Roman Fedosenko / Роман Федосенко, 1970

Роман Федосенко lives and works in Minsk, Belarus.

Hailing from Minsk, Belarus, Roman Fedosenko is an international artist who paints in both Impressionist and Realist styles.

A lot of traveling and actively exhibit their work.

Participates in various art projects.

Marc Chagall | Les Paysans, 1971

The wondrous vitality of Chagall's imagination, as youthfully whimsical and impetuous as ever, empowered him in his late paintings to become - like Picasso, notwithstanding the strong differences in their backgrounds and temperament - the impresario, auteur, director and a leading player in a lively theater of memory. Just as Picasso drew heavily on his ancestral Mediterranean roots, so Chagall became the artificer of a pictorial realm based on multiple personal mythologies he had evolved for himself as the proverbial Wandering Jew.

He assembled during his migrations and occasional travels a diverse iconography that evoked his early years in Russia, his love of Paris and the French countryside, a wartime transatlantic exile in America, and then again France, where finally he made his home by the Mediterranean, not far from Picasso.

Painted in 1971, Les Paysans is a rich and sumptuously worked canvas brimming with many of Chagall's most favored and iconic motifs.

At the center of this densely filled composition, a peasant couple stands tall, surrounded by animals, houses, trees, and other figures. Here, the panoply of imagery drawn from Chagall's personal symbolic lexicon is masterfully - and characteristically - combined with folkloric iconography.

The motifs that populate this dream-like world contain a wealth of visual references and meanings. Rural life is reflected in the many rustic dwellings, which bear a striking resemblance to those of Chagall’s native Vitebsk, now in Belarus but in Chagall's childhood part of the Russian Empire.

• “The fact that I made use of cows, milkmaids, roosters and provincial Russian architecture as my source forms is because they are part of the environment from which I spring and which undoubtedly left the deepest impression on my visual memory of the experiences I have”, Chagall explained (quoted in B. Harshav, ed., Marc Chagall on Art and Culture, Stanford, 2003, p. 83).

Tellingly, in this fantasy village, the central male figure gazes down at the village, possibly echoing a deep-seated longing in Chagall for his home. His head is bowed down towards the female figure, who, we presume, is his lover.

Contrary to the majority of Chagall’s paintings depicting lovers, the present work does not show the young couple embracing, as with the couple in the lower left of the painting.

The male leans forward towards the female, and, although the two figures do not meet each other’s eyes, it is as if they are timidly trying to hand one another the flower bouquets.

They are, perhaps, in the early stages of their courtship, experiencing a shy romance which has yet to develop and bloom into a mature love.

The theme of the young lovers is the most frequent subject in Chagall's paintings, but there are many variants on this theme.

As befitting the mysteries of human love, and so characteristic of Chagall's work generally, there is rarely a straight-forward or clearly logical narrative behind these paintings.

Time has been compressed, and events seem to take place in the haze of memories or dreams.

Susan Compton writes:

• "It was a vision of 'real' love, that love which the artist was to share with his wife Bella...this celebration by the lovers is equally fantastic, for their joy has levitated them from the ground. Their faces are real enough, but now their position is imaginary. Yet by this device Chagall has conveyed the magic carpet of human love, borrowed perhaps from the world of folk tale, where the hero and heroine live happily ever after" (Chagall, exh. cat., Royal Academy, London, 1985, pp. 15-16). | © Christie's

La meravigliosa vitalità dell'immaginazione di Chagall, giovanilmente capricciosa ed irruente come sempre, lo autorizzò nei suoi ultimi dipinti a diventare, come Picasso, nonostante le forti differenze nei retroscena e nel temperamento: l'impresario, l'autore, il regista e un attore di spicco in una vivace teatro della memoria.

Proprio come Picasso attirò pesantemente le sue ancestrali radici mediterranee, così Chagall divenne l'artefice di un regno pittorico basato su molteplici mitologie personali che si era evoluto per se stesso come il proverbiale Ebreo Errante.

