Alexei Antonov, 1957 | Surrealist still life

Aлексей Антонов is a Russian artist who has studied art in Russia, Azerbaijan and Italy, and has been living in the US since 1990.

TAlexei Antonov has created a stunning collection of still life paintings that embody hyper realism and classic work of Renaissance masters.

Antonov was literally born an artist, began to draw, as he remembers - since the age of three.

The first drawings were made by mom’s lipstick, right on the wallpaper.

Alexander Saidov, 1970 | The Garden of Eden

The compositions in Alexander Saidov's paintings are thought out to the smallest detail and every part of his imaginary world seems real.

While painting his pieces, the artist almost becomes a storyteller, who sounds so convincing that viewers start perceiving everything depicted not as a fantasy, but as real world, with its own course of life.

In some artworks, fantasy worlds are based on myths, legends, and religious texts, which are familiar to a wide range of viewers.

Witali Żuk (Vitus), 1973 | Fantastic painter

Bиталий Жук (Витус) / Witali Żuk (alias Vitus) was born in Minsk.

Witali graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts Ilya Repin in St. Petersburg.

Witalis' picture differs good choice of colors and the wonderful play of light.

Witali attaches great the value of detail in his works, which create an unforgettable atmosphere of the picture.

Alexander Saidov / Александр Саидов, 1970 | Still Life

Alexander Saidov / Александр Саидов was born in the village of Pavlovskaya, Krasnodar region, Russia.

In 1989 he has finished the Krasnodar Art Institute.

Since 1995 is a member of The Artist’s Union of Russia.

From 1991 is participant of city, regional, zone exhibitions.

Andrey Belle, 1957 | Figurative painter / sculptor

Aндрей Белле was born in Minsk, Bielorussia. Since his birth, he lived and studied in Leningrad, now St Petersburg.

From 1975-1977, he served in the Soviet Army.

In 1977, he went straight from the army into the V. I. Mukhina Leningrad Higher School of Commercial Art.

He began to exhibit his work while still at the institute.

Upon graduating and being professionally assigned to the Lot Central Research Institute, he started work as an independent artist - a painter and graphic artist.

Anastasia Vostrezova, 1981 | Ballet Dancers

Russian painter Анастасия Вострецова works in a variety of genres: portrait, landscape, still-life.

Vostrezova's true creativity is evident in her scenes of Russian everyday life, festivals and portraits.

The characters presence of mood and soul are delicately transferred on her canvas.

Her works are characterised by the constant search of the illusive language of the soul and the painting culture that changes constantly.

Paris, the artistic rebirth for Chagall

In 1910, the Russian and French artist Marc Chagall (1887-1985) left Russia for Paris: "I felt that, if I stayed in Vitebsk any longer, I should be covered with hair and moss», he wrote in his autobiography.

A year later, in La Ruche, he came into contact with the artistic community of the nearby quarter of Montparnasse and made friends with Guillaume Apollinaire (who would define his work "supernatural"), Robert Delaunay, Fernand Léger and Blaise Cendrars, the poet who, from that point on, would name all his French works.

Vyacheslav Korolenkov, 1958 | Impressionist painter

Vyacheslav (Slava) Korolenkov / Вячеслав Короленков was born in the small city of Tula, not far from Moscow.

Before entering Art School he studied drawing with a sculptor, and as a result was accepted to the Moscow State Stroganov Academy of Industrial and Applied Arts on his first attempt.

While still a student one of his paintings represented the Stroganov Academy at an exhibition in Prague.

Oleg Oprisco, 1987 | Surrealist / Conceptual photographer

Ukrainian Fine Art photographer Oleg Oprisco is born in the small town of Lviv, in western Ukraine.

Oprisco is known for his conceptual shots that involve elaborately constructed props and scenes that capture his distinct sense of surreality.

Relying on neutrals and subdued tones rather than a bold color palette, the mysterious, dreamlike images tend to center on a single figure within a quiet and unoccupied landscape.

Marina Podgaevskaya, 1963 | Abstract painter

Professional artist from Saint Petersburg, Marina Podgaevskaya / Марина Подгаевская is a prolific painter.

She has created more than 1000 canvases.

Marina Podgaevskaja graduated from the Higher Art School in 1983 with a degree in "interior designer", in 1998 - the school-studio at the old painting techniques.

Victor Bregeda, 1963 | Surrealist painter

Victor Viktorovich Bregeda /Виктор Викторович Брегеда is an Russian painter working in the surrealism* and metarealism styles.

He was born in the Russian city of Taganrog into a family of painters. He was attracted by the Dutch school of painting.

