interesting because earlier treatises on classical art have perished. It is typical of Pliny's thirst for knowledge that he perished through asphyxiation when making observations of the eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Roman encyclopaedist. As a side-line to his career in public office, Pliny produced (among many other things) the
Historia Naturalis
(Natural History), a massive compilation in thirty seven books intended to embrace not only the whole of the natural sciences but also their application to the arts and crafts of civilized life. His only extant work, it has been condemned as uncritical, unreliable, and superficial, but it contains much information that would otherwise have been completely lost. The chapters on the history of painting and sculpture are especially interesting because earlier treatises on classical art have perished. It is typical of Pliny's thirst for knowledge that he perished through asphyxiation when making observations of the eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum.
pochade
.
.
Poelenburgh , Cornelis van
(1594/5–1667).
Dutch painter, mainly of landscapes. He studied in his native Utrecht with
Bloemaert
and from about 1617 to 1625 was in Rome, becoming one of the leading members of the first generation of Dutch painters of Italianate landscapes. His paintings are typically small scale (he often painted on copper) with biblical or mythological figures set in Arcadian landscapes, sometimes scattered with antique remains. They are strongly influenced by
Elsheimer
, but cooler in colour than the German artist's work and without his sense of mystery. After returning to Utrecht Poelenburgh enjoyed a career of great success. He was
Rubens's
guide when he visited Utrecht in 1627, was popular in aristocratic and even royal circles (Charles I called him to England in 1637), and was imitated until the early 18th cent. There are examples of Poelenburgh's work (and of the work of imitators) in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, including his portrait of Jan
Both
, in whose landscapes he sometimes painted the figures (an example of their collaboration is in the NG, London).
Dutch painter, mainly of landscapes. He studied in his native Utrecht with
Bloemaert
and from about 1617 to 1625 was in Rome, becoming one of the leading members of the first generation of Dutch painters of Italianate landscapes. His paintings are typically small scale (he often painted on copper) with biblical or mythological figures set in Arcadian landscapes, sometimes scattered with antique remains. They are strongly influenced by
Elsheimer
, but cooler in colour than the German artist's work and without his sense of mystery. After returning to Utrecht Poelenburgh enjoyed a career of great success. He was
Rubens's
guide when he visited Utrecht in 1627, was popular in aristocratic and even royal circles (Charles I called him to England in 1637), and was imitated until the early 18th cent. There are examples of Poelenburgh's work (and of the work of imitators) in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, including his portrait of Jan
Both
, in whose landscapes he sometimes painted the figures (an example of their collaboration is in the NG, London).
pointillism
.
.
Technique of using regular small touches of pure colour in such a way that when a picture is viewed from a suitable distance they seem to react together optically, creating more vibrant colour effects than if the same colours were physically mixed together. The term (‘peinture au point’) was coined in 1886 by the French critic Félix Fénéon in reference to
Seurat's
La Grande Jatte
, but Seurat, and also
Signac
, preferred the word
divisionism
. See also
NEO-IMPRESSIONISM
.
Seurat's
La Grande Jatte
, but Seurat, and also
Signac
, preferred the word
divisionism
. See also
NEO-IMPRESSIONISM
.
pointing
.
.
A method of creating an exact copy of a statue or of enlarging a model into a full-size sculpture by taking a series of measured points on the original and transferring them by means of mechanical aids to the copy or enlargement. An elementary method of pointing using callipers was developed in the 1st cent. BC, when the copying of Greek statues for Roman patrons had become an industry, and various more sophisticated techniques, using for example a frame and plumb-line, have been used since the
Renaissance
. It was not until the early 19th cent., however, that the task was rationalized by the perfection of a pointing machine. This device consists of an upright stand carrying movable arms, each arm having attached to it an adjustable measuring rod which shows the depth to which each point must be drilled. Sometimes hundreds and even thousands of points will be taken. In the late 19th and early 20th cents. most stone sculpture was produced by this mechanical method, but modern sculptors increasingly reject it in favour of direct carving.
Renaissance
. It was not until the early 19th cent., however, that the task was rationalized by the perfection of a pointing machine. This device consists of an upright stand carrying movable arms, each arm having attached to it an adjustable measuring rod which shows the depth to which each point must be drilled. Sometimes hundreds and even thousands of points will be taken. In the late 19th and early 20th cents. most stone sculpture was produced by this mechanical method, but modern sculptors increasingly reject it in favour of direct carving.
Poliakoff , Serge
(1906–69).
Russian-born painter who became a French citizen in 1962. He left Russia in 1919, settled in Paris in 1923, and took up painting in 1930 (from 1935 to 1937 he lived in London, and studied at the Chelsea School of Art and then at the
Slade
School). However, it was not until 1952 that he was able to devote himself full time to painting and give up his career as a professional musician. By this time he had matured his style of abstract painting, begun in 1937 on his meeting with
Kandinsky
, and his position was established as one of the most important painters in the French school of expressive abstraction. He adopted an almost religious attitude towards painting, saying: ‘You've got to have the feeling of God in the picture if you want to get the big music in.’
Russian-born painter who became a French citizen in 1962. He left Russia in 1919, settled in Paris in 1923, and took up painting in 1930 (from 1935 to 1937 he lived in London, and studied at the Chelsea School of Art and then at the
Slade
School). However, it was not until 1952 that he was able to devote himself full time to painting and give up his career as a professional musician. By this time he had matured his style of abstract painting, begun in 1937 on his meeting with
Kandinsky
, and his position was established as one of the most important painters in the French school of expressive abstraction. He adopted an almost religious attitude towards painting, saying: ‘You've got to have the feeling of God in the picture if you want to get the big music in.’
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