Im happy that Ive joined buzz cause I met a lot of great ppl and some of them are my very very good friends. Thank you guys!!!!

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-Ana

Andy also spent much time with his mother, and was known by many of the neighborhood kids as a "mamma's boy".  Of course, he was also picked on by kids at school, as it is with any shy withdrawn artistic child.  Although he showed incredible talent at school, he did not partake in any of its artistic clubs or activities because of the fact that he was too shy, and his abilities also superior to the other students'.  In his senior year of high-school, the nightmare soon to be over, Andy applied to both the University of Pittsburgh and the Carnegie Institute of Technology, which is now known as now Carnegie Melon University.  He was accepted to both but ultimately chose to attend Carnegie Tech.  Although he was a gifted artist, Andy did not do well at Carnegie Tech; he found it difficult to deal with the competitive attitudes of the school and its students, and also had a hard time fitting in, even though he was surrounded by others with whom he had much in common.  Andy failed his courses, but since his worked showed true talent, his teachers made him sign up for summer school in order to take remedial classes so he could apply for readmission in the fall..   He was later readmitted to Carnegie Tech based on an impressive collection of sketches he had done during the summer,  his drawings were put on display.  and he awarded the forty-dollar Leisser Prize for his work.

With graduation on the horizon, Andy had to decide whether he would he would remain close to his mother and take a teaching job, or move away.  After graduation, and much to his mother's chagrin, he decided to go to New York city, where he moved in with a friend and soon found work as a commercial illustrator, creating artwork for magazines such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.   Still, Andy wasn't yet a complete success, and he lived through some lean times, moving from one dilapidated apartment to the next.   Andy Warhol was rapidly gaining a solid reputation as a reliable artist with a good work ethic, no doubt based on the fact that he would often burn the midnight oil to present clients with multiple versions for each assignment.  Aside from magazine illustrations, he also designed store displays, and greeting cards.

Andy's mother missed her son, and decided to move to New York in order to be closer to him.  It was around that time that he changed his name from Warhola to Warhol, and began wearing his now trademark silver-haired wig.  Andy was soon ready to have his first major showing;  his  "15 Drawings Based on the Writings of Truman Capote", opened at the Hugo Gallery in New York, and the exhibit was a great success, and the struggling artist would not only earn more praise, but also gain substantial profits from selling his pieces.  A few years later, he was also part of an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, where he gained more respect from the critics.  Influenced by his work as a commercial illustrator, Andy began creating series of works based on common brand name items such as Campbell Soup Cans and Coke bottles.  Andy soon moved into a larger studio loft, which would later be known as "The Factory".  Soon thereafter, he created a series of silk-screen images based of the many photographs of pop culture icons he had collected as a teen.

The Factory attracted many of New York's artistic misfits and elite.  It seemed everyone from socialites,  models, filmmakers, and starlets such as Edie Sedgwick were becoming part of the scene.  It was then that Andy Warhol met many of his frequent collaborators such as art film director Paul Morrissey, who used The Factory as a studio.  It was during those years that Andy Warhol created his best work, dabbling in almost every medium that could be explored, including film.  Andy did not only create pop art based on commercial products and cultural icons, he also experimented with his darker side, in a series called "Death and Disaster".  These works did not appeal to his regular fans, and the experiment was soon shelved, only to be revisited during the 1980s.  The next thing he did following the "Death and Disaster"  series was a simple painting based on poppies.  The piece was a success, and Warhol had regained the admiration of his fans.  The factory wasn't just a studio and hangout, it was also an opportunity for up-and-comers and wannabes to try and find success through Andy's generous. was also where he helped up and coming artists find success.  Artists such as Valerie Solanas, a Factory groupie turned feminist radical and founder of SCUM (The Society for Cutting Up Men). 

