Annibale Gatti | The Master Light of All Our Seeing, 1887

Annibale Gatti | The Master Light of All Our Seeing, 1887

Brilliantly composed by the Italian fresco painter Annibale Gatti (1827-1909), the painting depicts a sweeping view reminiscent of Raphael’s The School of Athens. Gatti’s figures are similarly sprawled across his canvas, displaying the same symmetry and careful placement as Raphael’s composition.

The works even share a handful of figures, from the Renaissance architect Donato Bramante and philosopher Pythagoras of Samos to Michelangelo and Raphael himself.

Though Gatti’s work follows in the classical spirit of Raphael’s fresco, "The Master Light of All Our Seeing" takes on a grander meaning than the Renaissance composition. Depicted at the center is the figure of Jesus, symbolically positioned as "The Master of All Our Seeing" as his light shines on the multitude of figures who surround him.

Annibale Gatti (1827-1909) | Fresco painter

Annibale Gatti was an Italian painter, known for history painting and fresco decoration in Tuscany.

Son of a decorator, Gatti moved from Forlì to Florence in 1830.

He studied in Florence, enrolling in 1843 in the Academy of Fine Arts. Around the 1850s he achieved his first successes, choosing historico-religious themes for his works.

In 1861, he decorated the Throne Room in the Pitti Palace.

Dino Buzzati | Un amore | Capitolo XI

Perché se la prendeva tanto? Perché continuava a pensarci? Di che cosa aveva paura? che Laide scomparisse? Figurarsi. Bastava un colpo di telefono e lei correva a prendere un tassì; e lui l'aveva a sua disposizione, con la biancheria in ordine, tutta ben lavata da poter baciare impunemente in ogni parte del corpo.

No. Aveva un bel fare questo ragionamento.

Non bastava. Lei sarebbe accorsa, è vero, alla chiamata della signora Ermelina e sarebbe venuta in letto con lui ma tutto in fondo si riduceva a mezz'ora un'ora al massimo, questo era per lei solo un breve intermezzo di lavoro, da risolvere con gentilezza ma anche con la maggior celerità possibile (Dorigo si era ben accorto di non farla godere, quando le baciava il sesso la Laide teneva chiusi gli occhi, le labbra socchiuse tutto lì, ma per il resto non un vero palpito, un sospiro, un gemito, meglio così comunque piuttosto che le disgustose commedie di certe prostitute convinte che in amore tutti gli uomini senza distinzione debbano essere completamente cretini).

Daud Akhriev, 1959 | Symbolist painter

Daud Akhriev / Дауд Ахриев was born in the former Soviet Union.

He studied classical painting and drawing for 14 years, graduating with honors from the Repin Institute (Russian Academy of Fine Art) with a masters degree in fine art, under the tutelage of the late painter and Academic, Piotr Fomin.

In 1991 he emigrated to Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Akhriev, now a U.S. citizen, shares his time between Andalusia, Spain and Chattanooga, Tennessee with his artist wife.

Morten Lasskogen, 1986 | Surrealist 3D painter

Morten Lasskogen is a Copenhagen-based visual artist.

- "After working as a photographer for nearly 10 years, in 2018 I started experimenting with 3d. I discovered that a lot of the things i knew about lighting and composition worked more or less the same way as with photography, but the big difference was: 3d didn't have the same limits - I could literally control the sun"!

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.

Bobbie Burgers, 1973 | Abstract floral painter

Vancouver artist Bobbie Burgers received a B.A. in Art History in 1996 from the University of Victoria in British Columbia.

Her work has been exhibited widely at home and abroad, notably including Art Market San Francisco and Equinox Gallery.

Today, her works are in the collections of the Berost Corporation in Toronto and the Royal Bank of Canada, among others.

Burgers lives and works in Vancouver, Canada.