John Atkinson Grimshaw | Moonlight painter

John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893) was an British Victorian artist who became famous for his sombre views of the dockyards and his nocturnal scenes of urban lanes with leafless trees silhouetted against the moonlight sky.
During his later life, he became a close friend of James McNeill Whistler who admired his work and admitted: "I considered myself the inventor of nocturnes until I saw Grimmy’s moonlight picture".
For biographical notes -in english and italian- and other works by Grimshaw see Atkinson Grimshaw | Victorian-era painter.

Leonardo da Vinci | Come la pittura avanza tutte le opere umane..

Trattato della Pittura - Parte prima /15

L'occhio, che si dice finestra dell'anima, è la principale via donde il comune senso può piú copiosamente e magnificamente considerare le infinite opere di natura e l'orecchio è il secondo, il quale si fa nobile per le cose racconte, le quali ha veduto l'occhio. Se voi istoriografi, o poeti, o altri matematici, non aveste con l'occhio visto le cose, male le potreste voi riferire per le scritture.

Leonardo da Vinci | Come la scienza dell'astrologia nasce dall'occhio..

Trattato della Pittura - Parte prima /13

Nessuna parte è nell'astrologia che non sia ufficio delle linee visuali e della prospettiva, figliuola della pittura; perché il pittore è quello che per necessità della sua arte ha partorito essa prospettiva, e non si può fare per sé senza linee, dentro alle quali linee s'inchiudono tutte le varie figure de' corpi generati dalla natura, e senza le quali l'arte del geometra è orba.

Édouard Cortès | Le Poète Parisien de la Peinture

Édouard Cortès (1882-1969) è conosciuto come "Le Poète Parisien de la Peinture" od "Il poeta parigino della pittura" per la varietà dei suoi paesaggi urbani parigini, rappresentati in diverse condizioni atmosferiche e notturne.

Edouard Léon Cortès è stato un pittore francese di origini francesi e spagnole, figlio di Antonio Cortés y Aguilar (1827-1908), rinomato pittore della corte spagnola, e nipote di André Cortès, artigiano.

Ferdinando Vichi | Romantic sculptor of La Belle Époque

Ferdinando Vichi was born in Florence in 1875 and died there in 1941.

He was well-known and much appreciated sculptor who produced numerous works of art, including busts and tomb-stones.

Ferdinando Vichi was a central figure in the production of Florentine sculpture at the end of the 19th century.

Ferdinando Vichi | Group of Putti Musicians, 1875-1899

Like many other late nineteenth-century sculptors, Ferdinando Vichi (1875-1945) often took inspiration from Romantic and Tender subjects.

His compositions are varied in subject matter, ranging from Romantic busts, women and children to orientalist themes and Renaissance-inspired models.

Pio Fedi | Love story of Dionora and Ippolito

Pio Fedi - Dionora de Bardi and Ippolito Buondelmonti

In the present sculpture, Pio Fedi (1816-1892) presents us with an image of the courtship of Dianora. Ippolito's gently persuasive gesture conveys his intense and immediate affection for Dianora, whilst her apparent reticence highlights the agonistic relationship between their two families and the difficulties associated with their union. Pio Fedi's training as a goldsmith and engraver is evident in the virtuoso carving of the rich fabrics and differing surfaces. The intricacy of the carving, together with the small scale of the group, lends to it a precious, jewel-like quality. The signature compares closely with that of Pio Fedi's Il sospetto in the Ashmoleon, also dated 1872, and which, according to Nicholas Penny, may have been sculpted as a special piece by Pio Fedi himself.

Antoine Bouvard | A Venetian Scene

Antoine Bouvard Senior, also known as Marc Aldine (1870-1956) painted Venetian scenes and exhibited his works in Paris and Venice.

He was born at St. Jean-de-Bournay in L'Isere in 1870.

He trained as an architect and studied art and architecture under Constant-Dufeus, at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

He became the Director of Architectural Services for the Seine, and was responsible for the construction of the Bourse du Travail and the Boulevard Morland in Paris.

Ron Monsma

Whether I am painting a still life or figure (or landscape) light plays an important role.

I work in the Baroque tradition where light reveals and distills form and all its nuances.

This is stage lighting where illumination exposes a mood, a setting or situation or some event about which we are not quite certain.

It is light that invites the viewer to make discoveries in the shadows” - Ron Monsma, Associate Professor of Fine Arts.

Ferdinando Vichi | Masquerade, 1900

Italian Sculptor Ferdinando Vichi (1875-1945) was one of the talented band of Tuscan sculptors associated with the Bazzanti gallery in Florence.

His work in marble and alabaster demonstrates his high technical ability.