Ha radunato durante le sue migrazioni e viaggi occasionali un'iconografia diversificata che ha evocato i suoi primi anni in Russia, il suo amore per Parigi e la campagna francese, un esilio transatlantico in tempo di guerra in America, e poi ancora in Francia, dove finalmente ha fatto la sua casa nel Mediterraneo, non lontano da Picasso.

Dipinto nel 1971, Les Paysans è una tela ricca e sontuosamente lavorata, ricca di molti dei motivi più iconici e preferiti di Chagall. Al centro di questa composizione densamente popolata, una coppia contadina è alta, circondata da animali, case, alberi e altre figure. Qui, la panoplia di immagini tratte dal lessico simbolico personale di Chagall è magistralmente - e tipicamente - combinata con l'iconografia folcloristica.

I motivi che popolano questo mondo onirico contengono una ricchezza di riferimenti visivi e significati. La vita rurale si riflette nelle numerose dimore rustiche, che hanno una sorprendente somiglianza con quelle del nativo di Chagall, Vitebsk, ora in Bielorussia, ma nella parte dell'infanzia russa di Chagall.

• "Il fatto di aver fatto uso di mucche, mungitrici, galli e architettura provinciale russa come mie forme di origine è perché fanno parte dell'ambiente da cui provengo e che ha indubbiamente lasciato la più profonda impressione nella mia memoria visiva delle esperienze che ho", ha spiegato Chagall (citato in B. Harshav, ed., Marc Chagall su Arte e cultura, Stanford, 2003, 83).

A dire il vero, in questo villaggio fantastico, la figura maschile centrale guarda al villaggio, forse riecheggiando un desiderio profondo in Chagall per la sua casa. La sua testa è piegata verso la figura femminile, che, presumiamo, è il suo amante. Contrariamente alla maggior parte dei dipinti di Chagall raffiguranti gli innamorati, il presente lavoro non mostra la giovane coppia che si abbraccia, come con la coppia nella parte inferiore sinistra del dipinto.

Il maschio si sporge in avanti verso la femmina e, sebbene le due figure non si incontrino, è come se cercassero timidamente di passarsi l'un l'altro i mazzi di fiori.

Sono, forse, nelle prime fasi del loro corteggiamento, vivendo un romanticismo timido che deve ancora svilupparsi e fiorire in un amore maturo.

Il tema dei giovani innamorati è il soggetto più frequente nei dipinti di Chagall, ma su questo tema ci sono molte varianti. Come si addice ai misteri dell'amore umano, e in generale così caratteristico dell'opera di Chagall, dietro questi dipinti raramente c'è una narrazione semplice e chiaramente logica.

Il tempo è stato compresso e gli eventi sembrano aver luogo nella foschia dei ricordi o dei sogni.

Scrive Susan Compton:

• "Era una visione di amore "vero", quell'amore che l'artista doveva condividere con sua moglie Bella ... questa celebrazione da parte degli innamorati è ugualmente fantastica, perché la loro gioia li ha levitati dal terreno. i volti sono abbastanza reali, ma ora la loro posizione è immaginaria, ma con questo dispositivo Chagall ha trasmesso il tappeto magico dell'amore umano, preso in prestito forse dal mondo del racconto popolare, dove l'eroe e l'eroina vivono felici e contenti" (Chagall, exh. cat., Royal Academy, Londra, 1985, pp. 15-16).| © Christie's

Serge Lutens, 1942 | Fashion designer / Perfumer

Serge Lutens🎨 is a French🎨 photographer, filmmaker, hair stylist, perfume and fashion designer, most well known for his art direction and photography for Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido in the 1980s.

At fourteen, Serge Lutens🎨 was taken on as an apprentice by a hair salon in Lille, a period which he described as crucial to his appreciation of beauty in three dimensions.

Lutens started to experiment with makeup and photography, using friends to pose as models.