Igor Venski, 1962 | Impressionist painter

Igor Venski / Игорь Венский was born in Krasnodar, Russia, and he began drawing and painting very early in his youth.

He studied painting at Krasnodar School of Fine Arts.

Igor Venski is adhering to the aesthetic principles and the classical traditions.

Konstantin Korovin | Il maestro dell'Impressionismo

Il pittore e scenografo, Konstantin Korovin / Константи́н Коро́вин (Mosca, 1861 - Parigi, 1939) è stato uno dei maggiori rappresentanti russi dell'Impressionismo.

Korovin è nato il 23 novembre 1861 a Mosca da una famiglia di mercanti, che in realtà, però, risultano da alcuni documenti ufficiali come "contadini della regione di Vladimir Gubernia".

Suo padre, Aleksey Mikhailovich Korovin, conseguì una laurea e si interessò molto alle arti ed alla musica che diffondeva, perfino, nell'azienda di famiglia fondata dal nonno di Korovin.

Ilya Repin | A Parisian Café, 1875

Repin's time as an academic pensioner in Paris 1873-76 was a fruitful as well as confusing time for the rising young star of Russian realist painting and he responded to a bewildering variety of new stimuli with enthusiasm and uncertainty, painting both Russian motifs as well as the sights of contemporary France.

In particular it was a period of burgeoning experimentation as Repin (1844-1930) took cognisance of modern French artistic developments, the major outcome of which was his large canvas "A Parisian Café", which was sold in London in June 2011 for a record price by the artist.

Andrew Atroshenko, 1965 | Ballet dancers

Born in the City of Pokrovsk, Russia, Andrew Atroshenko became part of a gifted child program at the Children’s Art School there, and was later accepted at the St. Petersburg Academy of Art, one of the world’s most prestigious art schools.

In 1999 Atroshenko spent the entire year in the U.S.

He was invited by "Bay Arts", a New England based group, to take part in their exhibitions and activities.

Andre Kohn, 1972 | Impressionist Figurative painter

The precise convergence of three dynamic forces, culture, environment and talent, combined to produce one of the most collected figurative painters on the American art scene today.

Raised by an artistically gifted family near the Caspian Sea in southern Russia, Andre Kohn's childhood was marked by the natural splendor of mountains and sea, and by an unfettered access to all the creative arts.

His mother was a symphony violinist and his father a noted linguist, writer and sculptor.

Both were educators trained in psychology who gave their only child unrestricted opportunity to explore the depths of art and his own obvious talent.

M. and I. Garmash | Romantic Impressionist painters

Michael and Inessa Garmash have created beautiful paintings, stained-glass windows, mosaics and drawings exhibited all over Europe.

Michael Garmash began a painting of their daughter for a project at school several years after their marriage.

However, their two-year-old found the painting during his absence and painted her own version of the subject.

Inessa Garmash, not wanting Michael to be upset, fixed the painting, packed it up and gave it to him to submit.

Michael handed the painting over for review and was told it was his best work ever.

Alexei Antonov, 1957

Alexey Antonov is a master of still life and portraiture, drawing inspiration from the techniques of Flemish masters.

He was classically trained in the prominent Russian Academy of Art in Moscow, which gave him a solid foundation for the future development and quality rarely found among young artists.

He studied the techniques of the Flemish Masters: Rubens, Van Dyke, Snyders, and others, in search of achieving refined detail, subtle tone and most importantly to capture the light and glow within the canvas.

The Dying Swan

The Dying Swan (originally The Swan) is a solo dance choreographed by Mikhail Fokine to Camille Saint-Saëns's Le Cygne from Le Carnaval des animaux as a pièce d'occasion for the ballerina Anna Pavlova, who performed it about 4,000 times.

The short ballet (four minutes) follows the last moments in the life of a swan, and was first presented in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1905.

The ballet has since influenced modern interpretations of Odette, heroine of Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake, and has inspired non-traditional interpretations as well as various adaptations.

Antoon van Welie | Anna Pavlova as the Dying Swan, 1938

Nikolay Bogdanov-Belsky | At School Doors, 1897

Descending from peasant class, Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky dedicated a significant portion of his work to rural schoolchildren.

His heroes hover indecisively at the classroom door, solve problems at the blackboard, read books or converse with the teacher.

The master's idealistic paintings upheld the notion that education was capable of improving public morality and overcoming the backwardness of the Russian countryside.

This lovingly painted and slightly sentimental canvas was possibly inspired by the personal memories of the artist, who attended Sergei Rachinsky's village school in Tatevo, Smolensk Province.