Vittorio Matteo Corcos | An Elegant Lady in a Pink Hat and Dress, 1888

Vittorio Matteo Corcos (1859-1933) was an Italian painter, known for his portraits.

Many of his genre works depict winsome and finely dressed young men and women, in moments of repose and recreation.

He was born to Jewish parents, in Livorno. He trained at the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence under Enrico Pollastrini.

Between 1878-1879 he worked under Domenico Morelli in Naples.

Claude Monet | La Mare, effet de neige, 1874-75

Claude Monet painted La Mare, effet de neige in Argenteuil winter of 1874-1875.

The aethereal landscape employs tonal blue and white hues to create a frosted snowscape, bordered by homes with snow-dusted roofs.

A trio of silhouetted figures, dwarfed by trees, traverse the scene.

The work is brilliant, charming and subtle, standing as a superb example of Monet’s experimentation with the Impressionist style in the mid-1870s.

During this crucial period of his practice, his increasingly loose brushwork and thick application of paint began to formally convey the more ephemeral and atmospheric effects of the natural world.

Claude Monet | La Mare, effet de neige, 1874/75 | Christie's

Giuseppe De Nittis | Veduta di Londra (The Victoria Embankment, London), 1875

The extended trips made by the artist to London (1875-1881) coincided with one of the happiest and most productive of his short life.

It was in London that De Nittis befriended artists such as Tissot, Millais, Leighton, Watts and Alma Tadema.

While in London he stayed with one of his patrons, the banker Kaye Knowles.

It was not just the physical aspects of these cityscapes that proved to be difficult to fully master, but London's distinctive light and atmosphere was a principal challenge for the artist.

Giuseppe De Nittis | Veduta di Londra (The Victoria Embankment, London), 1875 | Christie's