Arthur Elsley | I'se biggest! 1892

The "I'se Biggest!", which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1892, won Arthur John Elsley’s considerable public acclaim, a small girl standing on tip-toe atop a thick book, comparing her height with that of a large St. Bernard Dog.

Later the painting had to be re-engraved to satisfy public demand.

Elsley continued to paint these good-natured dogs throughout his career, they appear in more than thirty of his paintings.

Gil Bruvel, 1959 | Visionary art / 𝄞 Chopin 𝄞

Gil Bruvel is a contemporary artist known for his visually striking sculptures, often featuring human faces constructed from thousands of charred wooden shafts.

While he began with painting and drawing, he is now primarily a sculptor who uses a wide range of materials, including wood, bronze, and stainless steel.

His work is deeply influenced by his curiosity about the human condition and the inner workings of the mind, often exploring themes of duality and interconnectedness.

The Language of light by Ricardo Sanz, 1957

The pictorial work of Spanish painter Ricardo Sanz reflects a perfect mastery of drawing, light and color, is idealized and precious, you get the best out of each model and translate it into the canvas.

His portraits, a current modernity, have pictorial tradition and wisdom.

It is considered one of the great portrait painters of the time.

Quando l'iperrealismo incontra il surrealismo | Ricardo Celma, 1975

L'artista Ricardo Celma è nato a Buenos Aires.

La sua vocazione artistica si sviluppa immediatamente: a cinque anni frequenta un laboratorio d'arte, a 16 anni ha realizzato la sua prima mostra personale, e cosi ha continuato ininterrottamente per 20 anni.

Al termine del liceo è entrato alla Scuola Nazionale di Belle Arti Prilidiano Pueyrredón, dove ha conseguito il titolo di Professore nazionale di disegno e pittura, con ottimi voti.

Daniel Del Orfano, 1968

L'opera di Daniel Del Orfano raffigura la vita non come potrebbe essere, ma piuttosto come viene ricordata: un'istantanea, non di un momento particolare, ma di un ricordo complessivo.

Daniel Del Orfano, nato e cresciuto a Long Island, New York, dopo aver insegnato presso la prestigiosa Scuola Knox Boarding, è stato integrato nel sistema scolastico pubblico, dove ha insegnato arte a bambini di tutte le età.

Ma, anche se estremamente gratificante, questa non era la sua vera vocazione.

Anastasia Vostrezova, 1981 | The Painter of the Ballet

Anastasia Vostrezova / Анастасия Вострецова was born in a family of artists in Ekaterinburg.

She spent all of her childhood in Moscow and in Pereslavl-Zalesski where her family had a summer house.

She graduated from the I.Shadr Art College, Ekaterinburg (2000) and continued her art education in Saint Petersburg.

In 2008 Anastasia Vostrezova graduated from the I. Repin Saint Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts, where she studied in the studio of Professor M. Devyatov.

Now she live and work in Saint Petersburg.

Constant Troyon | Pittore della scuola di Barbizon

TROYON, Constant - Pittore, nato a Sèvres il 28 agosto 1810, morto a Parigi il 20 marzo 1865.

Figlio di un decoratore della manifattura di Sèvres, e desiderando entrarvi anch'egli come pittore di fiori, cominciò a dipingere bozzetti dal vero, prendendo gusto al paesaggio.

Nel 1833 espose opere ispirate ai sobborghi in cui viveva: La Fête de Sèvres; Un coin du Parc de St.-Cloud, rivelandosi ancora legato alla maniera classica, pesante nelle ombre ed analitico.

I consigli di C. Roqueplan gli schiusero orizzonti più vasti; il Limousin e la Creuse l'ispirarono.

Ne riportò diverse vedute, tra cui: Vues prises aux environs d'Argenton (1836) e Foire champêtre dans le Limousin, 1838.

Nel 1841 si recava in Bretagna, dove si fece sempre più libero ed eseguì Tobie avec l'Ange.

Ma la sua evoluzione fu definitiva quando, conosciuti Th. Rousseau e J. Dupré, entrò nella pleiade dei paesisti romantici, detta "scuola del 1830", e frequentò la foresta di Fontainebleau, culla del paesaggio francese moderno, nel quale aleggiava lo spirito del grande iniziatore Constable.

L'opera sua si trasfigura, come attestano i quadri del 1844: Paysage dans la forêt; Dessous de forêt; Vue prise à Fontainebleau, 1845.

Finalmente un viaggio nel Belgio e nell'Olanda completa la sua vocazione. Vi conosce gli animalisti, vi ammira A. Cuyp e Pol Potter, ma sopra tutti Rembrandt.