In June of 1968, the troubled young Valerie Solanas entered the factory and shot Andy Warhol at close range, nearly killing him.  Upon her arrest, she offered the following explanation for her act; "He had too much control over my life!".  Andy spent two months in the hospital, but he never fully recovered from the gunshot, and had to wear a bandage around his severely damaged torso for the rest of his life.  While the incident was perhaps the most traumatic event in Andy Warhol's life, his return to the art scene was no less than triumphant.  Andy Warhol had become a pop culture icons himself, as great as those he so often portrayed in his work.  He kept helping struggling young artists such as the gifted Jean-Michel Basquiat, whom he tried to "clean up" and get off drugs.  From the late 70s through 80s, Andy published Andy Warhol's Interview magazine, which redefined the periodical as a work of art; from it's beautiful cover paintings of celebrities to its avant-garde photo layouts, Interview was THE magazine to have on your coffee table if you were in tune with popular culture.  Andy also had his own cable TV show called "Andy Warhol's Television", and he also wrote several books such as The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again, and A: A Novel.

Andy also decide to continue his Death and Disaster series, which may not have been his most appealing work with the trendy elite, but to this day remains one of his most admired critical successes.  In 1986, during one of his private showings in Milan, Andy found himself in too much pain to leave his hotel room; while he understood there was something really wrong with him, he refused to go to the hospital until one night, the pain returned and he decided to see a doctor.  Andy was suffering from and acute gall bladder infection, and had to undergo surgery.  He locked his valuables in a safe, and made his way to the hospital for what would be a routine procedure, but even though the operation was a success, Andy Warhol died on the morning of February 22nd, 1987. 

Andy Warhol was one of the most important artists of the late 20th century, having made an incredible contribution to the art world, and popular culture.  He constantly managed to break barriers while retaining the respect of critics and fans alike, although we're quite certain he did not consider their opinion a factor during the process of creation.  Andy Warhol was also a paradox of the New York art scene, unpretentious, shy, yet visible, making the scene without really giving it that much importance.   A publicly private man loved by all, and who's generosity was no doubt appreciated by the many artists who owe him their careers.

It was while recovering from her extensive injuries in the hospital that Frida began to paint.  Although Frida's family sacrificed almost all they had in order to get her the best available care, but she never fully recovered, and was forced to used braces and custom made corsets in order to be able to just walk and stand.  Frida's parents even had a special easel custom made to accommodate her condition.  Frida gave up on becoming a doctor, and decided to continue painting.  Her accident had not only changed the course of her life, it would also prove to be a main source of inspiration for her work, which was mostly comprised of sometimes disturbing self-portraits,  images of death, and suffering.

In 1929, the 22 year-old Frida marries the 43 year old Diego Rivera, a famous painter of murals who would soon thereafter become her husband.  The two were drawn together on many levels, first off, was art, then Communism, and also their interest in traditional Mexican Indian culture.  The two were part of the Communist party for a short while, but they were ousted because of Diego's opposition to Joseph Stalin's crackdown on Trotsky's Left Opposition.  Although the couple did share intense passion, Frida had been left barren by her accident, so they never had children;  this was also a central theme in her work, and in some of her self-portraits, Frida would include her pet spider monkey as a surrogate child,  looking  like the infant Christ of Religious icons.  Many of her paintings were also quite bloody, and included internal organs shown on the outside, again, comparisons to images of Christ and the "Sacred Heart" can be made, but we would greatly be wrong to think her work was the product of a self-centered individual.

When she wasn't too occupied with her involvement in politics and intellectual discussion groups,  Frida also spent time teaching at La Esmeralda art school.  Although Rivera had been instrumental in her success, he considered her an equal, and although he was often unfaithful to Frida, he was never disloyal.  Rivera had mistresses, and Frida had lovers, including some women, and Marxist writer Leon Trotsky, whom the couple had gracefully welcome into their home, offering asylum during dangerous times.  Frida and Diego divorced in 1939, but they remarried in 1940, realizing their passion was stronger than their physical needs, and that their relationship could work if they tried to control their temperaments.

In addition to Diego's admiration, Frida also impressed artists and critics worldwide.  French surrealist André Breton played a major part in bringing her work to the attention of Americans.  Although she appreciated Breton's respect, she was quick to deny claims that she was part of the surrealist movement, simply stating, "I never painted my dreams. I painted my own reality."   Frida's reality was a reality of passion,  and of suffering.  In 1953, Frida's leg was amputated, shortly thereafter, on July 13, 1954, at the age of 47, she died in her sleep, apparently from an embolism.  There is a fair bit of speculation that she took her own life, escaping the pain of her existence.  Frida Kahlo was the first Latin-American woman to sell a painting for a million dollars, and her popularity seems to grow with each passing year; from endorsements by popular artists such as Madonna, to a critically acclaimed bio-pic starring acclaimed actors Salma Hayek, and Alfred Molina.

