Liudmila Kondakova /Людмила Кондакова, 1956

A classic painter whose artistic vision is expressed through "romantic realism", Liudmila Kondakova is one of Russia's most treasured exports.

Born in Russia, Людмила Кондакова immigrated to the United States in 1991.

A graduate of the Grabar Center in Moscow, she also attended Russia’s School of Sacred Arts, the Moscow Pedagogical Institute and the Moscow Art Institute.

Kondakova connects her highly trained background to her artistic expression this way: "In my art, the essence and beauty has always rested in the details".

Kerry Hallam, 1937 | Abstract Impressionism painter

Kerry Hallam is a British impressionist artist who has produced approximately twelve thousand paintings and whose work is included in collections held by Brigitte Bardot and Björn Borg as well as decorating the permanent residence of Monaco's Ambassador to the United States. Hallam was trained in Chesterfield and London, and has been based in Nantucket since 1981. Hallam has developed a reputation as a wise rogue and enjoyed success with exhibitions worldwide, including one entitled figure Paintings of Other Men's Future Ex-Wives. His work has been shown at art galleries in New York, London, Paris, Tokyo and Beverly Hills.

Gerrit Dou | Baroque painter

Gerrit (Gerard) Dou (1613-1675) was born in Leiden - an cultural, intellectual and commercial crossroads for much of Europe in the seventeenth century.

Situated halfway between The Hague and Amsterdam, it had a prosperous textile industry and the first Protestant university in The Netherlands.

Dou's father, Douwe Jansz, owned a successful glass engraving workshop in Leiden.

Dou himself studied the craft for two and a half years with a leading glassmaker, developing an eye for fine details that became characteristic of his painting style.

Lorenzo Bartolini | Venus (after Titian)

The Venus of Urbino was one of the inspirations for Édouard Manet's 1863 Olympia in which the figure of Venus is replaced with the model Victorine Meurent.

Reclining Venus, after Titian by Lorenzo Bartolini at the Uffizi Museum was perhaps commissioned in 1820 by Lord Robert Castlereagh, Marquis of Londonderry.

For the realization of the sculpture, Bartolini availed himself of the presence in Florence of his friend Ingres, for whom in 1821 he obtained permission of the Uffizi Gallery to realize a copy of Titian's Venus.

Evgeny Kouznetsov, 1960 | Romantic Lovers

Russian painter Евгений Кузнецов was born in Stavropol. In 1979 he graduated from the Stavropol art school. 1988 - art-graphic faculty of the Kuban State University (Krasnodar).

Member of the Union of Artists of Russia since 1991. He is also one of the founders of the International Community of Artists "Solar Square".

He participated in international fairs and exhibitions of contemporary art, which took place in Germany, Spain, Switzerland, France, India and Russia.

Leonardo da Vinci | Differenza dalla Pittura alla Scultura

Trattato della Pittura

Parte prima | Capitolo 39

Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura | Testo Integrale

La prima maraviglia che apparisce nella pittura è il parere spiccata dal muro od altro piano, ed ingannare i sottili giudizi con quella cosa che non è divisa dalla superficie della parete; qui in questo caso lo scultore fa le opere sue che tanto paiono quanto elle sono, e qui è la causa che il pittore bisogna che faccia l'ufficio della notizia nelle ombre, che sieno compagne de' lumi.

Vicki Sullivan, 1961 | Portrait /Figurative /Realist painter

Vicki Sullivan is an Australian Realist painter who focuses on portraiture.

She is a member of Portrait Artists Australia and the Melbourne Society of Women Sculptors and Painters founded in 1902, has participated in National and International exhibitions with her portraits, and has been a finalist in several Art Renewal Center International Salon Competitions.

Johan Zoffany | Neoclassical painter

Known primarily as a painter of portraits, conversation pieces and theatrical subjects, Johan Zoffany (1733-1810) was born Johannes Josephus Zauffaly, in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany.

The son of an architect and court cabinet maker, he was brought up at the court of Alexander Ferdinand, Prince von Thurn und Taxis, and enjoyed court patronage throughout his career.

When the Prince took up residence at Regensburg, Johan was apprenticed to a local painter, Martin Speer (c.1702-65).

Claude WeisBuch | Impressionist /Modern painter

Plaude Weisbuch (1927-2014) was born in Thionville, France and was a pupil at L'École des Beaux-Arts in Nancy.

As a painter, engraver, and exceptional lithographer, Claude Weisbuch has painted active motifs, such as musicians, horses, characters.

Dominating in his work, by the relief and the velvety line which characterizes dry-point, his etchings are the strongest representations of his figures, intensely lively after 1960s.

Johannes Vermeer | The Art of Painting, 1666

The Art of Painting, also known as The Allegory of Painting, or Painter in his Studio, is a 17th-century oil on canvas painting by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer.