Imparò allora a rappresentare natura e animali in intimo accordo.

Nel 1849 espose il celebre Moulin, palesandovi l'influenza di Rembrandt.

Col 1850 si dedicò alla rappresentazione di greggi ed armenti nei campi.

Non ebbe come i pittori dei Paesi Bassi il senso dell'atmosfera, ma assai vivo in lui fu l'affetto per gli animali che aiutano l'uomo nel suo lavoro.

Ricordiamo: Boeufs se rendant au labour; Effet du matin, 1855; Le retour à la ferme; Le retour du marché; La vache Rousse, tutti al Louvre.

L'esposizione Universale del 1855 consacrò la sua fama.

Fu nominato Cavaliere della Legion d'Onore dopo il Salon del 1849.

Le opere del Troyon sono nei musei del Louvre, di Lilla, di Amiens, di Montpellier e di Bordeaux. | di Andrée R. Schneider, © Treccani, Enciclopedia Italiana

Valentin De Boulogne | Allegoria dell'Italia, 1628-29

L'Allegoria d'Italia (olio su tela, 333 x 245 cm) fu dipinta per il nipote papale, il cardinale Francesco Barberini.

Come in un tableau vivant, personaggi riconoscibili hanno assunto ruoli emblematici: una giovane donna è vestita come l'Italia (indossa una corona merlata, regge uno scudo e sta in piedi su una cornucopia); due uomini dal petto villoso interpretano le parti di divinità fluviali (l'Arno, con un leone, ed il Tevere, con i gemelli Romolo e Remo e la lupa che li allattò).

In quest'opera, Valentin spinse la pratica della pittura da un modello in posa alle sue estreme conseguenze, creando un capolavoro unico, radicale quanto qualsiasi opera di Caravaggio.

Valentin de Boulogne | Allegory of Italy, 1628-29 | Institutum Romanum Finlandiae, Rome

Wisława Szymborska | C'è chi / There are those who

C'è chi meglio degli altri realizza la sua vita.

É tutto in ordine dentro ed attorno a lui.

Per ogni cosa ha metodi e risposte.

É lesto ad indovinare il chi, il come, il dove

ed a quale scopo.

René Magritte

William Holman Hunt | The Awakening Conscience, 1853

The Awakening Conscience was conceived as the material counterpart to Hunt's The Light of the World (1851-3, Warden and Fellows of Keble College, Oxford).

Its inspiration was a verse from Proverbs:

'As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart'.

With his typical thoroughness, Hunt hired a room at Woodbine Villa, 7 Alpha Place, St John's Wood, a 'maison de convenance', to use as the setting.

Gaetano Bellei (1857-1922)

Dopo la formazione artistica all'Accademia delle Belle Arti di Modena, sotto la guida di Adeodato Malatesta, Il maestro Accademico Italiano Gaetano Bellei si trasferisce a Roma, dove frequenta l'accademia di San Luca, successivamente quella di Francia ed in contemporanea, quella spagnola.

Nel 1883 frequenta Firenze per un anno, dove porta a fine il proprio pensionato artistico.

Nella città toscana entra in contatto, per il suo eclettismo, con collezionisti, mercanti e mecenati di origine inglese per lo più, che gli commissionano varie tipologie di opere.

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema | Stile artistico

Considerato uno dei pittori Vittoriani più influenti, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912) costituisce una presenza molto particolare nel panorama artistico del XIX secolo; lo stile ed i contenuti delle sue opere manifestano allo stesso tempo elementi antichi e moderni, visitati in chiave personale, tanto che l'Art Journal del 1870 scrisse su di lui: «Alma-Tadema è difficile da classificare: non appartiene a nessuna scuola, o per meglio dire, è lui stesso una scuola».

Odilon Redon | Still Life

Odilon Redon's still life paintings are known for their vibrant colors, dreamlike atmosphere, and Symbolist style.

Unlike traditional still lifes that seek realism, Redon's works are visual meditations that place the visible in the service of the invisible, evoking emotion and imagination.

Guido Reni | The Head of a Woman Looking Up (Judith), 1625-26

Striking for its coloristic richness -a pictorial quality imparted by the combination of red and black chalk- this head of a young woman is a preparatory study for Reni's painting Judith and Holofernes, a celebrated and much replicated composition.

The present study was most probably derived from life, to judge from the bold immediacy of the contours and the quick zig-zagging of the parallel hatching of the shading.