Later, when his father was appointed teacher to the La Lonja academy in Barcelona, and just a year later, Pablo was admitted to the drawing class of the academy after having shown tremendous aptitude.

Pablo Picasso the n took a trip to France where he discovered the work of master artist Toulouse Lautrec, perhaps it was Lautrec's fascination with the female form, and with street walkers in particular that influenced Picasso to paint Les Demoiselles d'Avignon", the piece which brought on his first big break.  

1900 to 1907, saw Picasso's Blue and Rose Periods, and it was within this timeframe that the artist was fascinated by the dregs of society, he would focus on painting images of prostitutes,  the poor, the unfortunate, and the street urchins.

He was working very hard during this time, illustrating magazines, and having his work shown in galleris such as Berthe Weill's, in Paris.  It was also then that he met Guillaume Apollinaire, Leo and Gertrude Stein, and Henri Matisse, who was to become Picasso's long time friend.

Shortly after that, Picasso started the Cubist movement with fellow artists Georges Braque and Joan Miro.  Cubism is best defined as the exact reproduction of an image as seen from different angles simultaneously.  What made Picassos' cubist paintings is the amount of human emotion he would maintain within the multi-faceted figures.

Pablo Picasso had many women in his life, from Fernande Olivier, and Eva Gouel, to  Olga Koklova, a Russian ballerina whom he had met around the same time he met composer Igor Stravinsky.  Olga gave birth to a son, Paul; but Pablo left her shortly afterwards, and fathered a daughter, Maia, with Marie-Thérese Walter, who had also been his model, and was now his muse and mistress.  Marie-Thérèse was also the mother of  his son Claude, and  his daughter Paloma.

Other Important women in Picasso's life include Dora Maar, Francoise Gilot, Jacqueline Rocque, whom he married at the age of 80.

One of Picasso's least endearing traits was his treatment of women.  Perhaps the result of a life-long search for a soul mate, and his disillusionment at never being able to find a true friend. Picasso himself was quoted as saying: "I have had no true friends, only lovers."

During his exploration of Cubism, he created one of his most famous paintings, that of La Guernica.  Like Salvador Dali's Soft Construction with Boiled Beans: Premonition of Civil War, La Guernica was a reaction to the horrors of the Spanish Civil War.  There are several hidden images and symbols in the painting, from the mythological Minotaur to a hidden Devil head, all painted in drab earth tones.

Picasso did not only paint, he also transposed the concepts of Cubism to metal sculptures, and did set design for one of Igor Stravinsky's premiere performances, and sets and costumes for one of Eric Satie's.  He also did sets for Jean Cocteau's play Antigone.  He even wrote plays himself.

Pablo Picasso died at the age of 92, on April 8th, 1973 in his house of Notre-Dame de Vie.

Pablo Picasso was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, his maverick attitude, although sometimes hindered by his violent temperament made him succeed at becoming one of the most valued and sought after, yet misunderstood artists. 

"Art is a lie that helps us to realize the truth."
Pablo Picasso

Vincent's first exposure to the art world was when he worked at the Hague gallery of the French art dealers Goupil & Co., which had been established by his uncle Vincent.  His brother Theo later worked for the same company.  After working for the art dealers, Vincent took the job of assistant teacher, and preacher in a boarding school in England, but this was short lived and his obsession with evangelical Christianity made him want to become a clergyman like his father, so he tried to enroll in a theology school, but was refused admittance.

Vincent later enrolled in a  missionary school in Belgium, determined to help those in need, and preach to the poor.  He preached and lived amongst the miners in southern Belgium, but his fanatical attitude, and pious lifestyle were such that the church did not renew his appointment fro the following year.  After much though and meditation on the subject, Vincent decided to become an artist, feeling this was his last recourse at doing God's work.