Many art historians believe that it is an allegory of painting, hence the alternative title of the painting.

After Vermeer's Christ in the House of Martha and Mary it is the largest work by the master.

Its composition and iconography also make it the most complex Vermeer work of all.

Angel De Cáceres García, 1966 | Neo-Romantic painter

Angel De Cáceres García is an Spanish pastel portrait and figurative painter, with the use of chiaroscuro applied to the treatment of the figure, either in portrait or bust in full body.

"I generally use as support black paper mounted on board, allowing this key work not only as background for each job, but also as an underlying melt when the colors and set different types of shadows value.

Key to this is the use I make of the texture of the paper, whose relief allows me to get, also, an effect of 'vibration' similar to the 'scrubbed' in oil painting on canvas".

Alekos Fassianos /Αλέκος Φασιανός, 1935 | Expressionist painter

France Honors Greek Artist Alekos Fassianos

Acclaimed Greek artist Alekos Fassianos, who has studied in Paris for 35 years, received one of the greatest honors of the French Republic a few days ago at the French Embassy in Athens.

In his brief greeting after receiving the award of the “Celebrities of the Officer of the Legion of Honor” by the French Ambassador Jean - Louis Delfosse,  Alekos Fasianos expressed his gratitude to the country that allowed him to show his talent.

Alekos Fassianos, officier de la Légion d’honneur, 2013

Claude Hemeret, 1929 | Expressionist /Impressionist painter

Born in Nice in 1929, thanks to his childhood spended in the sun, French painter Claude Hemeret grew fondling southern lights and scents fed him and quenched his thirst. His canvases recall the lavender’s perfume, cypresses, and the blazing Sun at noon.

Lyne Lafontaine, 1959 | Symbolist /Fantasy painter

Canadian painter Lyne Lafontaine: "Between reality and imaginary, I explore a world where human faces are at the center of my artworks.

My universe moves around symbolism, fantasy, onirism and feminity. Sensitivity and liberty must prevail upon all. To me, facial expressions and human feelings have always been a great fascination and an endless source of inspiration.

Self taught, I’ve been drawing since my very early age. I make drawings mostly using graphite, but I also use color pencil and ink.

It is with wonder and astonishment that I realize to what extent fluidity can come from the simple line of a pencil.

Drawing and oil painting are my preferred mediums. They give me the array of possibilities I’m looking for. This avenue is vital for me".

Sharon Burkett Kaiser, 1946 | Plein air painter

California plein air impressionist Sharon Burkett Kaiser engages collectors with paintings consumed with harmonious color, beauty, and the complex relationship of light and form.

The artist's developed knowledge of color comes from a keen inner sense and from years of study with prominent artists/instructors Sergei Bongart (1918-1985), Charles Movalli, and Sunny Apinchapong Yang.

This valuable guidance, along with influences including Iliya Repin (1844-1930) and Valentin Serov (1865-1911), has yielded striking original paintings filled with fresh color, depth, and vitality.

Sharon was born in San Rafael, California.

Tiziano Vecellio (1485-1576)

Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (c. 1488/90 - 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian, was an Italian painter🎨 during the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno, then in the Republic of Venice.

During his lifetime he was often called da Cadore, from Cadore, taken from his native region.

Recognized by his contemporaries as "The Sun Amidst Small Stars" (recalling the famous final line of Dante's Paradiso), Titian was one of the most versatile of Italian painters, equally adept with portraits, landscape backgrounds, and mythological and religious subjects.

Cristoforo Stati | Orpheus with Violin, 1600-1601 | Art in Detail

Orpheus by Italian sculptor Cristoforo Stati /Cristofano da Bracciano (1556-1619), famous for taming beasts with his music, is here shown entertaining himself, his body swaying to the sound of the lira da braccio.

The statue was carved for the Palazzo Corsi, Florence. | © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Franciabigio | The Last Supper / L'Ultima cena, 1514

The frescoes with the Last Supper are among the most interesting artistic monuments in Florence.

As a result of the suppressions of religious orders which took place in the 18th and 19th century, a great many Florentine convents have been turned into museums.

In them visitors can directly experience the art of the several excellent painters who in various periods have sought to express the beguiling spirituality of the Last Supper which Christ took with His disciples.

Franciabigio | Renaissance painter

Franciabigio (1482-1525) was a Florentine artist, who closely associated with, though had a distinct style from, his colleague Andrea del Sarto (1486-1531). He was born Francesco di Cristofano, but was called Marcantonio Franciabigio or Francia Bigio. Some of his works now known were once attributed to his contemporary Raphael (1483-1520). He was highly praised for his painting of frescoes.

