Arturo Martini | Modern sculptor

Arturo Martini, (1889, Treviso - 1947, Milan), Italian sculptor and painter who was active between the World Wars.

He is known for figurative sculptures executed in a wide variety of styles and materials.

Martini was trained in goldsmithing and in ceramics and worked for a time as a potter.

In 1905 he began sculpting; he attended art classes in Italy at Treviso and Venice before traveling to Munich, Germany, where he studied under the academic sculptor Adolf von Hildebrand in 1909.

Emilio Greco | Figurative sculptor

Emilio Greco (1913-1995) - Italian sculptor and draughtsman, mainly of female figures and portrait busts.

Born in Catania, Sicily.

At the age of thirteen entered the workshop of a stone mason, learning to carve crosses and figures for cemeteries; also began making sculpture on his own account and studied briefly at the Palermo Academy 1934.

Vytautas Laisonas, 1965 | Magic Realism painter

Lithuanian painter Vytautas Laisonas, born in the village Skrėbiškis-Biržai district, is a member of Lithuania Folk Art Gild since 1991.

His childhood in the countryside has left a lasting mark on his perspective, compelling him to capture the tranquil beauty and subtle variety of the natural world in his art.

Observing Laisonas’ paintings, one can clearly see his appreciation for the pristine perfection of untouched landscapes, which frequently reflect memories from his early years.

Henry Asencio, 1972 | Abstract Realism painter

American painter Henry Asencio has emerged as one of the most intriguing young artists working today.

His work blends the classical ideals of figurative painting with a unique style.

Merging introspection and visual spectacle, Asencio's personal investigations of the figure, spirituality and abstraction possess the power to transform todays ideals of elegance and sensuality.

Robert Henri | Painter and Art teacher

Robert Henri (1865-1929) was an influential American painter and a leading figure of the Ashcan School of American realism.

He is best known for his belief in "art for life's sake", which encouraged artists to find subject matter in the everyday, often gritty, urban life around them, and for his profound impact as a teacher on a generation of American artists.

Massimo Fedele, 1964 | Abstract painter

Massimo Fedele was born in Turin, Italy.

After a few months his family moved to Apulia, in San Vito dei Normanni (Brindisi) where he still lives and works.

After obtaining a diploma from the local Technical and Commercial Institute, he realised he was not on the right track.

Antonio Canova | Paolina Borghese, 1805-1808

The reclining Paolina Borghese as Venus Victrix in the center of the room holds an apple in her hand, evoking the Venus Victrix in the judgement of Paris, who was chosen to settle a dispute between Juno (power), Minerva (arts and science) and Venus (love).

The same subject was painted on the ceiling by Domenico de Angelis (1779), framed by Giovan Battista Marchetti's tromp d'oeil architecture, and was inspired by a famous relief on the façade of the Villa Medici.

This marble statue of Pauline in a highly refined pose is considered a supreme example of the Neoclassical style.

Lord Frederic Leighton | Cymon and Iphigenia, 1884

Cymon and Iphigenia is an oil on canvas painting by Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton PRA.

The painting does not bear a date but was first exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in 1884.

The Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, purchased it at a Christie's auction in London in 1976.

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema | The Roses of Heliogabalus, 1888

"The Roses of Heliogabalus" is an 1888 painting by the Dutch-born British artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912).

It is currently owned by the Spanish-Mexican billionaire businessman and art collector Juan Antonio Pérez Simón.

The painting measures 132.7 × 214.4 centimetres (52.2 × 84.4 in).

It shows a group of Roman diners at a banquet, being swamped by drifts of pink rose petals falling from a false ceiling above.

The Roman emperor Elagabalus reclines on a platform behind them, wearing a golden robe and a tiara, watching the spectacle with other garlanded guests.

Raffaello Gambogi | Post-Macchiaioli painter

Raffaello Gambogi (Livorno, 1874-1943) was an Italian painter, mainly of urban landscapes and genre scenes.

In 1891 Gambogi obtained a scholarship to the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence, where he studied under Giovanni Fattori.

Jeffrey T. Larson, 1962 | Classical Realist painter

Jeffrey T. Larson was born in Two Harbors, Minnesota and grew up in the Twin Cities.