Penniless, Vincent worked independently as an artist in Brussels, while his brother Theo supported him by sending him money.  van Gogh later returned to the Hague to take painting lessons from his cousin Anton Mauve.  His talents soon emerged, and in very little time, he had developed his own unique style.

van Gogh's bold use of color, and composition were first made evident in a series of  paintings of the Hague, commissioned by his uncle Cornelis.  van Gogh's fascination with the poor, and the working class were the subject of many of his early works, the first, a series he painted while Drenthe, in the northeastern Netherlands, followed by a series of 40 portraits he painted.

Theo, who had been helping his brother survive lean months, was also helping him sell his paintings, albeit at a turtle's pace; this distressed Vincent, and led to conflicts between the two of them.   Later, shortly after his father's passing, van Gogh finished his first masterwork, The Potato Eaters; he later left the Netherlands, and returned to Belgium, settling in the town of Antwerp. This was a wise move for van Gogh, who was able to find models, supplies, and ideas for his work.

He enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts in Antwerp, but quit after two months due to the stifling atmosphere of the school, and their antiquated concepts.  van Gogh had finally become the artist's artist. 

He later moved in with his brother in Montmartre, France, where he discovered the works of Monet and other French Impressionists, and met with Gauguin, and Henri deToulouse Lautrec,  this would be the turning point in van Gogh's career, as he enrolled in the highly praised Fernand Cormon workshop where he learned to use light and color in novel ways.

Vincent's style was greatly updated during his sojourn in Paris, where the influence of his contemporaries had an effect on his brush work, and subject matter; but he would also experiment with pointillism, a stilt in which thousands of primary colored dots are painted closely together to form the illusion of secondary colors.  

While he wanted to continue painting portraits, van Gogh could not afford the use of models, so he purchased a mirror and went to work on a series of self-portraits.

When van Gogh and Gauguin both left Paris in 1888, seeking new sources of inspiration, Gauguin moved to Brittany, while van Gogh moved to Arles, in the south of France, seeking a brighter landscape.  It was there that he established the Studio of the South, and invited Gauguin to join him, there, it was at that time that the two exchanged self-portraits; each would paint a self portrait to have it "evaluated" by the other, in a friendly competition of sorts.

While waiting for Gauguin, Vincent paints a series of still life sunflowers to decorate his friend's future room, which would later become the images for which he would be best remembered.

Things were going well for Vincent until he became ill with a debilitating type of epilepsy that would manifest itself in a series of psychotic attacks, and left him in a deluded state.  He would shortly thereafter institutionalize himself after having cut off part of his left ear.

While in the St-Remy institution, van Gogh painted numerous works such as Starry Night, and when he was well enough, he would get to work outside the walls of the asylum, sitting in the field.  But he would never recover, and at some point he even tried to commit suicide by swallowing paint.

Later, feeling like a failure, van Gogh shot himself in the chest.  He died on July 29th, 1890, two days after from the self-inflicted wound.  He was 37.  His brother Theo died 6 months later.

"As a suffering creature, I cannot do without something greater than I -- something that is my life -- the power to create."
Vincent Van Gogh

A while later, Rembrandt studied under Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam, who taught him the chiaroscuro (light and darkness) technique.   Shortly thereafter, Rembrandt returns to Leiden to set up his own studio, beginning work on a series of self-portraits.  What sets Rembrandt's style apart from that of Lastman's is his composition; like in the works of Caravaggio, Rembrandt's background composition remains dark, while his subject is illuminated in a manner which makes the image appear nearly three dimensional.

Shortly after the death of his father in 1930, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam.  His reputation as a portraitist had grown, and he was now being commissioned to create portraits for individuals, and groups;  it was such a commission from a well known physician that had brought him there in the first place; The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolas Tulp was to become one of the most important paintings in Rembrandt's career, showing the artist's revolutionary vision and mastery of lighting; while most group paintings of the era featured individuals sitting, or standing in line, Rembrandt's painting offered a narrative, as if a photograph had been taken while its subjects were involved in the action of a moment.  Needless to say, the painting cause quite a stir, but in this case a positive one, as Rembrandt's patrons were very impressed with his work.

