El Greco | The Adoration of the Name of Jesus, 1579

The larger version of this picture is in the Escorial in Madrid, and was probably intended for King Philip II.

El Greco made small copies of several of his own pictures to keep in his studio, of which this is probably one.

The subject is thought to be an allegory of the Holy League, a military alliance between Spain, the Papacy and the Venetian Republic, which was formed to combat the rise of Islam and the Turks.

The Pope, the Doge of Venice and Philip II are shown kneeling in adoration of the name of Jesus, shown in the heavens as IHS, these being the first letters of Jesus in Greek (IHSOUS).

Charles Caryl Coleman | Capri, 1897

American painter Charles Caryl Coleman (1840-1928) was born in 1840. He was a landscape, portrait and figure painter who lived most of his life in Capri, Italy.

Coleman studied art with Andrew Andrews and W.H. Beard in Buffalo, NY in the 1850s.

He traveled to Paris to study for three years before returning to America in 1862 to enlist in the Civil War.

Hermann Corrodi | Notturno sul Monte Athos / Night on Mount Athos, 1905

Hermann David Salomon Corrodi🎨 (July 1844 - 30 January 1905) was an Italian painter🎨 of historical and orientalist scenes.

Corrodi received commissions for history paintings from the British royal family. He was acquainted with most of the European royalty of the time, including a friendship with Queen Victoria, and traveled widely in the Far East, including Egypt, Syria, Cyprus and Istanbul, which provided the subject matter for many of his paintings.

In 1893 he was knighted as an Academic of Merit by the Academy of St Luke, where he had been a professor.

In the last month of his life he made The nocturnal ascent on mount Athos.

Hermann Corrodi died on January 30, 1905. So, this ascent must have been one of his very last paintings.

The hermits hut clung on the steep rock like a birds’ nest is an interesting detail. The seven monks with their lamps and walking sticks lead the viewer to the ascent.

Robert Auer (Zagabria, 1873-1952)

Robert Auer è stato un pittore Croato della Secessione. Robert Auer nacque in una ricca famiglia di Zagabria da Ferdinando e Amelija Auer.

I suoi fratelli erano l'architetto Bela Auer e Koloman Auer, che ereditò un'attività di tipografia da suo padre. Robert ha frequentato una scuola tecnica prima di andare all'università a Vienna e Monaco.

Dopo gli studi, è stato coinvolto nella scena artistica di Zagabria, in particolare nei circoli che circondano il movimento della Secessione.

Gianni De Conno | Surrealist book illustrator

Gianni De Conno (Milan, 1957 - Milan, 26 agosto 2017) is an Italian painter.

In 1990 Gianni received the Gold Plate🎨 of Italian Illustrators Annual, in 1998, 2000 and 2001 the Communication Arts Award of Excellence, in 2002 the Stepan Zavrel prize for Children's Illustrator and the Silver Medal of the President of the Italian Republic for artistic merits.

Gianni De Conno is teaching in the main schools of illustration.

He has illustrated and published numerous books for children.

Gianni Strino, 1953 | Supper at Emmaus

Gianni Strino is considered to be a major representative of the modern Neapolitan aesthetic movement. His most notable qualities as a figure painter lie in his ability to penetrate beyond surfaces, and paint in depths.

Gianni Strino was born in 1953 in Naples, Italy.

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

• Gianni Strino, 1953 | Figurative painter🎨

Pontormo | Pittore Manierista

Jacopo Carrucci (1494-1557), conosciuto come Jacopo da Pontormo, o semplicemente il Pontormo, è stato un pittore Italiano.

Avviò una sistematica opera di rinnovamento degli schemi compositivi della tradizione, talvolta spregiudicato, cercando di reagire al classicismo pittorico attraverso un'inesauribile vena sperimentale ed anticlassicista.

La sua complessa personalità, introversa e tormentata, ne fa il prototipo dell'artista malinconico e solitario.