Francine Van Hove, 1942 | Modern painter

Francine Van Hove is a contemporary French painter.

Born in Saint-Mandé (Seine, France), she studied in Paris and received a Fine Arts degree with qualifications to teach in secondary schools.

After teaching one year at Lycee de Jeunes Filles in Strasbourg, she resigned from her position and decided to come back to Paris in 1964 where she now lives and continues to paint.

Robert Völcker | Romantic painter

Robert Völcker Robert Volcker (1854-1924) was a German visual artist who was born in Dohna, near Pirna, in Saxony.

He learned under Ferdinand Pauwels (Belgian history painter, 1830-1904) at the Dresden Academy.

He then moved to Munich, where he died in 1924.

Camille Claudel | Study of Left Hand, 1889

Did you know many of Auguste Rodin's statues' hands and feet were modeled by Camille Claudel (1864-1943) while she worked in his studio?

A common friend wrote in 1898 that many of her hands and feet are "preserved with great care by her teacher as pieces of the rarest perfection".

A stunning artist in her own right, Claudel impressed Rodin and many others for her incredibly expressive and life-like sculptures.

This bronze study of a left hand by Claudel, while tiny, holds immense detail and vitality.

Camille Claudel | Study of Left Hand, 1889 | Collection Xavier Eeckhout, Courtesy Galerie Malaquais

Friedrich Kallmorgen | Impressionist painter

Friedrich Kallmorgen (1856-1924) was a German Impressionist painter who specialized in landscapes and cityscapes.

His father was an architect. From 1862 to 1863, he received his first drawing lessons from his uncle, the portrait and landscape painter Theodor Kuchel.

In 1875, he enrolled at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where he studied with Andreas Müller, Ernst Deger and Eugen Dücker.

Ancient Jordanian site of Petra | Roman period

Petra is a historical and archaeological city in the Jordanian governorate of Ma'an that is known for its rock cut architecture and water conduits system.

Established sometime around the 6th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans, it is a symbol of Jordan as well as its most visited tourism attraction.

It lies on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba.