The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (341 page)
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Authors: Ian Chilvers
Nicholson , Sir William
(1872–1949).
English painter and graphic artist. He is perhaps best remembered for his brilliant early work as a poster designer, done in collaboration with his brother-in-law James
Pryde
under the name ‘the
Beggarstaff Brothers
’. His finest works as a painter are his still lifes, usually small, unpretentious, and sensitively handled.
English painter and graphic artist. He is perhaps best remembered for his brilliant early work as a poster designer, done in collaboration with his brother-in-law James
Pryde
under the name ‘the
Beggarstaff Brothers
’. His finest works as a painter are his still lifes, usually small, unpretentious, and sensitively handled.
Nicolas of Verdun
(active late 12th cent.—early 13th cent.).
Mosan
goldsmith, enameller, and metal-worker. He is considered the greatest goldsmith and enameller of his day and a major figure in the transition from
Romanesque
to Gothic. Two signed works by him survive: an
enamelled
pulpit frontal made for the abbey church at Klosterneuburg, near Vienna (completed in 1181, damaged in 1320, and then remodelled into its present
triptych
altar form); and the Shrine of St Mary for Tournai Cathedral (1205). Among the works attributed to him the most important is the Shrine of the Three Kings, made for Cologne Cathedral in about 1190 and the largest and most sumptuous reliquary of the period. All three works still belong to the churches for which they were commissioned. The Klosterneuburg altar is his masterpiece, featuring forty-five enamel plaques in an elaborate
typological
programme, events from the New Testament being paralleled by ones in the Old Testament. His figure style is expressive and dynamic, with individualized faces and richly articulated drapery suggesting influence from the
antique
.
Mosan
goldsmith, enameller, and metal-worker. He is considered the greatest goldsmith and enameller of his day and a major figure in the transition from
Romanesque
to Gothic. Two signed works by him survive: an
enamelled
pulpit frontal made for the abbey church at Klosterneuburg, near Vienna (completed in 1181, damaged in 1320, and then remodelled into its present
triptych
altar form); and the Shrine of St Mary for Tournai Cathedral (1205). Among the works attributed to him the most important is the Shrine of the Three Kings, made for Cologne Cathedral in about 1190 and the largest and most sumptuous reliquary of the period. All three works still belong to the churches for which they were commissioned. The Klosterneuburg altar is his masterpiece, featuring forty-five enamel plaques in an elaborate
typological
programme, events from the New Testament being paralleled by ones in the Old Testament. His figure style is expressive and dynamic, with individualized faces and richly articulated drapery suggesting influence from the
antique
.
niello
.
.
Term referring to a black compound (typically sulphur, silver, lead, and copper) used as a decorative inlay on metal surfaces, to the process of making such an inlay, and to a surface or object so decorated. Niello prints are impressions taken from such surfaces and are invariably Italian work of the second half of the 15th cent. They were probably taken as proofs by niellists who wanted to see their work clearly. But it appears that these craftsmen then took to engraving plates with the express purpose of taking impressions from them, and many early examples of Italian
line engraving
show the influence of the niello craft. Maso
Finiguerra
, whom
Vasari
credits with the invention of line engraving, was both niellist and line engraver.
line engraving
show the influence of the niello craft. Maso
Finiguerra
, whom
Vasari
credits with the invention of line engraving, was both niellist and line engraver.
Nittis , Giuseppe de
(1846–84).
Italian painter, mainly of landscapes and scenes of city life. Early in his career he was associated with the
Macchiaioli
. He settled in Paris in 1867, became a friend of
Degas
and
Manet
, and exhibited with the
Impressionists
in 1874 (because de Nittis had had some success at the
Salon
, Degas thought the presence of his work among the Impressionists would mean that critics ‘won't be able to say that ours is an exhibition of rejected artists’). The best collection of his work is in the Pinacoteca Communale at Barletta, his native town.
Italian painter, mainly of landscapes and scenes of city life. Early in his career he was associated with the
Macchiaioli
. He settled in Paris in 1867, became a friend of
Degas
and
Manet
, and exhibited with the
Impressionists
in 1874 (because de Nittis had had some success at the
Salon
, Degas thought the presence of his work among the Impressionists would mean that critics ‘won't be able to say that ours is an exhibition of rejected artists’). The best collection of his work is in the Pinacoteca Communale at Barletta, his native town.
NKV
.
.
Nolan , Sir Sidney
(1917–92).
The most internationally famous of Australian painters. He turned from odd jobs to art after attending night classes in his native Melbourne, and became a full-time painter when he was 21. His early work was abstract, but while serving in the Australian army (1941–5) he painted a series of land-scapes of the Wimmera District of Victoria that gave the first unmistakable signs of the originality of his vision, capturing the heat and emptiness of the bush. In 1946 he began a series of paintings on the notorious bushranger Ned Kelly, who had become a legendary figure in Australian folk history, and it was with these works that he made his name. He returned to the Kelly theme throughout his career and he also drew on other events from Australian history. In such works Nolan created a distinctive idiom to express this novel Australian subject matter and memorably portrayed the hard, dry beauty of the desert landscape. Technically, his work is remarkable for the lush fluidity of his brushwork and sometimes he painted on glass or other smooth materials. Nolan first visited Europe in 1950 (in that year he had his first London exhibition) and from that time he lived mainly in England and travelled widely. Apart from Australian themes, he was inspired by journeys to Antarctica and New Guinea, for example, as well as by literary subjects such as the legend of Leda and the Swan.
The most internationally famous of Australian painters. He turned from odd jobs to art after attending night classes in his native Melbourne, and became a full-time painter when he was 21. His early work was abstract, but while serving in the Australian army (1941–5) he painted a series of land-scapes of the Wimmera District of Victoria that gave the first unmistakable signs of the originality of his vision, capturing the heat and emptiness of the bush. In 1946 he began a series of paintings on the notorious bushranger Ned Kelly, who had become a legendary figure in Australian folk history, and it was with these works that he made his name. He returned to the Kelly theme throughout his career and he also drew on other events from Australian history. In such works Nolan created a distinctive idiom to express this novel Australian subject matter and memorably portrayed the hard, dry beauty of the desert landscape. Technically, his work is remarkable for the lush fluidity of his brushwork and sometimes he painted on glass or other smooth materials. Nolan first visited Europe in 1950 (in that year he had his first London exhibition) and from that time he lived mainly in England and travelled widely. Apart from Australian themes, he was inspired by journeys to Antarctica and New Guinea, for example, as well as by literary subjects such as the legend of Leda and the Swan.
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