Serge Lutens, 1942 | Quotes / Aforismi

• "To create a perfume you have to be the servant of the unconscious. Each idea evolves and transforms, but there should be a surprise with each note".
• "A professional is an amateur who has been working for a long time".
• "Perfume is a form of writing, an ink, a choice made in the first person, the dot on the i, a weapon, a courteous gesture, part of the instant, a consequence".
• "Perfume is potentially a carrier for the imagination. Perfume is thick; it is poison and pure desire; it is eros in person".

Alexey Slusar, 1961 | Figurative painter

Alexey Slusar / Aлексей Cлюсар is an Ukrainian painter, known for work in Figurative style.

Alexey Slusar was born in 1961 in Dnepropetrovsk. In 1998, Slusar moved to Prague, where he lives and works.

For biographical notes -in english and italian- and other works by Slusar see:

• Alexey Slusar, 1961 | Flamenco dancers🎨

Luo Zhongli / 罗中立, 1948 | Genre painter

Born in Chongqing, Luo Zhongli / 罗中立 is considered one of China's foremost realist painters and known for his portraits of the people of southwestern China.

Luo Zhongli studied oil-painting at Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in Chongqing from ’78 until ’82.

Later on, he continued his studies in Belgium, at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.

Currently, he is the president of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute and is involved in numerous renowned art associations and societies in China.

Slava Fokk, 1976 | Surrealist / Art Déco style painter

Russian painter Слава Фокк was born into a family of artists in the south of Russia, in the city of Krasnodar.

Since his childhood, he has been surrounded by a creative atmosphere - art workshops, studios and creative summer residences.

In 1997 Fokk completed his training in the Krasnodar Art School, also known as the Repin.

Alda Merini | Every morning / Ogni mattina

Every morning my stem would rise in the wind

blowing away drunk with life,

but something holds it on earth,

a long heavy chain of anguish

which doesn't dissolve.

I then get out of bed

and I look for a section of wind

and I find a square of sun

in which to rest my naked feet.

Abdullah Evindar | Turkish artist | Surreal silhouette

Andrew Wyeth | Regionalist painter

Andrew Wyeth, in full Andrew Newell Wyeth, (born July 12, 1917, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, U.S. - died January 16, 2009, Chadds Ford), American watercolourist and worker in tempera noted primarily for his realistic depictions of the buildings, fields, hills, and people of his private world.

Wyeth’s father, N.C. Wyeth, was a well-known illustrator who had studied under Howard Pyle and who, starting in 1932, served as his son’s only teacher.

Andrew Salgado, 1982 | Abstract painter

Andrew Salgado -born in Regina, Canada- has situated himself as one of the eminent emerging painters in both the UK and North America.

He has been listed by Saatchi as "one to invest in today" (Sept 2013), lauded by esteemed critic Edward Lucie Smith as a "dazzlingly skillful advocate" for painting, and been endorsed by Tony Godfrey (author of Phaidon's Painting Today) as an "exciting artist with a particular vision".

Rabindranath Tagore | Metaphorical painter | 120 artworks | Page⁴

Flower by Rabindranath Tagore

Fluck this little flower and take it, delay not!

I fear lest it droop

and drop into the dust.

I may not find a place in thy garland,

but honour it

with a touch of pain from thy hand and pluck it.

Childe Hassam | Paysages

Childe Hassam🎨 (1859-1935), a pioneer of American🎨 Impressionism and perhaps its most devoted, prolific, and successful practitioner, was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts (now a suburb of Boston), into a family descended from settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Equally adept at capturing the excitement of modern cities and the charms of country retreats, Hassam (properly pronounced HASS-am) became the foremost chronicler of New York City at the turn of the century.

In our day, he is perhaps best known for his depictions of flag-draped Fifth Avenue during World War I.

Childe Hassam | Paris painting

In 1886, American painter Childe Hassam (1859-1935)🎨 had moved to France to study figure drawing and painting at the prestigious Académie Julian.

He took advantage of the formal drawing classes with Gustave Boulanger and Jules Joseph Lefebvre🎨, but quickly moved on to self-study, finding that "the Julian academy is the personification of routine...[academic training] crushes all originality out of growing men. It tends to put them in a rut and it keeps them in it", preferring instead, "my own method in the same degree".

