Stella in Prison, 1810, oil on canvas by Francois-Marius Granet, French, 1777-1849.

 The French painter Jacques Stella, 1596-1657, spent  a short time in prison and painted The Madonna and Child on his cell wall. It attracted the admiration of his jailer and fellow inmates.

 This painting by Granet was considered one of his best and it didn’t hurt that it was purchased by Napoleon’s ex-empress, Josephine. The tones of paint for the subject are striking.

  This work hangs in the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, Russia.

 Morning in the Forest, 1875, oil on canvas by Laszlo Paal, Hungarian realism of the Barbizon School, 1846-1879.

 Paal studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and was plagued by poor health and financial problems. He exclusively painted landscapes and this one is in the Magyar Nemzeti Galeria in Budapest, Hungary.

 An accidental brain injury resulted in his being placed in a sanitarium where he died at age 33.

 Portrait of a Child, oil on canvas by Edouard Cabane, French, 1857-1942.

  The subjects of his near photographic works were almost exclusively women. This child wears an expression older than her years.

 Cabane was a student of Adolphe William Bouguereau and from 1876 to 1932 exhibited at the Society of French Artists. His paintings are in the Musee des Beaux-Arts in Paris and the Musee Saint Denis in Rheims, France, among others.  

 Snow-Covered Roofs in Paris, 1878, oil on canvas by Gustave Caillebotte, French, 1848-1894.

 Caillebotte was born to an upper class Parisian family and was a lawyer and an engineer. He fought in the Franco-Prussian war before studying art seriously with Leon Bonnat. This painting is in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris, France.

 In the Whiting Ground, 1900, oil on canvas by Harold Harvey, British, 1874-1941.

 Harvey was associated with the Newlyn Colony and the Lamorna Artists. His early work included rural and marine themes and he later turned to sophisticated interior paintings.

 Harvey, a student of Norman Garstin, presented solo shows and exhibited at the Royal Academy in London. This painting is in Penlee House, Gallery and Museum in Penzance, Cornwall, England. 

 German Landscape, oil on canvas by Werner Holmberg, Finnish, 1830-1860.

 Holberg was fairly popular during his day, but has been ignored over time. He was known for his romantic landscapes and this painting is in a private collection.

 Autumn, 1882, oil on canvas by Norman Garstin, Irish, 1847-1926.

 Garstin was an artist, teacher, art critic and journalist and was of the Newlyn School of painters. He was influenced by impressionism, Japanese art and James McNeill Whistler.

 The Newlyn School was a colony of artists at Newlyn near Penzance in Cornwall, England. 

  Bridge Street, Chester, St. Peter’s Church and Chester Town Hall in Background, watercolor by Louise Ingram Rayner, British, 1832-1924, Rayner first exhibited her work at the Royal Academy in London in 1852.

  There is something fascinating about a busy street scene along with a look at history. Thanks to catonhottinroof  on Tumblr for introducing me to this artist.

  Delicious Solitude, 1909, oil on canvas by Frank Bramley, British, 1857-1915.

  Bramley was known for using a painting technique employing the flat of a square brush to lay paint on canvas in a zigsaw pattern. This gave a particular vibrancy to the painting’s surface.

 He was considered a leading figure of the Newlyn School of Cornwall, England, along with Walter Langley and Stanhope Forbes.  

 Hans Makart’s Studio in Gusshausstrasse, Vienna, 1885, by Rudolf Ritter von Alt, Austrian, 1812-1905. The studio was owned by his fellow Austrian artist.

  von Alt was a landscape and architectural painter known for his realistic and detailed style. This painting with its amazing detail is in the Vienna Museum in Vienna, Austria.  It is even more impressive when you know the painting was done in watercolors.