Guido Reni | The Head of a Woman Looking Up (Judith), 1625-26 | Metropolitan Museum of Art

Leonardo da Vinci e Michelangelo

Il rapporto tra i due geni del Rinascimento, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) e Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), fu difficile, spesso teso, a causa della differenza generazionale (Michelangelo era di 23 anni più giovane di Leonardo), ma soprattutto, per via dei caratteri diversi e degli ideali artistici inconciliabilmente lontani: il primo fu riflessivo, poliedrico e interessato al mondo naturale; il secondo più impulsivo, notoriamente riottoso ed idealista.

Non vi sono prove dirette della loro inimicizia, ma svariati indizi e testimonianze indirette.

Michelangelo Buonarroti | Sculpture

Michelangelo's (1475-1564) earliest sculpture was made in the Medici garden near the church of San Lorenzo; his Bacchus and Sleeping Cupid both show the results of careful observation of the classical sculptures located in the garden.

His later Battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs and Madonna of the Stairs reflect his growing interest in his contemporaries.

Master of the Story of Griselda (active 1490-1500)

The Master of the Story of Griselda was an Italian artist who specialized in panel paintings.

He worked in Umbria around 1490 and probably spent time in Siena.

There is no evidence of him after 1500.

He received his notname from a group of paintings depicting the story of Griselda, as recounted by Giovanni Boccaccio in his Decameron.

Master of the Story of Griselda | Joseph of Egypt or Eunustos of Tangara c.1493-4 | National Gallery of Art, Washington

Bartholomeus van der Helst | The Musician, 1662

Tuning the strings of her theorbo-lute, a beautiful musician directs an engaging glance at the viewer.

The foreground of the picture displays a viola da gamba and sheet music for tenor and soprano voices, suggesting that the lute player anticipates a duet.

Dutch painters of the seventeenth century frequently associated music-making and courtship with amateur concerts, providing opportunities for mingling and flirtation. | Source: © Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bartholomeus van der Helst | The Musician, 1662 | Metropolitan Museum of Art

Magical dreams by Tomasz Kopera, 1976

Tomasz Alen Kopera is a contemporary Polish surrealist painter known for his oil-on-canvas artworks, which are celebrated for their dark, fantastical imagery and intricate detail.

His work explores themes of human nature, the universe, and the subconscious through symbols and dreamlike scenes.

Damian Tirado, 1960 | Belle Époque

Damian Tirado believes that color is a mode of expression in its own right and not simply a descriptive tool.

His paintings are often vivid and bright.

He is inspired by Latin art and classic European painters like Matisse and Renoir.

His work ranges from figurative urban landscapes to portraits.

Pablo Picasso | Sleeping peasants, 1919

Sleeping peasants, is the most potent of the small erotic paintings that is brilliantly coloured.

The restless, irregular rhythms mapped out by the contours of the tumescene limbs and ruckled drapery amount to a graph of love-making which has just occured, while the woman's thrown-back head and uncovered breast confirm her maenadic ancestry.

The ripe bodies nestled in the ripe crops implying some archaic fertility rite.

Peregrine Heathcote, 1973 | Glamour and intrigue

Peregrine Heathcote is a contemporary British painter known for his cinematic and narrative works that blend mid-century glamour with modern sensibilities. His academic realist style, featuring vibrant oil paints and rich colors, creates a world of timeless luxury and intrigue.

Early life and training: Born in London, Heathcote spent his early childhood in Britain and Dubai, which he credits with fostering his creative imagination.

As a child, he took classes at the Heatherly School of Art before receiving classical training at the Florence Fine Art Academy in Italy, where he graduated in 1994.

Vincent van Gogh | Roses and Sunflowers, 1886

Van Gogh painted this still life during one of his crucial transitional phases.

Between 1886 and 1888 he spent two decisive years in Paris, which initiated a change in his working method, especially his understanding of color effect.

Schooled in the work of the French Romantic Eugène Delacroix, his colors lighten during this period and he begins to experiment with extreme contrasts.

In "Roses and Sunflowers", one of more than 30 still lifes he produced in Paris, this complementary contrast is created using red and green.

Vincent van Gogh | Roses and Sunflowers, 1886 |Kunsthalle Mannheim, Germany

Guido Reni | The Immaculate Conception, 1627

Guido Reni (Bologna, 1575-1642), the most celebrated painter of seventeenth-century Italy, was particularly famous for the elegance of his compositions and the beauty and grace of his female heads, earning him the epithet “Divine".

