Simon Pasini, 1976 | Street scenes painter

For Italian painter🎨 Simon Pasini light plays a very important role in his paintings.

Most of his paintings are painted in Italy and the subjects of the paintings are also mostly related to Italy.

His inspiration is mostly actions in daily life, it looks like people are not posing in his painting. He uses oil paint to manufacture his paintings, you can tell from the way he uses his brush on the canvas that he has a lot of experience with completing frescoes.

Luis Enrique Toledo del Rio, 1989 | Magic Realism painter

Born in Santa Clara, Cuba, Luis Enrique Toledo del Rio graduated from Manuel Ascunce Domenech in Cuba.

Toledo del Rio considers his creations a form of magical realism, evoking dreams, fantasy and magic through the use of color, light, shadow and space.

Toledo del Rio achieves, "...dreamlike atmospheres where reality and fantasy intertwine to show a different world".

Marcel Cosson (1878-1956) | Painter of the Belle Époque

Jean Louis Marcel Cosson was a French🎨 Post-Impressionist and Modern painter who was born in Bordeaux, France. Cosson exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Francais where he won an honorable mention in 1901 and a third place medal🎨 in 1911.

He also showed his work at the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts and at the Salon des Tuileries.

Matteo Arfanotti, 1974 | Magic Realism painter

Internationally renowned painter, Matteo Arfanotti is a versatile artist, curious and always fascinated by new forms of art and experimentation.

After dedicating more than two decades to drawing, painting and installation, in 2010, he approached the world of bodypainting and remained fascinated by the extraordinary ability to give life to his work and his creatures, even if so ephemeral, for the space of a few hours.

Lorenzo di Credi | High Renaissance painter

Born the son of a goldsmith in 1457 or 1459, Lorenzo di Credi was, with Leonardo da Vinci and Perugino, a pupil in the Florentine workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio, where he is first recorded in 1480 as a poorly paid assistant

During the master's absence in 1482-1483, Lorenzo took over the shop, and he became Verrocchio's heir upon Andrea's death in 1488.

Peter Demetz, 1969 | Wood sculptor

Born in Bolzano, Italy, Peter Demetz has reached international acclaim for his intricate wood carvings.

After studying at the Ortisei Art Institute, Demetz acquired an apprenticeship under master sculptor Heinrich Demetz, whose focus in creating “sacred art” had a profound impact on Peter and his work.

Paul Hedley, 1947 | Watercolor / Figurative painter

British painter🎨 Paul Hedley was brought up in Chatham, Kent.

His relaxed style combines incisive observation and capable draughtsmanship, and he has produced these soft, subtle, almost sensuous paintings with a deft skill that must escalate him into one of the elite band of figurative artists in England today.

Jacob van Velsen (1597-1656) | Dutch Golden Age painter

Jacob Jansz. van Velsen was a Dutch🎨 Golden Age painter. Little is known about the painter's life. He lived his entire life in Delft, but died in Amsterdam.

He was the son of Jan Jacobsz van Velsen and Janntegen Jansdr van der Hooch. April 18, 1625 he became a member of the Delft Saint Luke Guild.

John Salminen, 1945 | Watercolor painter

John Salminen earned his Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree in art from the University of Minnesota. He lives and works in Duluth, Minnesota. John teaches workshops, makes presentations and participates in painting events around the world.

John is a signature member of numerous art societies in the United States, including: the American Watercolor Society – Dolphin Fellowship; the National Watercolor Society; and the Transparent Watercolor Society of America – Distinguished Master.

Rembrandt van Rijn | Life and Artworks

Rembrandt van Rijn, in full Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, Rembrandt originally spelled Rembrandt (born July 15, 1606, Leiden, Netherlands-died October 4, 1669, Amsterdam), Dutch Baroque painter and printmaker, one of the greatest storytellers in the history of art, possessing an exceptional ability to render people in their various moods and dramatic guises.

Rembrandt is also known as a painter of light and shade and as an artist who favoured an uncompromising realism that would lead some critics to claim that he preferred ugliness to beauty.

Early in his career and for some time, Rembrandt painted mainly portraits. Although he continued to paint-andetch and, occasionally, draw-portraits throughout his career, he did so less frequently over time. Roughly one-tenth of his painted and etched oeuvre consists of studies of his own face as well as more-formal self-portraits, a fact that has led to much speculation.

Francesco Solimena (1657-1747) | Baroque painter

Francesco Solimena was a prolific Italian painter🎨 of the Baroque era🎨, one of an established family of painters and draughtsmen.

Francesco Solimena was born in Canale di Serino, province Avellino.

He received early training from his father, Angelo Solimena, with whom he executed a Paradise for the cathedral of Nocera (a place where he spent a big part of his life) and a Vision of St. Cyril of Alexandria for the church of San Domenico at Solofra.

