Annette Schmucker, 1957 ~ Abstract painter

Annette Schmucker, German painter, was born in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Bavaria and is a self-taught artist. Schmucker's paintings are bursts of vibrant colours like bright red, blue, yellow and violet mixing together to create dynamic compositions. The earth and space communicate with each other in her extraordinary paintings and invite the viewer to feel the balance. Fire and ice. She creates works of particular brilliance in terms of colour. Annette's colour intensive works are real bundles of energy reflecting the presence of the things in the past or coming in the future.

Gregory Colbert, 1960 ~ Canadian photographer

Born in Toronto, Canada in 1960, Gregory Colbert, Canadian photographer, is a film-maker and photographer best known as the creator of Ashes and Snow, an exhibition of photographic artworks and films housed in the Nomadic Museum.

Paolo and Francesca | Inferno, Canto V | The Divine Comedy

Francesca da Rimini or Francesca da Polenta (1255 - ca. 1285) was the daughter of Guido da Polenta, lord of Ravenna.

She was a historical contemporary of Dante Alighieri, who portrayed her as a character in the Divine Comedy.

Paolo Malatesta (c. 1246-1285) was the third son of Malatesta da Verucchio, lord of Rimini.

He is best known for the story of his affair with Francesca da Polenta, portrayed by Dante in a famous episode of his Inferno (Canto V). He was the brother of Giovanni (Gianciotto) and Malatestino Malatesta.

Auguste Rodin - Paolo e Francesca

Monumento a Dante in Piazza Santa Croce a Firenze, 1865

Dmitri Danish, 1966 | Venice Evening

Дмитрий Даниш, Ukrainian painter, known for working in the Impressionist style, was born in Kharkiv.

He was a natural artist from the start.

His mother, an artist herself, was the first to discover Dmitri's talent and began to teach him to draw and paint.

At age 12 he was accepted into a Kharkiv Art School, and by age 15 he was enrolled at the Kharkiv State Art College.

Rogier Van Der Weyden | Northern Renaissance painter

Rogier van der Weyden, original name Rogier de la Pasture (1399/1400, Tournai [Belgium] - 1464, Brussels), Northern Renaissance painter who, with the possible exception of Jan van Eyck, was the most influential northern European artist of his time.

Though most of his work was religious, he produced secular paintings (now lost) and some sensitive portraits.

Rogier was the son of a master cutler, and his childhood must have been spent in the comfortable surroundings of the rising class of merchants and craftsmen.