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Rudi Hurzlmeier, 1952 | Cartoonist / Illustrator

Rudi Hurzlmeier (born in Mallersdorf Abbey, in Bavaria) is a German cartoonist, painter and author.
Hurzlmeier has been dedicated to comic art since the early eighties.
His works have also been acclaimed by classical art critics.
In 2010 he was awarded the German Caricature Prize in Dresden, the most important award for cartoonists in Germany.


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Giovanni Segantini | The Two Mothers / Le due madri, 1889

"The Two Mothers" is an 1889 oil painting by Giovanni Segantini (Italian painter, 1858-1899).
This work is a product of the Divisionist technique and measuring 301x162.5 cm.
It is part of the collection of the GAM - Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Milan.
Presented at the inaugural Milan Triennale in 1891, alongside "Maternità" (Maternity) by Gaetano Previati (1858-1899), "Le due madri" is one of Segantini's most celebrated and talked-about works, and affirmed the revolutionary new technique known as Divisionism.

Giovanni Segantini | Le due madri, 1889 | olio su tela; 301x162.5 cm | GAM - Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Milano

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Pierre-Édouard Frère | Genre painter

Pierre Édouard Frère (1819-1886), was a French genre painter.
Frère studied under Paul Delaroche, entered the École des Beaux-Arts in 1836 and exhibited first at the Salon in 1843.
Among his chief works are the two paintings, Going to School and Coming from School, The Little Glutton (his first exhibited picture) and L'Exercice (in the 19th century this work was in John Jacob Astor's collection).


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Gaetano Previati | Maternity, 1890-1891 | From Scandal to Masterpiece

The "Maternity" is a monumental painting in which the Italian symbolist painter Gaetano Previati (1852-1920) interpreted the theme of Christian tradition in a secular way.
The painting was completed between 1890 and 1891 resides at the GAM - Gallery of Modern Art in Milan.
The "Maternity" has a complex and tormented genesis, not only due to the difficulties connected with the unconventional interpretation of a great theme, but also because of the high costs of making a painting of monumental dimensions (177 x 411 cm) .
A fundamental work, the painting represents a turning point in Previati's career and a manifesto of the new divisionist painting.

Gaetano Previati | Maternità, 1890-1891 | GAM - Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Milano

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Tito Corbella (1885-1966)

Tito Corbella (Pontremoli, 1885 - Rome, 1966) was an Italian painter and postcard designer.
Tito Corbella first studied chemistry at the University of Padua.
However, he changed fields and continued his studies at the Academy of Visual Arts in Venice, where he was a pupil of Guglielmo Ciardi and Ettore Tito.
After his training, he began a career as an illustrator.
In early 1912, he focused more on portraits of women and lovers.


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Helen Keller: "Tieni il viso rivolto al sole e non vedrai mai le ombre"

Helen Adams Keller (1880-1968) è stata una scrittrice ed accademica Americana, che, pur essendo sorda e cieca, si è fatta paladina della causa dei ciechi, dei sordi e dei muti in tutto il mondo.
Figlia di un direttore di giornale, Helen Keller contrasse la scarlattina all'età di diciannove mesi, che la lasciò cieca e sorda.
Quindi comunicò principalmente usando cartelli domestici fino all'età di sette anni, quando incontrò la sua prima insegnante Anne Sullivan (1866-1936), parzialmente cieca, avendo contratto il tracoma all'età di cinque anni ed ampiamente riconosciuta per i suoi successi nell'istruire ad alto livello una persona priva di vista, udito e linguaggio normale.
Sullivan, che si assunse l'oneroso e spesso frustrante compito di insegnare a Keller l'alfabeto manuale, tamburellando sul palmo della mano e come leggere le labbra appoggiando il pollice e l'indice sul viso di chi parlava, insegnò a Keller il linguaggio, inclusa la lettura e la scrittura.
Dopo un'istruzione sia presso scuole specialistiche che tradizionali, Keller frequentò il Radcliffe College dell'Università di Harvard e divenne la prima persona sordocieca negli Stati Uniti a conseguire una laurea in arti.