This altarpiece, with its otherworldly space shaped by clouds and putti in a high-keyed palette, was commissioned in about 1627 by the Spanish ambassador in Rome for the Infanta of Spain.

Guido Reni | The Immaculate Conception, 1627 | Metropolitan Museum of Art

Léon-Jean-Basile Perrault | Pittore accademico di genere

Léon-Jean-Basile Perrault (1832-1908) è stato un pittore Francese.

Nacque da una famiglia modesta: il padre, Henri, era sarto.

Entrò a 10 anni nella scuola di disegno di Poitiers, allora diretta dai fratelli Hivonnait, dove rimase fino a 14 anni quando, dovendo contribuire al mantenimento della famiglia, trovò un lavoro presso un decoratore, con il quale collaborò ai restauri degli affreschi della locale chiesa di Sainte Radegonde.

Francesco Bacchiacca | Portrait of a young lady holding a cat, 1525-30

A Florentine painter and draughtsman, Francesco d'Ubertino Verdi, called Bacchiacca (1494-1557) is chiefly recognized as an artist who helped evolve the style of Mannerism.

He is said to have studied with Umbrian painter, Pietro Perugino (1446-1524) and also collaborated with other artists of the time such as Franciabigio (1482-1525) and Pontormo (1494-1557).

Bryce Cameron Liston, 1965 | Figure painter

Bryce Cameron Liston has always lived in the Mountain West and was introduced to the arts at a young age by his mother, who was a very proficient artist.

Later in high school Bryce’s interest in art deepened when he was introduced to the works of great American Illustrators such as N.C. Wyeth and Howard Pyle “Their artwork was so exhilarating and rich, I was hooked”.

Due to limited resources, he chose to pursue his artistic passion by enrolling at the local public University.

Annick Bouvattier, 1964 | Unspoken words

Annick Bouvattier primarily paints painting of modern women, using intricate plays of light and shadow.

These women embrace their femininity without false modesty, remaining indifferent to outside gazes.

Annick Bouvattier was born in Nevers. Her father, a pediatrician and art enthusiast, passed on to her a love for art and painting from a very young age.

Tina Palmer, 1964

Tina Palmer ha sempre saputo che una carriera nell'arte era ciò che voleva.

In gran parte autodidatta, il suo lavoro è disponibile su commissione, attraverso gallerie selezionate negli Stati Uniti ed attraverso i suoi esclusivi Tina Palmer Art Events che consentono agli amanti dell'arte di ospitare Tina ed il suo lavoro a pagamento in ambienti aziendali o domestici, combinando la sua arte, le sue tele creato dai partecipanti mentre si godono la musica, il cibo, il vino e i cocktail selezionati di Tina.

Francesco Hayez | Pittore romantico

Francesco Hayez (1791-1882) nacque in una famiglia di condizioni modeste.

Il padre Giovanni era di origini francesi; la madre, Chiara Torcella, veniva da Murano.

Il piccolo Francesco, ultimo di cinque figli, venne affidato ad una sorella della madre che aveva sposato Giovanni Binasco, armatore e mercante d'arte proprietario di una discreta collezione di dipinti.

Già da piccolo mostrò una predisposizione per il disegno e lo zio lo affidò ad un restauratore affinché ne imparasse il mestiere.

Georges Maroniez | Fishing port at dusk

Georges Maroniez was born in Douai in 1865 and died in Paris in 1933, French painter.

Son of an industrialist, manufacturer of sugar in Montigny-en-Ostrevent, Georges Maroniez very early on showed a taste and gifts for drawing and painting.

His father encouraged him but also asked him to study law, the profession of artist being little considered at the time.

At the end of his studies, he began a career as a magistrate, successively in Boulogne-sur-Mer (1891), Avesnes-sur-Helpe (1894) and Cambrai (1897).

Anne Bachelier, 1949 | Surrealist painter

Metamorphosis, transition, and evolution provide the common threads of the art of Anne Bachelier.

The artist captivates her audience with compelling, highly imaginative images that are distinct, unique, inventive and immediately recognizable.

Her metaphysical, dream-like fantasies evoke feelings simultaneously powerful, peaceful, and protective.

This unique "other" world, untouched by time or place, reminds the viewer of the eternal dance of transformation and regeneration.

Paul Hedley, 1947 | Figurative painter

British painter Paul Hedley paints with compulsion, subtly influenced by his environment and daily experiences.

His paintings show his incredible ability to describe figurative form in the context of good quality and interesting compositions.

His brushwork is very decisive and colourful yet the effect is full of intimacy and serenity.

Paul Hedley was born and brought up in Chatham, Kent.