Leonardo and Michelangelo: The 1504 Duel in Florence

The "duel" between Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti refers to a legendary artistic competition, when the Florentine Republic commissioned both masters to paint massive, opposing battle frescoes in the Palazzo Vecchio Grand Hall of the Five Hundred.

In 1504, Michelangelo Buonarroti was commissioned by Pier Soderini to complete a celebrative fresco depicting the Battle of Cascina, to be placed in the Florentine Room of the Great Council (or Salone dei Cinquecento) of Palazzo Vecchio while Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to complete another painting on the opposite wall to celebrate the equally important Florentine victory at the 1440 Battle of Anghiari, effectively pitting the two rivals against one another.

Leonardo da Vinci | Study of a Warrior's Head for the Battle of Anghiari, 1504-1505 | Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

Il Realismo Romantico di Lucia Sarto, 1950

Lucia Sarto è una pittrice Italiana, nata a Udine e nota a livello internazionale per il suo stile definito "Realismo Romantico" od impressionismo romantico.

La sua arte si distingue per la capacità di catturare la luce ed il colore in atmosfere sognanti, ispirandosi alla tradizione pittorica del sud Italia (come De Nittis) ed all'impressionismo americano.

Si è formata tra l'Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia (sotto la guida di Virgilio Guidi) e Torino.

Paolo Fiammingo | Mannerist painter

Pauwels Franck - known in Italy as Paolo Fiammingo and Paolo dei Franceschi (1540-1596), was a Flemish painter, mainly of landscapes with mythological and religious scenes, who was active in Venice for most of his life.

He was likely born c. 1540 but his birthplace is not known. He became a member of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1561.

He is recorded in Venice from 1573 but was likely an assistant in Tintoretto’s workshop there already in the 1560s.

He worked in Venice for the rest of his career.

Christen Dalsgaard | Pittore di genere romantico

Christen Dalsgaard (30 ottobre 1824 - 11 febbraio 1907) è stato un pittore Danese, allievo di Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg.

Era il figlio del proprietario della tenuta, Krabbesholm Manor, situata vicino a Skive nello Jutland.

Ha mostrato i primi segni di talento artistico e ha ricevuto una formazione come pittore artigianale.

Allegory of Poetry

As a literary device, an allegory is a metaphor in which a character, place or event is used to deliver a broader message about real-world issues and occurrences.

Allegory (in the sense of the practice and use of allegorical devices and works) has occurred widely throughout history in all forms of art, largely because it can readily illustrate or convey complex ideas and concepts in ways that are comprehensible or striking to its viewers, readers, or listeners.

Writers or speakers typically use allegories as literary devices or as rhetorical devices that convey (semi-)hidden or complex meanings through symbolic figures, actions, imagery, or events, which together create the moral, spiritual, or political meaning the author wishes to convey.

Auger Lucas (French Rococo Era painter, 1685-1765) | An Allegory of Poetry

Allegory of Music

The "Allegory of Music" is a classic artistic theme used to personify the beauty, harmony, and theory of sound.

Historically, these artworks often feature a female figure (sometimes a Muse like Euterpe or Polyhymnia) surrounded by various instruments, sheet music, and symbolic animals.

Historically, it is often depicted as one of the Seven Liberal Arts, representing the mathematical and harmonic ratios that govern the universe.

The theme remains relevant today; for instance, modern songwriters use allegory in lyrics to convey deep moral lessons or complex emotions through surface-level stories.

Francesco Trevisani (Italian Rococo Era painter, 1656-1746) | An allegory of music

Olga Oreshnikov, 1962 | Fantasy painter

Russian painter Ольга Орешникова was born in St Petersburg, a member of one of the most prominent families of artists.

Her paternal grandfather, Professor Oreshnikov, was Rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg from 1953-1978.

He was also one of the leading artistic figures in the city and a member of the Soviet Academy.

Olga’s maternal grandfather was Roman Kotlarevsky, a renowned composer and professor of composition at the Conservatory of Music.

Her parents and close relatives are all either painters, art historians or practicing musicians.

Hanan Milner, 1949 | Figurative painter

Hanan Milner was born in Lithuania, former USSR and immigrated to Israel in 1964.

In his youth he studied at Renanim and Telma Yellin art schools in Tel Aviv and at the Bezalel Academy of Art in Jerusalem.

He also learned from the famous Austrian artist Ernst Fuchs.

From the beginning, Milner painted in a realistic style in oils, water and acrylic.

Magdalena Serwin, 1983 | Figurative painter

Magdalena Serwin is an Polish artist born in the Jastrzębiu-Zdroju region, specializing in oil and putty technique.

Graduate of the State Higher Vocational School in Raciborz with a major in applied arts. Under the tutelage of great artists she explored the arts of painting, graphic arts as well as photography.

To a large extent, however, self-taught, for whom painting is a passion and at the same time a kind of peace, a respite from everyday matters.

When painting a picture, he always tries to find something unusual in the ordinary.

Ordinary characters, not known to anyone, with whom any viewer can identify, make friends....