Ferdinando Vichi | Romantic sculptor of La Belle Époque

Ferdinando Vichi was born in Florence in 1875 and died there in 1941.

He was well-known and much appreciated sculptor who produced numerous works of art, including busts and tomb-stones.

Ferdinando Vichi was a central figure in the production of Florentine sculpture at the end of the 19th century.

Ferdinando Vichi | Group of Putti Musicians, 1875-1899

Like many other late nineteenth-century sculptors, Ferdinando Vichi (1875-1945) often took inspiration from Romantic and Tender subjects.

His compositions are varied in subject matter, ranging from Romantic busts, women and children to orientalist themes and Renaissance-inspired models.

Pio Fedi | Love story of Dionora and Ippolito

Pio Fedi - Dionora de Bardi and Ippolito Buondelmonti

In the present sculpture, Pio Fedi (1816-1892) presents us with an image of the courtship of Dianora. Ippolito's gently persuasive gesture conveys his intense and immediate affection for Dianora, whilst her apparent reticence highlights the agonistic relationship between their two families and the difficulties associated with their union. Pio Fedi's training as a goldsmith and engraver is evident in the virtuoso carving of the rich fabrics and differing surfaces. The intricacy of the carving, together with the small scale of the group, lends to it a precious, jewel-like quality. The signature compares closely with that of Pio Fedi's Il sospetto in the Ashmoleon, also dated 1872, and which, according to Nicholas Penny, may have been sculpted as a special piece by Pio Fedi himself.

Antoine Bouvard | A Venetian Scene

Antoine Bouvard Senior, also known as Marc Aldine (1870-1956) painted Venetian scenes and exhibited his works in Paris and Venice.

He was born at St. Jean-de-Bournay in L'Isere in 1870.

He trained as an architect and studied art and architecture under Constant-Dufeus, at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

He became the Director of Architectural Services for the Seine, and was responsible for the construction of the Bourse du Travail and the Boulevard Morland in Paris.

Ron Monsma

Whether I am painting a still life or figure (or landscape) light plays an important role.

I work in the Baroque tradition where light reveals and distills form and all its nuances.

This is stage lighting where illumination exposes a mood, a setting or situation or some event about which we are not quite certain.

It is light that invites the viewer to make discoveries in the shadows” - Ron Monsma, Associate Professor of Fine Arts.