Paul Horton, 1958 | Storyteller artist

Paul Horton was born in Harborne, Birmingham. "- Looking back on my childhood it seems I was always drawing and painting, I think it was my destiny to become an artist. By the mid-seventies I was taking my art very seriously and studied Life Drawing and History of Art at Bournville School of Art, I also began exhibiting my work at regular intervals. 

I was awarded a Certficate of Merit in 1976 by the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists which gave me my first critical acclaim and in a strange way seemed to seal my fate adding to my determination and desire to become a professional artist.

Johan Zoffany | The Tribuna of the Uffizi, 1772-1778

In the summer of 1772 Zoffany set off for Florence with £300, letters of introduction and a commission from the Queen to paint highlights of the Grand Duke of Tuscany's collection shown within the Tribuna of the Uffizi Palace.

The inspiration for the commission could have been the Cabinet of Paintings (Royal Collection, now given to Formentrou), then attributed to Gonzales Coques, which hung in Queen Charlotte's work-room at Kew.

Gianluca Mantovani, 1974 | Figurative painter

Italian painter Gianluca Mantovani was born in Livorno, where he lives and works.

In 2004, driven by the innate passion for drawing and reached a level of personal maturity, begins to engage in the self-taught oil painting.

Livorno, the city of Macchiaioli, introduced him initially to Impressionism: the first works in fact strongly affected by these characteristics but his artistic research and experimentation led him to approach other styles, until he meets his teacher Bruno Di Maio.

James Wiens | Abstract painter

James Wiens is a professional artist who grew up in British Columbia. This avid outdoorsman uses his paintings to express his love of landscapes and nature. He also uses them as a mean of communication through which he expresses his feelings to his viewers. What inspire his paintings are the dramatic mountains and rivers that surround his place of residence. Wiens joined the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver where he studied and graduated with a diploma in painting and printmaking. He has combined his formal education with the work ethic he gained on his family farm to advance his professional career as an artist.

Amedeo Bocchi | Figurative Realist Painter /Sculptor

Amedeo Bocchi (August 24, 1883 - December 16, 1976) was an Italian painter, active mainly in Rome.

• Biography

He was born in Parma to a father who worked in painting wall decorations. At the age of 12 years, he was enrolled in the Royal Institute of Fine Arts of Parma, under the direction of Cecrope Barilli. In 1901, at the age of 18 years he was graduated, and Barili prompted him to travel to Rome to the Scuola del Nudo on Via Ripetta.

Myles Sullivan | Figurative painter

Myles Sullivan spends his days working from his West Coast studio. Surrounded by the serenity of the countryside he creates works that capture the energy of the world around us.

After graduating from Art School, Myles experimented with his art career, painting in a variety of styles and mediums. Today, he focuses on compositions that capture a fleeting moment in time.

When not painting, Myles escapes to the wilderness of the back country. His wife and children are a constant source of inspiration and joy.

Christophe-Gabriel Allegrain | Rococo Era sculptor

Christophe-Gabriel Allegrain (11 October 1710 - 1795) was a French sculptor who tempered a neoclassical style with Rococo charm and softness, under the influence of his much more famous brother-in-law, Jean-Baptiste Pigalle.

Allegrain was born into a well-established family of landscape painters in Paris.

His single most famous work, a marble Bather (La Baigneuse), was commissioned for the royal residences through the Bâtiments du Roi in 1755; a modelled sketch was shown at the Salon of 1757.

Christophe-Gabriel Allegrain portrait by Joseph Duplessis, 1774,

Giorgio Vasari | Allegory of Italian cities

Giorgio Vasari | Allegory of Romagna

Vasari’s (1511-1574) life is intimately rooted in the Uffizi Gallery. With five of his paintings in various rooms throughout the museum, he also chronicled the lives the Renaissance artists that fill the Gallery, but even more importantly, he laid the original architectural design for the Palazzo degli Uffizi.

An acclaimed artist and architect of his time, Vasari is perhaps better known today for his invaluable tome of biographies, Le Vita delle più eccellenti pittori, scultori, ed architettori (Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects) or simply the Vite or Lives of Artists.

Mikhailichenko Sergey Viktorovich, 1970 | Plein Air /Still life painter

Mikhailichenko Sergey Viktorovich / Михайличенко Сергей Викторович is an Ukrainian painter, born in Tashkent. He graduated from the Tashkent Republican XY. Studied with M. Dimov, 1990. For some time he worked in Italy.

Since 1996 lives and works in Sumy.

His works are in numerous private collections in Ukraine, Russia, Italy, Germany, Japan and the UK.

Ann Feldman | Palette Knife painter

Born and raised in New Orleans, Ann Feldman is a painter and art instructor living in Barrington, Illinois.

Her art education began at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and she continued her studies in the ateliers of some of the leading contemporary artists in the United States today, namely a five year mentorship with Margaret Carter Baumgaertner in portraiture.

