Jean-Claude Campana, 1941 | It's Carnival time

Jean-Claude Campana is an French painter, who has been painting for more than thirty years, started his career by exhibiting together with Baboulène, Buffet, Hilaire, Brayer...

The approach of these Masters encourages the talent of Campana, who already in his youth, builds up a strong character.

Strengthened by his expérience in surrealism, symbolism and realism, Jean-Claude Campana has been devoted to Venice since about a fifteen years, in a very personal style.

Alphonse Osbert | Symbolist / Pointillist painter

Alphonse Osbert (23 March 1857 - 11 August 1939) was a French Symbolist painter.

Educated at the École des Beaux-Arts, his earliest passion was for the great Spanish masters, particularly Jusepe de Ribera. A shift away from his academic style took place in the late 1880s under the influence of several acquaintances associated with Post-Impressionism* and Symbolism*.

Paul Cézanne | The Four Seasons, 1860

between 1860 and 1862, French painter Paul Cézanne, still a student at the law faculty in Aix, started out as a painter by decorating the walls of the main drawing room at Jas de Bouffan, based on the allegorical theme of The Four Seasons (Les Quatre Saisons).

He was twenty when his father bought this estate near Aix-en-Provence.

Paul Cézanne | Spring, 1861

Henri Manguin | Il pittore Fauve

Henri Manguin (1874-1949) è stato un importante pittore Francese, figura centrale del movimento dei Fauves.

Soprannominato "il pittore voluttuoso" per la sua capacità di celebrare la gioia di vivere attraverso colori caldi e luminosi, Manguin si distinse per uno stile che, pur essendo audace, mantenne sempre un equilibrio armonioso rispetto all'espressività più aggressiva di altri esponenti del gruppo.

Manguin entrò nell'École des Beaux-Arts per studiare sotto Gustave Moreau, così come Henri Matisse e Charles Camoin con cui divenne amico intimo.

Mimosa paintings

• "After women, flowers are the most lovely thing God has given the world".

• "Dopo le donne, i fiori sono la cosa più bella che Dio ha dato al mondo".

- Christian Dior

William-Adolphe Bouguereau | The Mimosa Flower, 1899

Marc Chagall | Les Offrandes, 1958

In his address delivered at the inauguration on 7 July 1973 - his 86th birthday - of the Musée national message biblique Marc Chagall in Nice, the artist described the meaning he found in Biblical stories:

“It has always seemed to me and still seems today the greatest source of poetry of all time.

Ever since then, I have searched for its reflection in life and in Art.

The Bible is like an echo of nature and this is the secret I have tried to convey”

- (quoted in J. Baal-Teshuva, ed., Chagall, A Retrospective, New York, 1995, p. 295).

Les Nabis | Art history and Sitemap

Ambitious decorative painting enjoyed a resurgence in Europe from the late 1880s through the early twentieth century.

In Paris, Pierre Bonnard, Maurice Denis and Édouard Vuillard were among the most influential artists to embrace decoration as painting’s primary function.

Their works celebrate pattern and ornament, challenge the boundaries that divide fine arts from crafts, and, in many cases, complement the interiors for which they were commissioned.

Disaffected with the rigidly representational painting methods taught at the Académie Julian, Bonnard and Denis joined with other like-minded students in the fall of 1888 to form a brotherhood called the “Nabis”, a Hebrew word meaning “prophets”.

Modern Masters of 20th Century | Art Quotes

Salvador Dalí:

• "The first man to compare the cheeks of a young woman to a rose was obviously a poet; the first to repeat it was possibly an idiot".

"Il primo uomo a paragonare le guance di una giovane donna a una rosa era ovviamente un poeta; il primo a ripeterlo era forse un idiota".

Salvador Dalí | Couple aux têtes pleines de nuages, 1937

Pierre Bittar, 1934 | Impressionist painter

World renowned for his Impressionist oil paintings, Pierre Bittar was the son of a musician and a mother descended from the House of Savoie.

His artistic talent was apparent from a young age, and his parents encouraged his gift for drawing and coloring beginning in 1939.

From 1940-1952, he devoted all his leisure time to painting and studying the techniques of the Great Masters, such as Rembrandt and the Impressionists -particularly Monet- during long hours in museums.

Erté (Romain de Tirtoff)

Romain de Tirtoff (1892-1990) was a Russian-born French painter and designer known by the pseudonym Erté, a French pronunciation of initials R.T. Tirtoff was born as Roman Petrov de Tyrtov /Роман Петрович Тыртов in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire in a very distinguished family with roots traced back to 1548.

His father Pyotr Ivanovich de Tyrtov was a Fleet Admiral.

In 1910-1912 Romain moved to Paris to pursue a career as a designer.

This decision was made over strong objections of his father, who wanted Romain to continue a family tradition and to become a naval officer.

