Ed Wheeler | Santa Classic

In a series of self-portraits dressed as Santa Claus, Philadelphia-based artist Ed Wheeler, photographer, incorporates himself in classical paintings from Botticelli to Caravaggio to Monet.

In so doing he transforms the masterworks of art history from the Renaissance to the Surrealists. Santa Classics, his derivative art series, is based on a digital photography process.

Wheeler’s goal is to pay homage to the original paintings while offering art lovers an additional reason to smile.

Francesco Hayez | The Kiss, 1859 | Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

John Lennon: “Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow”

• "Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow".

John Lennon

• "Love is like wildflowers; it’s often found in the most unlikely places".

• "L’amore è come i fiori di campo; si trova spesso nei posti più improbabili".

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Léo Caillard, the photographer who dresses classical statues

Leo Caillard is a contemporary artist internationally recognized for the quality of his marble sculptures as well as for his digital creations at the cutting edge of new technologies.

Leo Caillard opens a dialogue between eras through the use of these two mediums and the unique aesthetic of his art, mixing figures from ancient statuary and abstract digital forms.

Born in Paris in 1985, he graduated from the prestigious Goblins school in 2006 then from fine arts in 2008.

He then left for New York for 2 years, the opportunity there to meet the contemporary art scene and start these first digital creations.

Edmond Bénard | Vincent van Gogh at the age of 34

This group photograph of the INHA fund - Institut national d'Histoire de l'Art, Paris, represent Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and the Nabis group on February 8, 1888 at the Académie Julian, 48 rue de Faubourg saint Denis, Paris.

Digitized by the library in 2010, published on the Digital Library in 2013 then posted on the Arago portal, this photograph appeared the same year in "Portraits d'ateliers: un album de photographs fin de siècle".

It is part of an album of photographs of artists' studios, purchased in 1958 at the Fabius gallery.

Edmond Bénard | Vincent van Gogh at the Académie Julian, 1888 | Institut national d'Histoire de l'Art, Paris (INHA)

Ferdinando Vichi | Lo scultore Romantico

A raccontarci della vita dello scultore Italiano Ferdinando Vichi riportiamo l'articolo dello scrittore Italiano Marco Vichi, il quale, a sua volta, fa riferimento ad un articolo del giornale "Il Telegrafo", pubblicato il 2 novembre 1932.

Nel 1964, la famiglia Vichi donò all'Archivio Fotografico Toscano di Prato 786 lastre fotografiche realizzate dallo scultore fiorentino Ferdinando Vichi.

Andrea Otte: "I Hope You Still Believe In Magic.."

"I am Andrea Otte a freelance photographer situated in Antwerp, Belgium, a dreamer and the creator of my own little world.

Just a little lady on a tiny planet, a positive thinker, a seeker of beauty and magic in everything.

I believe life is all about passion and finding your own kind of magic.

My eye for all the beauty around me, big and small, has always been active, but only the last four years I have been trying to capture the wonders of the world, accompanied by my Nikon D5300".

Dubi Roman, 1957 | Impressionist photographer

Dubi Roman, born in Haifa, is an Israeli artist whose roots in the holy city of Safed span five generations, influencing his deep connection to spirituality and geographical landscapes.

Despite residing in Tel Aviv, the country's bustling urban center, Roman consistently draws artistic inspiration from the untamed beauty of Israel's trees, fields, and flowers.

In his pursuit of encapsulating the play of light in nature, Roman’s work goes beyond mere visual representation.

Andhika Ramadhian, 1996 | Minimalist graphic designer

"Between minimalism and surrealism, inspired by anything around me, a bit my own life, a bit of internet culture, a bit of film I watch, or a visit to the art gallery, I want to express feeling, I wanted to get an emotional response from audience" - Andhika Ramadhian.

Andhika Ramadhian is a multi-disciplinary designer based in Indonesia.

He is known for his iconic artistic approach of creating images that depict surrealism and minimalism, and provoke philosophical thinking through his visuals.

Eduard Gordeev / Эдуард Гордеев, 1968

Eduard Gordeev / Эдуард Гордеев, nato nel 1968 a Leningrado, è un fotografo Russo.

Gordeev è un avvocato di professione, ma il suo amore per la fotografia lo ha reso un vero fotografo professionista.

È un grande fan del tempo inclemente e dell'architettura antica.

Eduard Gordeev vive a San Pietroburgo.

Nel suo modo acquarello-surrealistico, fotografa varie città sotto la pioggia, ed in particolare la sua nativa ed amata San Pietroburgo.

Anatoliy Kalugin, 1959: "Woman is poetry by nature"!

Anatoliy Kalugin / Анатолий Калугин was born in 1959. He lives in Moscow, Russia.

Kalugin graduated from Moscow Architectural Institute and started to work as an artist.

Then he became interested in the computer processing of photos in order to get sketches of the future pictures.

The outcomes of the processing were attractiveness and integrity.

His nickname - Waatson - once, spontaneously chosen username to register on the Internet, became pseudonym for all his works.

