Roelof Rossouw, 1957 | Romantic Impressionist painter

Roelof Rossouw was born and grew up in Benoni, near Johannesburg. As a child he had a passion for comic heroes like Tarzan, Cisco Kid, Flash Gordon and Tintin which, with the artists of the sixties, inspired him to draw his own comics. Already at the age of fourteen Roelof started making oil paintings of landscapes and portraits.

When he was seventeen, a European art tour opened the doors for his vision to pursue art and travel. He gained a National Diploma in Arts and Design at Wits Technicon that taught him the value of training and not only relying on his raw talent.

In April 1882, whilst working for Medusa as a graphic artist and medical illustrator, he discovered modern impressionistic artists such as Ken Howard, Bernard Dunstan, Max Agostini and admired their loose style in painting.

August Macke | Expressionist painter

August Macke, (1887, Meschede, Germany - 1914, Perthes-les-Hurlus, France) German painter who was a leader of Der Blaue Reiter (“The Blue Rider”), an influential group of Expressionist artists.

Macke studied at the Düsseldorf Academy from 1904-1906.

During his first trip to Paris in 1907 he was profoundly influenced by the work of the Impressionist painters, and he began to emulate their style, painting portraits in subtly dappled colours.

Thomas Seddon (1821-1856) | Pre-Raphaelite painter

Thomas Seddon was an British landscape painter associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who painted colourful and highly detailed scenes of Brittany, Egypt and Jerusalem.

Seddon was born in Aldersgate Street in the City of London, the son of a well-known cabinet-maker of the same name.

He was educated at a school conducted on the Pestalozzian system by the Rev. Joseph Barron at Stanmore, and then worked for his father until 1841, when he was sent to Paris to study ornamental art.

Garnet Ruskin Wolseley (1884-1967)

Garnet Ruskin Wolseley was a British landscape, figure and portrait painter. Born in London in 1884 he trained at the Bushey School of Painting winning a scholarship to Slade School of Fine Art.

He moved to Newlyn, Cornwall, in 1908 and became good friends with Harold and Laura Knight, the latter influencing his early work.

He painted mostly landscapes around Newlyn and the Lamorna Valley exhibiting regularly at the Royal Academy.

Vincent van Gogh | Le pont de Trinquetaille, 1888

The fifteen months that Van Gogh spent at Arles in 1888-1889 represent a pivotal moment in his career, "the zenith, the climax, the greatest flowering of Van Gogh's decade of artistic activity", according to Ronald Pickvance.

Freed from the pressures of urban life and inspired by the brilliant Provençal light, the artist integrated the results of months of experimentation and produced one modern masterpiece after another. With its bold composition and expressive palette, "Le pont de Trinquetaille" epitomizes his mature style.