Childe Hassam | City Street Scenes

Frederick Childe Hassam [1859-1935]🎨 was an American painter🎨, noted for his urban and coastal scenes.

Along with Mary Cassatt 1844-1926🎨 and John Henry Twachtman, Hassam was instrumental in promulgating Impressionism🎨 to American collectors, dealers, and museums.

Childe Hassam | Portraits / Figures

Childe Hassam, in full Frederick Childe Hassam, (born Oct. 17, 1859, Boston, Mass., U.S. - died Aug. 27, 1935, East Hampton, N.Y.), painter and printmaker, one of the foremost exponents of French Impressionism in American art.

Hassam studied in Boston and Paris (1886-89), where he fell under the influence of the Impressionists and took to painting in brilliant colour with touches of pure pigment. On his return from Paris he settled in New York City, where he became a member of the group known as The Ten.

Alois Arnegger | A View of Capri

Unlike many artists of his time, Austrian painter Alois Arnegger (1879-1967) was artistically inspired by a pre-Impressionist style rooted in Romanticism and Barbizon School theories.

Arnegger established a reputation as a fine portraitist and landscape artist, and was particularly well known for his Austrian and Italian scene paintings.

In the first years of his career, he painted scenes from his Austrian origin, but since the 1920s his focus was more on Italian coasts, such as Naples, Capri or Sanremo.

George Inness | Quotes / Aforismi | Page²

• The greatness of art is not in the display of knowledge, or in material accuracy, but in the distinctness with which it conveys the impressions of a personal vital force, that acts spontaneously, without fear or hesitation.

• La grandezza dell'arte non è nell'esposizione della conoscenza, né nella precisione materiale, ma nella distinzione con cui trasmette le impressioni di una forza vitale personale, che agisce spontaneamente, senza paura o esitazione.

• You must suggest to me reality - you can never show me reality.

• Devi suggerirmi la realtà - non puoi mai mostrarmi la realtà.

Rabindranath Tagore | Metaphorical painter | 120 artworks | Page.³

Day by day I float my paper boats

one by one down the running stream.

In big black letters I write my name on them

and the name of the village where I live.

I hope that someone in some strange land

will find them and know who I am.

I load my little boats with shiuli flowers

from our garden, and hope that these blooms of the dawn

will be carried safely to land in the night.

Emile Claus | Luminist / Genre painter

Emile Clause (27 September 1849 - 14 June 1924) was a Belgian painter who developed the distinct style of impressionism known as "Luminism".

Emile Claus was born in Sint-Eloois-Vijve, a village in West-Flanders (Belgium), at the banks of the river Lys.

Emile was the twelfth child in a family of thirteen. Father Alexander was a grocer-publican and for some time town councillor.

Mother Celestine Verbauwhede came from a Brabant skipper’s family and had her hands full with her offspring.

Evariste Carpentier | Genre / Luminist painter

Évariste Carpentier, (1845 in Kuurne - 1922 in Liège), was a Belgian painter of Genre scenes🎨 and animated landscapes.

Over the years, his painting evolved from the academic art to impressionism🎨. He is, alongside Emile Claus, one of the earliest representatives of Luminism🎨 in Belgium.

During his life, Carpentier achieved a great success.

Throughout his career, he won many prizes and awards🎨 at international exhibitions, both in Europe and in the United States, receiving the golden medals at Antwerp, Munich and Berlin for Summer sun (1896), Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Nice.

Jean-Baptiste Greuze | Broken Eggs, 1756

Broken Eggs attracted favorable comment when exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1757.

One critic noted that the young serving girl had a noble pose worthy of a history painter.

The canvas was painted in Rome, but the principal source may have been a seventeenth-century Dutch work by Frans van Mieris the Elder (1635-1681) - State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, which Jean-Baptiste Greuze (French painter, 1725-1805) would have known from an engraving.

The broken eggs symbolize the loss of the girl's virginity. | © The Metropolitan Museum of Art