Édouard Cortès (French, 1882-1969)

Édouard Leon Cortès was born in Lagny-sur-Marne, a few miles east of Paris. As an adolescent, he became fascinated with the arts and at seventeen began his studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

The year 1901 marked the artist's first exhibition at the Salon des Artistes Francais. His piece depicting a dramatic Paris street scene at dusk brought him immediate recognition and fame.

Later, as an active member of the prestigious Societe des Artistes Francais, Cortes exhibited his works yearly in Paris at the Society's salon as well as at the Salon des Independants, and the Salon d'Hiver.

Pantelis Zografos (Greek, 1949)

Παντελής Ζωγράφος was born in Athens, Greece, into a family with along tradition of producing fine artists. In greek language, the name of Zografos means artist: and following the Greek custom, Pantelis took the name of his paternal grandfather, a renowned iconographer.

Both of his parents were professional artists, and he spent much of his youth in their studio in Athens.

In 1971, after serving the Greek Air Force, Pantelis moved to America.

Carl Larsson (1853-1919)

Carl Larsson (1853-1919) è stato un pittore ed illustratore Svedese.

Nato in una famiglia indigente, studiò dapprima in una scuola per bambini poveri, poi nel 1866, all'età di tredici anni, fu ammesso all'Accademia Reale Svedese delle Arti di Stoccolma.

Durante i primi anni in questa prestigiosa istituzione Larsson, timido e socialmente inferiore rispetto a molti suoi compagni, trovò difficoltà ad ambientarsi; tuttavia, col passare degli anni riuscì a mettersi in luce grazie al suo talento, diventando una figura centrale dell'accademia.

Dopo aver lavorato alcuni anni come illustratore per libri e giornali, nel 1880 si trasferì a Parigi, dove rimase fino al 1885 passando anni frustranti come artista senza successo.

Fu proprio a Parigi che nel 1882 incontrò l'artista Karin Bergöö, che presto diventò sua moglie.

Questo fu un punto di svolta nella vita di Larsson, che cominciò a dipingere le sue opere più importanti, abbandonando la pittura ad olio, fino ad allora la tecnica da lui maggiormente utilizzata, per realizzare degli acquerelli.

Edna St. Vincent Millay | When the Year Grows Old / Quando l’anno invecchia

Edward Cucuel (American Impressionist painter, 1875-1954)🎨 | In autumn sunlight

I cannot but remember

When the year grows old -

October - November -

How she disliked the cold!

She used to watch the swallows

Go down across the sky,

And turn from the window

With a little sharp sigh.

And often when the brown leaves

Were brittle on the ground,

And the wind in the chimney

Made a melancholy sound.

Nathalie Picoulet, 1968 | Pastel figurative painter

French painter🎨 Nathalie Picoulet was born in Amiens and began a career in portrait paintings in 1993.

After displaying an early talent for drawing, she studied the history of Art and Design before deciding to pursue a full-time career as an artist in pastels.

Nathalie Picoulet studied at The University of Plastic Arts and followed higher education of drawing at L Ecole Superieur of design in Amiens.

Egon Schiele | I, eternal child / Io, eterno fanciullo

I, eternal child,

always watched the passage of the rutting people and did not want

to be inside them, I said -

spoke and did not speak, I listened and wanted

to hear them and see into them, strongly and more strongly.

I, eternal child -

I sacrificed myself for others …

who looked and did not see me …

Anne-Christine Roda, 1974 | Hyperrealist painter

Anne-Christine Roda is an French painter🎨.

She defines a highly original interpretation of the portrait:  in her work the painting is entirely subjugated to the portrayal of man’s fragility.

Her paintings, in terms of the choice of pose for her models and the neutral treatment of their backgrounds are as rooted in tradition, as her subjects are sourced unequivocally from our contemporary era.

Her choice of subject speaks directly to our everyday lives.