Helen Keller

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Jane Crowther, 1962

Originally from York (UK), Jane Crowther studied Illustration BA(Hons) at Kingston Polytechnic.
In the early 1990’s, whilst based in North London, Jane designed a small range of greeting cards to supplement her meagre income as an artist, initially selling them at craft fairs alongside her large multi-media paintings.
The cards started to sell really well and Jane made the commercial decision to concentrate on her card designs.


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Alex Gross, 1968 | Pop surrealism painter

Alex Gross lives in Portland, Oregon. In 1990, he received a BFA with honors from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
Since then, he has had ten solo exhibitions at various galleries, and participated in dozens of museum and gallery exhibitions across the globe.
His 2017 exhibition with Corey Helford Gallery was his most recent solo exhibition.
In the summer of 2007, Alex's first retrospective museum show was held at the Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana, California.


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Joseph Lorusso, 1966 | Il pittore romantico

Di origini italiane, Joseph Lorusso è stato esposto all'arte in tenera età.
Attraverso diversi viaggi iniziali in Italia, i suoi genitori lo hanno introdotto alle opere dei maestri italiani.
Lorusso avrebbe guardato a queste influenze durante il suo primo sviluppo artistico e sono ancora evidenti nel suo lavoro odierno.
Durante gli anni della scuola, Lorusso si è specializzato in acquerelli e si considera un autodidatta come pittore ad olio.


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Eva Melhuish | Scandinavian Christmas cards

Eva Melhuish is an illustrator who has been published across Europe, the USA and has worked on global projects with UNICEF.
With a Swedish mother and English father, Eva is bi-lingual and has travelled extensively.
Her work reflects this diverse background and she illustrates a wide range of subjects, from natural history and horses to gardening and educational books.
Eva grew up in Sweden and her Scandinavian roots are a key influence.


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Ed Wheeler | Santa Classic

In a series of self-portraits dressed as Santa Claus, Philadelphia-based artist Ed Wheeler, photographer, incorporates himself in classical paintings from Botticelli to Caravaggio to Monet.
In so doing he transforms the masterworks of art history from the Renaissance to the Surrealists. Santa Classics, his derivative art series, is based on a digital photography process.
Wheeler’s goal is to pay homage to the original paintings while offering art lovers an additional reason to smile.

Francesco Hayez | The Kiss, 1859 | Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

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Molly Brett | Writer / Children's book illustrator

Molly Brett (1902–1990) was an English illustrator and writer of children's literature, best known for her anthropomorphic artwork.
Molly (Mary Elizabeth) Brett grew up in the English county of Surrey, surrounded by animals and nature.
Her mother, Mary Gould Brett, was a respected animal painter who encouraged her daughter to paint from life, and this is reflected in Molly's gift for making her animals look thoroughly naturalistic while giving them human characteristics and activities.


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Emily Dickinson | L’erba ha così poche occupazioni / The Grass so little has to do

L’erba ha così poche occupazioni -
un mondo di semplice verde
con solo farfalle su cui meditare
e api da ospitare -
non ha da fare altro che cullarsi
tutto il giorno ai suoni melodiosi
che le brezze portano leggere -
e accogliere in grembo la luce -

Camille Pissarro | Gardeuse de vaches, Eragny | Christie's

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Bertolt Brecht | Of all the works of man / Tra tutte le opere

Of all the works of man I like best
Those which have been used.

The copper pots with their dents and flattened edges
The knives and forks whose wooden handles
Have been worn away by many hands: such forms
Seemed to me the noblest.