Alexandre-Louis Jacob | Landscape painter

French artist Alexandre Louis Jacob (1876-1972) was born in Paris in 1876. His landscape paintings are characterized by a serene mood and muted palette.

Jacob started exhibiting his works in the various French Salons in 1899.

He was a member of the Society of French Artists, the French Water Color Federation of Artists, and the Society of French Landscape Painters and Sculptors.

He was also a member of the Salon d’Hiver and an honorable member of Lagny. He was an officer of L’Instruction Publique as well.

Leonardo da Vinci | Della Pittura e della Poesia

Trattato della Pittura

Parte prima | Capitolo 40

Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura | Testo Integrale

Per fingere le parole la poesia supera la pittura, e per fingere fatti la pittura supera la poesia, e quella proporzione ch'è dai fatti alle parole, tal è dalla pittura ad essa poesia, perché i fatti sono subietto dell'occhio, e le parole subietto dell'orecchio, e cosí i sensi hanno la medesima proporzione infra loro, quale hanno i loro obietti infra se medesimi, e per questo giudico la pittura essere superiore alla poesia.

Ben Heine, 1983 | Illustrator and photographer

Ben Heine is an illustrator, portraitist, caricaturist and photographer.

Ben Heine is a Belgian visual artist, journalist and music composer born in 1983 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, currently living and working in Brussels, Belgium. He is best known for his original series “Pencil Vs Camera“, “Digital Circlism” and “Flesh and Acrylic“.

He has a Master degree in Journalism completed at IHECS school of Journalism in Brussels. He also briefly studied History of Art, Painting and Sculpture at Hastings College of Arts and Technology in the UK.

He is a self-taught person in drawing, photography and music. He also has over 10 years of work experience in communication and marketing. Throughout his academic training, he was also able to learn several music instruments (drums and piano) and several languages (French, English, Dutch Polish, Spanish and Russian).

His artworks were exhibited in countless fairs and galleries in Belgium, Hong Kong, South Korea, the UK, Russia, Romania, The Netherlands, Italy, Germany, France, Canada, the US, Turkey, Brazil, and Spain.

Simon Bull, 1958 | Abstract painter

Simon Bull is an English-born artist now living in America.

• Early years and education

Simon Bull was born in Bedfordshire, England. The second of four children. His father, Ian Bull served as an officer in the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department of the British Army. Ian’s extensive military postings stationed the family around the world in Guyana, Hong Kong, Germany, and Northern Ireland. Simon went to boarding school in Yorkshire, attending Ripon Cathedral Choir School from 1965-69 and in Surrey, at the Royal Russell School from 1969-1976. In 1976 he took a one year Foundation course at Gloucestershire College of Art and Design and went on to graduate in 1980 from Leeds Polytechnic with a BA (Hons) degree in Fine Art.

Fernando Pedrosa, 1947 | Hyperrealist Figurative painter

Fernando Saenz Pedrosa was born in Palencia, Spain. At a young age his talent as a draftsman became very evident - so evident, that in1965, at the age of 18, he was enrolled in the prestigious Architectural School of Madrid. From 1965-1970, Pedrosa’s study as a draftsman and painter became more prolic. From his studies at the architecture school, he was able to mature his skill in drawing and combine that with painting. Painting became Pedrosa’s manner in which to bring his drawingsto life and he was so astounded by the art of painting that after five yearsof study, he decided to dedicate his career and life to it.

Peter Hobden, 1952 | Figurative Impressionist painter

"Born in Geneva, Switzerland, I followed primary and secondary school at the International Scool of Geneva.

I obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Languages (Chinese and French) at the Polytechnic of Central (now known as Westminster University).

I discovered painting late, in 2006, after a career of almost 25 years in computers in a humanitarian organization".

James Carroll Beckwith | Academic painter

James Carroll Beckwith (September 23, 1852 - October 24, 1917) was an American landscape, portrait and genre painter whose Naturalist style led to his recognition in the late nineteenth and very early twentieth century as a respected figure in American art.

Carroll Beckwith, as he preferred to be known, was born in Hannibal, Missouri on September 23, 1852, the son of Charles and Melissa Beckwith. However, he grew up in Chicago where his father started a wholesale grocery business.

Botticelli | Venus and Mars, c. 1483

From: The National Gallery, London

Mars, God of War, was one of the lovers of Venus, Goddess of Love. Here Mars is asleep and unarmed, while Venus is awake and alert. The meaning of the picture is that love conquers war, or love conquers all.

This work was probably a piece of bedroom furniture, perhaps a bedhead or piece of wainscoting, most probably the 'spalliera' or backboard from a chest or day bed. The wasps ('vespe' in Italian) at the top right suggest a link with the Vespucci family, though they may be no more than a symbol of the stings of love.