Artists through history
The atlas holds 32 people and 1,158 moments here, from 1400 to 2011. The most recorded lives are Leonardo da Vinci, Ronald Reagan and Napoleon Bonaparte. Across the Age of Exploration and the Cold War.
Notable people
Albrecht Dürer
from 1471 to 1528
34 moments here
German painter, printmaker, and theorist of the Northern Renaissance. Born and died in Nuremberg, Dürer trained there before traveling through the…
Alfred Nobel
from 1833 to 1896
18 moments here
Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, and industrialist Alfred Bernhard Nobel (1833–1896) developed dynamite and other explosives, built businesses…
Catherine II of Russia
from 1729 to 1796
60 moments here
Catherine II (Catherine the Great), born Sophie Auguste Friederike of Anhalt-Zerbst, was empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796.…
Diego Velázquez
from 1599 to 1660
27 moments here
Spanish Baroque painter and court artist to Philip IV of Spain. Born in Seville, he trained there before establishing his long-term home and career…
Empress Dowager Cixi
from 1835 to 1908
13 moments here
Empress Dowager Cixi (Yehe Nara Xingzhen) was a Manchu noblewoman who exercised decisive power in the Qing government as empress dowager and regent…
Francisco Goya
from 1746 to 1828
28 moments here
Spanish painter and printmaker Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was born at Fuendetodos, Aragon, and died at Bordeaux, France.…
Freddie Mercury
from 1946 to 1991
44 moments here
Freddie Mercury (Farrokh Bulsara) was a British singer, songwriter, pianist, and lead vocalist of Queen.…
Frida Kahlo
from 1907 to 1954
20 moments here
Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón) was born in Coyoacán and spent much of her life in Mexico City.…
Hokusai
from 1760 to 1849
9 moments here
Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, painter, and printmaker. His documented physical-presence chronology is concentrated in…
Johannes Gutenberg
from 1400 to 1468
13 moments here
German inventor and craftsman associated with the development of European movable-type printing.…
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
from 1749 to 1832
78 moments here
German poet, dramatist, novelist, scientist, theatre director, and statesman. Born in Frankfurt, Goethe studied in Leipzig and Strasbourg, practiced…
J. R. R. Tolkien
from 1892 to 1973
38 moments here
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was an English philologist, university professor, and author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.…
Kurt Cobain
from 1967 to 1994
29 moments here
American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and founding member of Nirvana. This chronology maps documented residences, recording sessions, performances,…
Le Corbusier
from 1887 to 1965
38 moments here
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, known as Le Corbusier, was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, painter, writer, and urban planner.…
Leonardo da Vinci
from 1452 to 1519
27 moments here
Italian Renaissance painter, draftsman, engineer, architect, anatomist, and natural philosopher.…
Louis XIV
from 1638 to 1715
16 moments here
Louis XIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 1638–1715), king of France from 1643, was the Bourbon monarch known as the Sun King.…
Matsuo Bashō
from 1644 to 1694
40 moments here
Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) was a Japanese poet of the Edo period, renowned for haikai and for travel writing including Oku no Hosomichi.…
Michelangelo
from 1475 to 1564
29 moments here
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet.…
Napoleon Bonaparte
from 1769 to 1821
68 moments here
French military commander and statesman who rose during the French Revolution, became First Consul in 1799, and ruled as Emperor of the French in…
Nicolaus Copernicus
from 1473 to 1543
15 moments here
Renaissance astronomer, canon, physician, administrator, and economist whose heliocentric model placed the Sun rather than Earth at the center of the…
Pablo Picasso
from 1881 to 1973
60 moments here
Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and co-founder of Cubism. Born in Málaga, Picasso trained in A Coruña, Barcelona, and Madrid…
Peter Paul Rubens
from 1577 to 1640
25 moments here
Flemish Baroque painter, designer, humanist, collector, and diplomat. Rubens was born at Siegen, spent formative years in Cologne and Antwerp, worked…
Rabindranath Tagore
from 1861 to 1941
56 moments here
Bengali poet, novelist, dramatist, composer, painter, philosopher, social reformer, and educationist.…
Raphael
from 1483 to 1520
14 moments here
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, known as Raphael, was an Italian High Renaissance painter and architect.…
Moments
- 1411 First family departure from Mainz Johannes Gutenberg
- 1469 Moves to Florence Leonardo da Vinci
- 1475 Brought to Florence as an infant Michelangelo
- 1486 Apprenticeship with Michael Wolgemut Albrecht Dürer
- 1491 Studies at the University of Kraków Nicolaus Copernicus
- 1499 Workshop at Città di Castello Raphael
- 1577 Reported baptism in Cologne Peter Paul Rubens
- 1620 Enrolled at Leiden University Rembrandt
- 1630 First Italian journey: Naples Diego Velázquez
- 1651 Fronde crisis in Paris Louis XIV
- 1672 Move to Edo Matsuo Bashō
- 1739 Meets future Peter III at Eutin Catherine II of Russia
- 1765 Takes lodgings as a Leipzig student Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- 1771 Fresco work at the Basilica of El Pilar Francisco Goya
- 1779 Enrolls at school in Autun Napoleon Bonaparte
- 1807 Rejoins his father in Avellino Victor Hugo
- 1812 Journey to Nagoya and manga sketches Hokusai
- 1841 Pupil at Jacobs Apologistic School Alfred Nobel
- 1852 Entry into the Forbidden City Empress Dowager Cixi
- 1866 Enters school in Tilburg Vincent van Gogh
- 1872 Countryside stay at Panihati Rabindranath Tagore
- 1891 Family reaches A Coruña Pablo Picasso
- 1896 Childhood move to Sarehole J. R. R. Tolkien
- 1902 Cultural exchange performances in Germany Sarah Bernhardt
- 1907 Florence Charterhouse visit Le Corbusier
- 1911 Lives on Glassburn Street Ronald Reagan
- 1917 Exhibits at his Figueres home Salvador Dalí
- 1921 Laugh-O-Gram Studio work Walt Disney
- 1922 National Preparatory School student Frida Kahlo
- 1963 Returned to Zanzibar Freddie Mercury
- 1967 Move to Crist Drive home Steve Jobs
- 1989 Music Source recording sessions Kurt Cobain