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) | Crouching Boy, 1524 | Hermitage, St. Petersburg

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Johannes Vermeer died on this day, in 1675

Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) passed away on this day December 15th, 1675.
He was 43 years old.
Vermeer’s small oeuvre is remarkable.
It is estimated that Vermeer created around 40 to 50 paintings, which is not a big number compared to other master painters of the time.
For example, Rembrandt made around 300 paintings and Frans Hals around 200.


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Wisława Szymborska / René Magritte | A Note / Una nota

Life is the only way
to get covered in leaves,
catch your breath on the sand,
rise on wings;
to be a dog,
or stroke its warm fur;


to tell pain
from everything it's not;

to squeeze inside events,
dawdle in views,
to seek the least of all possible mistakes.

An extraordinary chance
to remember for a moment
a conversation held
with the lamp switched off;

and if only once
to stumble upon a stone,
end up soaked in one downpour or another,

mislay your keys in the grass;
and to follow a spark on the wind with your eyes;
and to keep on not knowing
something important.


René Magritte | L'Utopie, 1945 | Cleveland Museum of Art

Wisława Szymborska | Una nota

La vita - è il solo modo
per coprirsi di foglie,
prendere fiato sulla sabbia,
sollevarsi sulle ali;

essere un cane,
o carezzarlo sul suo pelo caldo;
distinguere il dolore
da tutto ciò che dolore non è;

stare dentro gli eventi,
dileguarsi nelle vedute,
cercare il più piccolo errore.


Un’occasione eccezionale
per ricordare per un attimo
di che si è parlato
a luce spenta;

e almeno per una volta
inciampare in una pietra,
bagnarsi in qualche pioggia,
perdere le chiavi tra l’erba;

e seguire con gli occhi una scintilla
nel vento;

e persistere nel non sapere
qualcosa d’importante.


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Vincent van Gogh | Two peasant women digging in field with snow, 1890

Van Gogh was fascinated with the labour and life of peasants, as expressed in art and literature.
In his paintings and drawings, he prominently featured working men and women.
He believed that to truly capture ‘the heart of the people’, an artist must immerse himself in their world.
He saw labourers as simple, kind-hearted and courageous people, often holding them in higher regard than those he termed "civilized".

Vincent van Gogh | Two peasant women digging in field with snow, 1890 | Kunsthaus Zürich

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Happy 194th Birthday, Emily Dickinson!

American poet Emily Dickinson (December 10, 1830 - May 15, 1886) was born 194 years ago, in 1830.
Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry.
Despite Dickinson's prolific writing, only ten poems and a letter were published during her lifetime.
After her younger sister Lavinia discovered the collection of nearly 1,800 poems, Dickinson's first volume was published four years after her death.

Bronze sculpture of Emily Dickinson by Jane DeDecker

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Giovanni Segantini | L’angelo della vita (Dea cristiana), 1894

The Angel of Life (Christian Goddess) was commissioned in 1891 or shortly before by the banker Leopoldo Albini, together with the Pagan Goddess, now exhibited alongside it.
The two works were intended to form a diptych on the theme of women, a mystical mother in the case of the painting considered here, a worldly and lustful vision in the other.
The two figures are portraits of the family nanny, Baba, and of her son Gottardo (painted from memory, since he must have been twelve years old at the time).

Giovanni Segantini | L’angelo della vita (Dea cristiana), 1894 (detaglio) | GAM - Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Milano

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Spinario (Boy pulling a thorn from his foot)

Boy with Thorn, also called Fedele (Fedelino) or Spinario, is a Greco-Roman Hellenistic bronze sculpture of a boy withdrawing a thorn from the sole of his foot, now in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome.
There is a Roman marble version of this subject from the Medici collections in a corridor of the Uffizi Gallery, Florence.
The sculpture was one of the very few Roman bronzes that was never lost to sight.
The work was standing outside the Lateran Palace when the Navarrese rabbi Benjamin of Tudela saw it in the 1160s and identified it as Absalom, who "was without blemish from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head".

Lo Spinario | Palazzo dei Conservatori, Musei Capitolini