Bartholomeus van der Helst | The Musician, 1662

Tuning the strings of her theorbo-lute, a beautiful musician directs an engaging glance at the viewer.

The foreground of the picture displays a viola da gamba and sheet music for tenor and soprano voices, suggesting that the lute player anticipates a duet.

Dutch painters of the seventeenth century frequently associated music-making and courtship with amateur concerts, providing opportunities for mingling and flirtation. | Source: © Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bartholomeus van der Helst | The Musician, 1662 | Metropolitan Museum of Art

Magical dreams by Tomasz Kopera, 1976

Tomasz Alen Kopera is a contemporary Polish surrealist painter known for his oil-on-canvas artworks, which are celebrated for their dark, fantastical imagery and intricate detail.

His work explores themes of human nature, the universe, and the subconscious through symbols and dreamlike scenes.

Damian Tirado, 1960 | Belle Époque

Damian Tirado believes that color is a mode of expression in its own right and not simply a descriptive tool.

His paintings are often vivid and bright.

He is inspired by Latin art and classic European painters like Matisse and Renoir.

His work ranges from figurative urban landscapes to portraits.

Pablo Picasso | Sleeping peasants, 1919

Sleeping peasants, is the most potent of the small erotic paintings that is brilliantly coloured.

The restless, irregular rhythms mapped out by the contours of the tumescene limbs and ruckled drapery amount to a graph of love-making which has just occured, while the woman's thrown-back head and uncovered breast confirm her maenadic ancestry.

The ripe bodies nestled in the ripe crops implying some archaic fertility rite.

Peregrine Heathcote, 1973 | Glamour and intrigue

Peregrine Heathcote is a contemporary British painter known for his cinematic and narrative works that blend mid-century glamour with modern sensibilities. His academic realist style, featuring vibrant oil paints and rich colors, creates a world of timeless luxury and intrigue.

Early life and training: Born in London, Heathcote spent his early childhood in Britain and Dubai, which he credits with fostering his creative imagination.

As a child, he took classes at the Heatherly School of Art before receiving classical training at the Florence Fine Art Academy in Italy, where he graduated in 1994.

Vincent van Gogh | Roses and Sunflowers, 1886

Van Gogh painted this still life during one of his crucial transitional phases.

Between 1886 and 1888 he spent two decisive years in Paris, which initiated a change in his working method, especially his understanding of color effect.

Schooled in the work of the French Romantic Eugène Delacroix, his colors lighten during this period and he begins to experiment with extreme contrasts.

In "Roses and Sunflowers", one of more than 30 still lifes he produced in Paris, this complementary contrast is created using red and green.

Vincent van Gogh | Roses and Sunflowers, 1886 |Kunsthalle Mannheim, Germany

Léon-Jean-Basile Perrault | Pittore accademico di genere

Léon-Jean-Basile Perrault (1832-1908) è stato un pittore Francese.

Nacque da una famiglia modesta: il padre, Henri, era sarto.

Entrò a 10 anni nella scuola di disegno di Poitiers, allora diretta dai fratelli Hivonnait, dove rimase fino a 14 anni quando, dovendo contribuire al mantenimento della famiglia, trovò un lavoro presso un decoratore, con il quale collaborò ai restauri degli affreschi della locale chiesa di Sainte Radegonde.