Rembrandt was now an established artist.  In 1634, Rembrandt became a member of the Guild of St. Luke, a position which gained him more work, and the money he received from his various commissions for portraits and religious paintings allowed him to live the life of a wealthy man. he met the woman who was to be the love of his life,  Saskia van Uylenburgh, who was the daughter of the burgomaster of Leeuwarden in Friesland.  The two were married, and moved into their new home on the Nieuwe Doelenstraat, hoping to start a family.  Saskia also modeled for several of Rembrandt's paintings, and the way in which he portrayed her always echoed the love in his heart. 

In February of 1636, the couple's first born child, Rombartus, who was only a few weeks old, died.  The tragedy had a profound effect on Rembrandt, and while he and his wife were still very much in love, there were other troubles, such as many disputes between Saskia and her relatives over financial matters.  Two years later, the couple's newborn daughter Cornelia also dies, merely two weeks old.  Another two years pass, and another daughter is born, she too, suffers the same fate as the other children.  In 1641, Saskia gives birth to a son, Titus, who survives.  But in a cruel twist of fate, it is Saskia herself who dies in 1642, leaving Rembrandt in a hopelessly depressed state.  Rembrandt's life, like his art, is also fraught with contrast; for every bright moment, there seems to be an equally dark opposite, as if the artist were cursed into never living in peace.  It was also in 1942 that Rembrandt painted the most important work of his career, The Company of F.B. Cocq, or The Night Watch, as it is more widely known.

The Night Watch, which had been commissioned by F.B. Coq,  is not well received at all because it is too unconventional, and this only serves to add to Rembrandt's despair.  In need of a nurse to take care of his son, he hires  Geertge Dircx, who at first helps him take care of the household and his son, but who later stirs trouble when constant quarreling and jealousies arise following the hiring of a second woman, Hendrickje Stoffels, whom he falls in love with and plans to marry.  Dircx even took Rembrandt to court, on the grounds that he had promised to marry her, but Hendrickje testifies, and Geertge Dircx is sent to prison for her attempt at defrauding the court.  Stoffels later became Rembrandt's common-law wife, giving birth to their daughter Cornelia, which in light of all recent events signaled the advent of better days.

Over the years, Rembrandt had become accustomed to living comfortably, if not beyond his means, and the debts had been piling up.  Having become a teacher to supplement the household income did not help, and there were fewer requests for his work.  In 1556, Rembrandt is forced to obtain a 'Cessio Bonorum' from the High Court which allows him to declare bankruptcy, while maintaining his honor.  In order to make ends meet, Rembrandt has to sell many of his paintings, some furniture, until eventually, even the house is auctioned off.   In  1658, the family move to a smaller home where Hendrickje and Titus decide to protect Rembrandt's remaining and future canvasses from the creditors by starting their own art dealership, for which Rembrandt is only an employee, therefore not owning the works produced while in the company's service.

In 1663,  Hendrickje Stoffels dies. Rembrandt, who is no stranger to tragedy and hardship, continues painting.  The self portraits he creates during this dark period in his life only serve to remind us of the sadness and desperation in his heart.  Perhaps he wished to transfer his chagrin onto the canvases, as a form of exorcism; or are the portraits only a mirror held up by a man trying to look into his own soul for answers?

A decade later, Rembrandt's son Titus, who is now married and living with Magdalena van Loo, but he dies of plague six months later, bringing more sadness and grief to his father, who will have outlived most of his children.  Rembrandt spends some time living with his daughter-in-law, and becomes the godfather of his granddaughter Titia.  Rembrandt goes on painting, remaining as prolific as ever until his own death, on October 4th, 1669.

During his career, Rembrandt had been an artist and teacher, he had painted over 50 self-portraits, and a vast number of landscapes and portraits.  Historians estimate there are as many as 600 of them in collections around the world.  In additoin to his paintings, he has left us with thousands of etchings, and drawings.  Rembrandt is viewed by many as one of the most influential artists in history, a man who was a master of shadows and light, and whose gift for rendering the soul within his subjects could never be surpassed.