Diego Velázquez (1599-1660)

Diego Velázquez, in full Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, was the most important Spanish painter of the 17th century, a giant of Western art.

Velázquez is universally acknowledged as one of the world’s greatest artists.

The naturalistic style in which he was trained provided a language for the expression of his remarkable power of observation in portraying both the living model and still life.

Leonid Afremov | The summer sun of Sicily

Leonid Afremov (1955-2019) was an Jewish artist of Belarusian descent, mainly known as being a self-representing artist who promotes and sells his work exclusively over the internet with very little exhibitions and involvement of dealers and galleries.

Afremov was born in Vitebsk - the same town where Marc Chagall began his artistic career -and passed away on August 19th 2019 from cardiac arrest in Playa Del Carmen.

Michael Ancher | Skagen girl in a red shawl, 1881

Michael Peter Ancher (1849-1927) came to Skagen in 1874 at the age of 25, and he was the only one of the visiting artists who settled permanently in the town. He grew up on the island of Bornholm, and at the age of 16, he began his apprenticeship as a clerk at the Kalø Manor in Djursland.

Here, he began to draw and paint in his spare time, and in 1871 he was accepted as a student at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. Here, he met Karl Madsen, among others, who encouraged him to go to Skagen.

Wilhelm Tischbein | Goethe in the Roman Campagna, 1787

Title: Goethe in the Roman Campagna;

Author: Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein (German Neoclassical painter, 1751-1829);

Date: 1787;

Dimensions: 164.0 x 206.0 cm;

Medium: Oil on canvas;

Current location: Städel Museum, Frankfurt;

Acquisition: Acquired in 1887 as a gift by Baroness Adèle von Rothschild;

Status: On display, 1st upper level, Modern Art.

Pierre Bonnard (Francese, 1867-1947)

Pierre Bonnard è stato un pittore post-impressionista Francese, appartenente al Gruppo degli artisti Nabis.

Dopo il diploma in legge decide di dedicarsi alla pittura.

A Parigi, nel 1888 segue i corsi dell’Accademia Julian e dell’Ecole des Beaux-Arts.

È in questo periodo che conosce artisti come Paul Sérusier, Maurice Denis, Paul Ranson, Édouard Vuillard e Ker-Xavier Roussel, con i quali forma il Gruppo dei Nabis -dall’ebraico che significa profeti, ispirati, e con i quali esporrà al Salon des Indépendants a partire dal 1891.

Gaetano Gandolfi (1734-1802)

Gaetano Gandolfi nasce a S. Matteo della Decima (Bologna), nel 1734.

Adolescente raggiunge a Bologna il fratello Ubaldo, per dedicarsi anch’egli agli studi artistici.

Fu allievo di Ercole Lelli, scultore ed anatomista, e di Felice Torelli.

Iscritto all’accademia Clementina si segnalò vincendo con raffinati rilievi numerosi premi Marsigli e con nudi d’accademia diversi premi Fiori.

Le prime opere pittoriche di Gaetano datano alla fine degli anni ’50 (S. Girolamo e S. Maria Maddalena, Bazzano, Oratorio del Suffragio; decorazione della galleria del Palazzo Malvasia con il fratello Ubaldo).

J.H.W. Tischbein | Diogenes looking for an Honest Man, 1780

"Diogenes Looking for an Honest Man" is a painting attributed to German painter Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein (1751-1829).

It depicts Diogenes of Sinope with a lantern searching for an honest man.

Diogenes of Sinope used to stroll about in full daylight with a lamp; when asked what he was doing, he would answer, "I am just looking for an honest man".