Adoration of the Magi by Konrad Witz

Konrad Witz (c 1400-1445) - Adoration of the Magi (c 1444)
New Zealand 3c Stamp Issued Christmas 1974
Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva, Switzerland

The majority of Witz's work was completed altarpieces during his lifetime, which have since been dismantled and displayed in various art galleries - his art was completed on many medium, including wood and cloth.  The German artist was known for his scenes of realism - he was probably influenced by Flemish artists like Jan van Eyck, even though Witz probably spent all his working life in Basel.

He did not use mystical symbolism although it was very popular in northern Europe at the time - his work is more immediate and real to the viewer.  Witz is best known at the artist who completed the first outdoor landscape of a real site, being Lake Geneva, in 1444.  The painting was called The Miraculous Draft of Fishes.  He worked the majority of his life in the Painters Guild in Basel, but little is known about his training.

Diego Velazquez - Old Woman Frying Eggs

Diego Velazquez (1599-1660)  - Old Woman Frying Eggs (1618)
Fujeira Stamp issued 1980
National Gallery of Scotland

This is one of this artists earlier works in his career - a realistic portrayal of a scene that would not normally be painted by artists during this time.  Later in his career, Velazquez would go onto become of the most important artists to Spanisk King Philip IV's royal court, and his works would be influential and coped by future artists such as Picasso and Francis Bacon in the 20th Century.

Another of his paintings has been depicted on a Panama Stamp: The Forge of Vulcan.

Taras Shevchenko - Kateryna

Taras Shenchenko (1814-1861) - Katerina (1842)
Russa USSR Stamp issued 1979

Shevchenko is known as the founding father of Ukrainian modern literature and language, more that his talent as an artist.  He was born into serfdom, but when his talents were discovered, the famous poet Vasily Zhukovsky bought him out of serfdom in 1838.  This portrait depicts Katerina, who was a key figure in one of his most famous poems.  She was a serf girl, who was seduced, abandoned and disgraced by a Russian soldier in the poem.  Shevchenko's art crosses between folk art and realism.

Kyriak Kostandi - Among the People

Kyriak Kostandi (1852-1921) - Among the People (1885)
Russia USSR Stamp Issued 1979
Painting Held at the National Art Museum of Ukraine

This is typical of the realistic genre paintings completed by Kostandi throughout his career.  A young peasant girl looks out the window of a crowded train, to a wider world.  There is a sense of tiredness to the girl and uncertainty in the painting overall - although the girl is among a lot of people on the train, she is the only one in the painting.  It captures a moment in time.

Kostandi was born in a town near Odessa, but he learnt his artistic trade in St Petersburg, where he went on to become a founding member of the Society of South Russian Artists.

Alexey Gavrilovich Venetsianov - Oh, Father's Dinner

Alexey Gavrilovich Venetsianov (1780-1847) - Oh, Father's Dinner  (1825) - 

Russia Stamp issued 1973

Tretyakov Gallery Moscow

Born of Greek parents in Moscow, Venetsianov had a passion for art from a young age, although he was a public servant at the commencement of his working life.

His artwork was reknown for dpictions of peasant life in Russia in the early 19th Century. He maintained a group of friends who were also talented artists from modest backgrounds - none of them initially attained power in the art world, due to their lack of formal art training, but Venesianov was appointed as a court painter by Nicholas I at the latter stages of his life.

The artist reportedly died when he was aboard a horse driven carriage that fell down a steep slope.