Abdullah Evindar | Mixed media Illustrator

Abdullah Evindar is a Turkish mixed media Illustrator. Evindar works to combine silhouettes with nature and landscapes.

Working in both analog and digital methods, his technique brings a strong surrealism feel throughout his body of work.

Jacques Henri Lartigue | Belle Époque photographer

Jacques Henri Lartigue (1894-1986) was a French photographer and painter, known for his photographs of automobile races, planes and female Parisian fashion models.

His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1924 Summer Olympics.

Born in Courbevoie in western Paris to a wealthy family, Lartigue started taking photographs when he was seven.

He photographed his friends and family at play - running and jumping; racing home-built race cars; making kites, gliders as well as aeroplanes; and climbing the Eiffel Tower.

Billy Kidd, 1980 | Fine art Photographer

Billy Kidd is an American self-taught photographer born in Panama City, Florida.

- "When I was six years old we sold everything in a garage sale.

I made an impressive $20 selling my He-Man action figures, Castle of Grayskull, G.I. Joe's and every little thing I had.

I thought it would be fun to put my money in a small wooden box and bury it with a long white string tied to it coming out of the dirt, it would be my buried treasure. I never found the money".

Louis Vert | Paris 1900: Les Petits Métiers | Musée Carnavalet

Louis Vert (1865-1924) was a French photographer best known for his photographs representing Paris and small businesses.

Some are also in the Musée Carnavalet, which covers the history of Paris.

Stanislav Aristov / Станислав Аристов, 1982 | Flame art

Russian🎨 photographer Stanislav Aristov / Станислав Аристов, better known by his moniker Pol Tergejst is an artist from Ekaterinburk, in Russia, who decided "to play with fire", literally. He uses flame shapes to create some kind of flame-shape paintings, he composes different images of them. All this involves a lot of photographing.

Aristo made a splendid series of images with matches between 2010 and 2013. It's after taking part in a themed "line of life" photo contest from Formula foto that the idea of using lighted matches came to him.

The "stroke of genius" or as Stanislav said himself: "it's not the first idea with one things that shows another things :)" reminds us all the poetry that has fire in the collective unconscious. Thanks to Stanislav for giving us some of his time answering our questions and for sharing with us his work.

The Art of Photo manipulation

Photo manipulation dates back to some of the earliest photographs captured on glass and tin plates during the 19th century.

The practice began not long after the creation of the first photograph (1825) by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce who developed heliography and made the first photographic print from a photoengraved printing plate.

Patrick Le Hech (French, 1965)

Illusionist photographer Patrick Le Hec'h began his training at the École d'Art Graphique Corvisart de Paris. On his release he worked briefly as an illustrator and graphic designer before accepting the artistic direction of a communications agency.

Inspired by the romantic and surreal, is detected in its early creations of the atmosphere that are visionary painters: Giorgio De Chirico 1888-1978, Tanguy, Bocklin, Delvaux and René François Ghislain Magritte, 1898-1967.

Invited to present his paintings at galleries renowned Parisian Avenue Matignon, rue du fg St Honore, at the Grand Palais, as well as Monte Carlo, Cannes, Palm Beach, Chicago or New York, his work now recognized as contained in number of private collections, earned him awards on the occasion of major arts events.

Mike Savad | American photographer

Mike Savad is an photographer. His style of digital manipulation of images and the addition of color to old images, to achieve that personal cyberpunk effect is fantastic. Mike has achieved a unique style that makes him recognizable all over the world.

"Mike Savad: Photo realistic is what people think of first. There are many themes, flowers, porches, and local Suburban Scenes, some city, some urban.

My style is not really photography and not really a painting.I create images that resemble paintings, a cross between Rockwell, and the paintings of the Renaissance.

I don't like plain photos. I found that over time every photographers work will look the same. Its hard to set yourself apart from everyone else if your work looks like everyone else's".

Carsten Witte (German photographer, 1964)

The Hamburg native photographer Carsten Witte has an extensive portfolio ranging from fashion, beauty, advertising and art. He specializes in black and white photography and believes that all his photo's hold a story.

Carsten Witte Studies of Visual Arts and Photography at FH Bielefeld, Internships and assistances to several Photographers. Collaboration with photographer Angela Bergling from 1987-1995.

"Starting with Editorial and Campaign Photography I turned towards Art in 2004. Several exhibitions since then all over the world".

Natalie Shau, 1984 | Pop Surrealism painter

Natalie Shau is mixed media artist and photographer based in Lithuania (Vilnius). She refers to herself as a mixed media artist and photographer with an interest in fashion and portrait photography as well as digital illustration and photo art.

Some go as far as to describe her as a world-famous female representative of the hi-tec avant-garde of figurative art and leading illustrator and photographer in the digital art scene.

However, none of her shorter or longer biographies published on the internet make clear whether the Lithuanian ever attended art school at all or whether she is a mere autodidact. Considering the absence of any reference to an art education in her biographies, one rather has to assume the latter.