Hemen Majumdar (India, 1894-1948)

Hemendranath Majumdar was an Indian painter who lived in Bengal. In 2002, there was a huge uproar when his painting was stolen and found with an art dealer.

His birthplace Kishoreganj now belongs to Bangladesh.

In 1911 he decorated the gates to welcome King George V, on his visit to India.

He was one of the founding members of Indian Academy of Fine Art, Kolkata in 1919 along with Jogeshchandra Seal, Jamini Roy, Bhabani Charan Law and Atul Bose.

He remained a celebrated artist during his lifetime and has been invited by many rulers to draw their portraits and also gave him the position of court artist.

Tiziano Baravelli, 1963

Nato in provincia di Bologna, Tiziano Baravelli scopre l'arte fin da bambino, diventando prima un musicista e poi un produttore musicale.

Finché, a 40 anni, capisce che la sua vera passione è, invece, la pittura ed inizia a dipingere, affermandosi da subito nel panorama nazionale.

Tra i soggetti dei suoi quadri più famosi troviamo ritratti, dipinti di oggetti e paesaggi.

Oggi il pittore è apprezzato soprattutto per i suoi ritratti: il volto umano è descritto dal pittore come la massima espressione della complessità dell’essere umano.

Grande attenzione, ad esempio, è data alla figura femminile, dipinta in modo da sottolinearne la delicatezza con colori neutri ed opachi che riproducono sulla tela la grazia della donna.

Pedro Salinas / Chagall | "Per vivere non voglio isole, palazzi, torri.."

To live I don't want

islands, palaces, towers.

What steeper joy

Than living in pronouns!

Take off your clothing,

features, pictures;

I don't want you like that,

masked as another,

always a daughter of something.

Marc Chagall | Over the town / Sulla città, 1918

Luca Carlevarijs | Baroque Era / Veduta painter

Luca Carlevarijs or Carlevaris (1663-1730) was an Italian painter and engraver working mainly in Venice.

He pioneered the genre of the cityscapes (vedute) of Venice, a genre that was later widely followed by artists such as Canaletto and Francesco Guardi.

Carlevarijs was born in Udine.

He was also known as 'Luca Casanobrio' or 'Luca di ca Zenobrio', for his patronage by the latter family.

Rainer Maria Rilke: "Un’opera d’arte è buona se nasce da necessità!"

Lettera ad un Giovane Poeta / Letter to a Young Poet, 1903

"Le Lettere ad un giovane poeta" - dieci lettere scritte da Rainer Maria Rilke (Scrittore, poeta e drammaturgo austriaco di origine boema, 1875-1926) al giovane Franz Xaver Kappus (Scrittore e giornalista Austriaco, 1883-1966), sono un manifesto della creazione artistica.

Studente ventenne della Accademia militare di Wiener Neustadt, Franz Kappus si dilettava a scrivere poesie, e sognava di condurre una vita diversa - non dedita ai servizi militari.

Scoprendo che la stessa Accademia, anni prima, era stata frequentata dal noto poeta Rilke, inizia a leggerlo nelle pause tra le lezioni ed un giorno decide di scrivergli.

Caspar David Friedrich | Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, 1818

William Strang (1859-1921)

From National Galleries of Scotland:

During his lifetime, Dumbarton-born William Strang built up an international reputation as a highly skilled and imaginative printmaker, portraitist and painter.

His diverse subjects ranged from the fantastic to the very real, including uncompromising depictions of contemporary life and the effects of poverty and social injustice, landscapes, subjects from the bible, bewildering allegories, and narrative illustrations.

He was also a prolific and highly successful portraitist.

Laura Robb, 1955 | Still life painter

Laura Robb grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and entered art school at the age of sixteen.

In 1974, Laura moved to New York City to study with Michael Aviano, and after returning to the Southwest, had the opportunity to receive critiques of her work by Richard Schmid.

Since moving to Taos, New Mexico in 1986, Laura's art travels have taken her to France, Spain, Guatemala, and across the United States.

She has exhibited in numerous group and one person shows and received many awards. Her paintings, in both watercolor and oil, portray a variety of subject matter.

She continues to create still-life, figurative and landscape works from her studio near Taos, New Mexico.

Harriette Bowdoin | Impressionist painter

Harriette Bowdoin (1880-1947) è stata una pittrice ed illustratrice impressionista nata a South Hadley Falls, nel Massachusetts.

Bowdoin si trasferì a New York in giovane età per studiare con Henry Snell - un importante impressionista, ed Elliott Dangerfield - un paesaggista.

Bowdoin ha viaggiato e si è formata in Europa, dove ha stretto amicizia con l'artista americana Jane Peterson mentre entrambe studiavano con Frank Brangwyn a Londra.