Claude Monet | Failing sight

Monet's second wife, Alice, died in 1911, and his oldest son Jean, who had married Alice's daughter Blanche, Monet's particular favourite, died in 1914.

Their deaths left Monet depressed, as Blanche cared for him.

It was during this time that Monet began to develop the first signs of cataracts.

John Salminen, 1945 | Watercolor painter

John Salminen earned his Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree in art from the University of Minnesota. He lives and works in Duluth, Minnesota. John teaches workshops, makes presentations and participates in painting events around the world.

John is a signature member of numerous art societies in the United States, including: the American Watercolor Society – Dolphin Fellowship; the National Watercolor Society; and the Transparent Watercolor Society of America – Distinguished Master.

Rembrandt van Rijn | Life and Artworks

Rembrandt van Rijn, in full Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, Rembrandt originally spelled Rembrandt (born July 15, 1606, Leiden, Netherlands-died October 4, 1669, Amsterdam), Dutch Baroque painter and printmaker, one of the greatest storytellers in the history of art, possessing an exceptional ability to render people in their various moods and dramatic guises.

Rembrandt is also known as a painter of light and shade and as an artist who favoured an uncompromising realism that would lead some critics to claim that he preferred ugliness to beauty.

Early in his career and for some time, Rembrandt painted mainly portraits. Although he continued to paint-andetch and, occasionally, draw-portraits throughout his career, he did so less frequently over time. Roughly one-tenth of his painted and etched oeuvre consists of studies of his own face as well as more-formal self-portraits, a fact that has led to much speculation.

Francesco Solimena (1657-1747) | Baroque painter

Francesco Solimena was a prolific Italian painter🎨 of the Baroque era🎨, one of an established family of painters and draughtsmen.

Francesco Solimena was born in Canale di Serino, province Avellino.

He received early training from his father, Angelo Solimena, with whom he executed a Paradise for the cathedral of Nocera (a place where he spent a big part of his life) and a Vision of St. Cyril of Alexandria for the church of San Domenico at Solofra.

Royal Palace of Caserta | A triumph of Italian Baroque

The Royal Palace of Caserta is a former royal residence in Caserta, southern Italy, constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as kings of Naples.

It is one of the largest palaces erected in Europe during the 18th century.

In 1997, the palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site; its nomination described it as "the swan song of the spectacular art of the Baroque, from which it adopted all the features needed to create the illusions of multidirectional space".

Lui Liu 刘溢, 1957 | Surrealist painter

Lui Liu 刘溢 was born in North China and came to Canada in 1991. Speaking both Chinese and English fluently, Lui Liu possesses superb painterly techniques, his unique language that finds a wide range of audience around the world.

His acquisition of techniques started during China's Cultural Revolution when he was a young boy painting posters on the streets and continued in the most prestigious Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.