Le Nain Brothers | The Adoration of the Shepherds, 1640

Le Nain Brothers (fl. 17th century) | The Adoration of the Shepherds, 1640 | The National Gallery, London

A group gathers around a manger to adore the newborn Christ.

On the right, the Virgin Mary and Joseph gaze reverently at the infant, alongside two small angels.

On the left are two young boys and an old, barefooted man: they are the shepherds mentioned in the Gospel of Luke (2: 8-20).

Romain de Tirtoff | Art Déco fashion illustrator

Nessun altro stilista ha avuto un'influenza maggiore di Erté nel XX secolo.

Le sue creazioni sgargianti hanno caratterizzato uno dei decenni più opulenti ed iconici della storia: gli anni '20.

Attraversando molti ambiti della cultura visiva, tra cui illustrazioni per riviste di moda, costumi per l'opera e il balletto, scultura e scenografia per il teatro, lo stile inconfondibile di Erté ha segnato l'era moderna.

When Christmas was prohibit

A 1931 edition of the Soviet magazine Bezbozhnik, published by the League of Militant Atheists, depicting an Orthodox Christian priest being forbidden to take home a tree for the celebration of Christmastide, which was banned under the Marxist-Leninist doctrine of state atheism.

While Christmas is celebrated globally, throughout history, various nations and regions have banned Christmas celebrations for religious, political, or ideological reasons.

These bans ranged from 17th-century religious reformations to 20th-century state-sponsored atheism.

Even today, in 2025, there are nations that maintain strict bans or significant restrictions on Christmas celebrations.

Charles-Clos Olsommer | Art Nouveau painter

Of French origin, Charles-Clos Olsommer (1883-1966) in Sierre, Switzerland, is naturalized in Neuchâtel in 1899.

He studied painting at the Art School in La Chaux-de-Fonds from 1901-1902 Professor Charles L'Eplattenier.

He attended the Kunstgewerbeschule in Munich (1902-1903) and the School of Fine Arts of Geneva (1904-1905).

He settled permanently in Veyras in 1912. He created there, in a style out of common, the totality of his works.

Claude Monet | The Houses of Parliament, 1900-1905

Claude Monet painted a series of oil paintings of the Palace of Westminster, home of the British Parliament, in the fall of 1899 and the early months of 1900 and 1901 during stays in London.

All of the series' paintings share the same viewpoint from Monet's window or a terrace at St Thomas' Hospital overlooking the Thames and the approximate canvas size of 81 cm x 92 cm (32 in x 36 3/8 in).

They are however painted during different times of the day and weather circumstances.

Robert Antoine Pinchon | Post-Impressionist painter

Claude Monet referred to him: "As a surprising touch in the service of a surprising eye".

Among Robert Antoine Pynchons' important works are a series of paintings of the River Seine, mostly around Rouen and landscapes depicting places in or near Upper Normandy.

Robert Antoine Pinchon (1886-1943) was a French Post-Impressionist landscape painter of the Rouen School- l'École de Rouen.

He was consistent throughout his career in his dedication to painting landscapes en plein air.

Igor Talwinski | Ballet dancers

Igor Talwinski (1907-1983) was a notable Polish-born French painter, active primarily in France and England, known for his portraits and figure studies, particularly female figures.

His work is characterized by a figurative style, with soft modeling of faces and bodies often contrasted by lively brushwork in the backgrounds.

He was mobilized in September 1939 and was taken prisoner by the Germans.

Philippe Jacquot, 1966 | Figurative painter

Philippe Jacquot's favorite subject is the representation of characters.

Later he sought expression in both portraits and figure.

He works the pencil and pastels, as well as red chalk drawing, oil and acrylic.

After several experiences in decorative painting and design, in 1990 he decided to devote himself exclusively to his painting.

Paul Chabas | Figurative painter

Paul Émile Chabas (1869-1937) was a French painter and illustrator and member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts.

He was born in Nantes, and had his artistic training under William-Adolphe Bouguereau and Tony Robert-Fleury. He first exhibited at the Salon in 1890.

He was awarded a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle of 1900 and in 1912 received the Médaille d’honneur.

His preferred subject was a young girl in a natural setting.

Valentin De Boulogne | Baroque painter

With the exception of Valentin de Boulogne's baptismal record, bearing a disputed date of either 1591 or 1594, the artist's early life is undocumented.

The son of a painter and stained glass worker, Valentin likely received his first training with his father in his native Coulommiers, near Paris.

He may subsequently have studied with an artist in Paris or in Fontainebleau.

It is not known when he departed for Italy, where he resided the remainder of his short life.

Joachim von Sandrart remarked (1675) that Valentin reached Rome before Simon Vouet (1590-1649), who arrived around 1614.