Royal Palace of Caserta | A triumph of Italian Baroque

The Royal Palace of Caserta is a former royal residence in Caserta, southern Italy, constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as kings of Naples.

It is one of the largest palaces erected in Europe during the 18th century.

In 1997, the palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site; its nomination described it as "the swan song of the spectacular art of the Baroque, from which it adopted all the features needed to create the illusions of multidirectional space".

Lui Liu 刘溢, 1957 | Surrealist painter

Lui Liu 刘溢 was born in North China and came to Canada in 1991. Speaking both Chinese and English fluently, Lui Liu possesses superb painterly techniques, his unique language that finds a wide range of audience around the world.

His acquisition of techniques started during China's Cultural Revolution when he was a young boy painting posters on the streets and continued in the most prestigious Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.

Happy Valentine's Day 💕 | La storia di San Valentino 💕

Saint Valentine, officially known as Saint Valentine of Rome, is a third-century Roman saint widely celebrated on February 14 and commonly associated with "courtly love".

At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under date of 14 February.

One is described as a priest at Rome, another as bishop of Interamna (modern Terni), and these two seem both to have suffered in the second half of the third century and to have been buried on the Flaminian Way, but at different distances from the city.

In William of Malmesbury's time what was known to the ancients as the Flaminian Gate of Rome and is now the Porta del Popolo, was called the Gate of St. Valentine.

St. Valentine - Stained glass window at Basilica in Terni, Italy

Titian | Danaë and the Shower of Gold, 1560-1565

"The Danaë and the Shower of Gold") comprises at least five oil-on-canvas paintings by the Venetian master Titian, completed between 1540-1570.

The works are based on the mythological princess Danaë.

According to Ovid she was isolated in a bronze dungeon following a prophecy that her firstborn would eventually kill her father.

Although aware of the consequences, Danaë was seduced and became pregnant by Zeus (in Roman mythology Jupiter), who, inflamed by lust, descended from Mount Olympus to entice her as a shower of gold.

Antonio Tordesillas, 1960 | Figurative painter

Antonio was born in Madrid, Spain. His father wanted him to paint and eventually to continue family tradition and become either a painter or a designer. His father studied in a school of a great Spanish painter, José Arpa Y Perea (Sevilla, 1860-1952), who was well known not only in Europe but also in the United States of America.

After studying with his father, Antonio began in 1975 to attend classes at the Academy Artium Peña, the Plaza Mayor of Madrid. The academy was at that time one of the most important art schools in Europe and trained many currently famous realist and hyperrealist painters of Spain.

Cathrine Edlinger-Kunze | Abstract painter

German-born painter Cathrine Edlinger-Kunze moved to the United States in 1994 where she works as a full time artist. She credits her father for inspiring her love for painting. "Sitting side by side with my father, I learned very early what painting meant to me, and it became a special bond to my father and me".

Mariano Fortuny y Marsal (1838-1874)

Marià Fortuny i Marsal, meglio noto col nome italianizzato Mariano Fortuny, è stato un pittore spagnolo, uno dei più rilevanti del panorama artistico spagnolo del XIX secolo.

Fortuny nacque nel 1838 a Reus, in Catalogna, da una famiglia di modeste origini.

All'età di dodici anni rimase orfano di madre e venne assegnato alla tutela del nonno.

Martin Rico | Impressionist painter

Born on 12 November 1833, at the age of twelve Martín Rico (1833-1908) began studying at the Liceo Artístico y Literario (Lyceum) and later became a pupil of the painter Vicente Camarón, who would introduce him to landscape painting, which shaped his artistic personality in a decisive way.

The brother of the engraver Bernardo Rico, with whom he later collaborated in illustrations for magazines, he also studied at the San Fernando Academy and travelled around Spain with his painter friends Pablo Gonzalvo and Plácido Francés.

Peace quotes / Frasi sulla pace

• "Occhio per occhio e il mondo diventa cieco"!
• "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind"!

Mahatma Gandhi

• "I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word".

• "Mi rifiuto di accettare il punto di vista secondo cui l’umanità è così tragicamente legata alla mezzanotte senza stelle del razzismo e della guerra e che la luminosa alba della pace e della fratellanza non potrà mai diventare una realtà... credo che la verità disarmata e l’amore avranno l’ultima parola".

Martin Luther King, Jr.

• "The purpose of all wars, is peace".
• "Lo scopo di tutte le guerre è la pace".

Sant'Agostino

• "Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.
• "La pace non può essere mantenuta con la forza; può essere raggiunto solo attraverso la comprensione". 

Albert Einstein

• "While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart".
• "Mentre proclami la pace con le tue labbra, fai attenzione ad averla ancora più pienamente nel tuo cuore".

Francesco d'Assisi