At the age of seventeen he began his classical studies with traditional atelier training under Richard Lack at the Atelier Lack in Minneapolis, MN.

Following his four- year training at Atelier Lack (1980-1984), Larson studied the work of the masters in the United States and abroad.

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema | Spring / Primavera, 1894

A procession of women and children descending marble stairs carry and wear brightly colored flowers. Cheering spectators fill the windows and roof of a classical building.

Dutch-born British Classicist painter Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912) here represented the Victorian custom of sending children into the country to collect flowers on the morning of May 1, or May Day, but placed the scene in ancient Rome.

Constant Troyon | The Barbizon school of painters

Constant Troyon (1810-1865), French painter, was born in Sèvres, near Paris, where his father was connected with the famous manufactory of porcelain.

Troyon was an animal painter of the first rank, and was closely associated with the artists who painted around Barbizon.

The technical qualities of his methods of painting are most masterly; his drawing is excellent, and his composition always interesting.

It was only comparatively late in life that Troyon found his métier, but when he realized his power of painting animals he produced a fairly large number of good pictures in a few years.

Ricardo Sanz, 1957 | Figurative painter

Ricardo Sanz is a San Sebastián painter. His work is contemporary figurative style.

His artistic vocation was forged through his grandfather, owner of the Art Gallery La Perfecta in which he met the great artists of the painting: Sorolla, Zuloaga, Vázquez Diaz, etc.

At fourteen he began his training as a painter with José Camps, while he continued his studies until graduating in History from the University of Deusto and Art History in Madrid.

In Paris and Italy continues his apprenticeship with prominent painters of the time.

François Lassere, 1960 | Oppositionist Art

Born in Puy de Dôme, France, François Lassere is a self-taught painter who practices several techniques.

He was interested in hyperrealism for many years, then moved on to working in raw material, when a painter in Paris suggested to him to expand to new techniques.

Lassere then embarked on a new trend, which he calls “Oppositionism”. From this point on his work will mostly consist of highlighting heterogeneous styles to extract harmony from them.

Alda Merini | Alla tua salute, amore mio!

Sono folle di te, amore

che vieni a rintracciare

nei miei trascorsi

questi giocattoli rotti delle mie parole.

Ti faccio dono di tutto

se vuoi,

Pablo Picasso |The Embrace, 1900

Peregrine Heathcote, 1973 | Academic Realism painter

Born in London, Peregrine Heathcote spent his childhood living in both Britain and Dubai where his imagination was free to flourish as he witnessed an international jet set culture.

Hence it is no surprise that the artist's imagery reflects a provocative Silver Screen theatrical quality.

In 1995, Peregrine Heathcote graduated from the Florence Academy of Art and since that time he has been profiled by the BBC in a documentary about his portraits resulting in international exposure.

Pablo Picasso | Periodi artistici

Periodo blu

Partendo dal 1901 lo stile pittorico di Picasso incominciò a presentare tratti originali e nuove soluzioni artistiche; in quell'anno, infatti, ha inizio il cosiddetto «periodo blu», che si protrae sino alla primavera del 1904.

Questa fase artistica picassiana, come già accennato, scaturì in seguito alla morte suicida dell'amico Carlos Casagemas, come affermato dallo stesso maestro andaluso:

«Quando mi resi conto che Casagemas era morto, incominciai a dipingere in blu» - Pablo Picasso

Ivan Pili, 1976 | Figurative painter

Ivan Pili, concert musician, composer and visual artist, was born in Cagliari, Italy.

His artistic skills emerged from the earliest age, first on the kindergarten benches and then manifested themselves in his early portraiture works at the age of 9 years.

From 1986-1990 he attended painters in Cagliari asking for his presence in their labs to try to improve the technique of the little boy.

Édouard Manet Quotes: "Black is not a color"

• Everything is mere appearance, the pleasures of a passing hour, a midsummer night's dream. Only painting, the reflection of a reflection - but the reflection, too, of eternity - can record some of the glitter of this mirage.

• A painter can say all he wants to with fruit or flowers or even clouds.

• A good painting is true to itself.

• In una figura, cercate la grande luce e la grande ombra, il resto verrà da sé.