Simon Bull, 1958 | Abstract painter

Simon Bull is an English-born artist now living in America.

• Early years and education

Simon Bull was born in Bedfordshire, England. The second of four children. His father, Ian Bull served as an officer in the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department of the British Army. Ian’s extensive military postings stationed the family around the world in Guyana, Hong Kong, Germany, and Northern Ireland. Simon went to boarding school in Yorkshire, attending Ripon Cathedral Choir School from 1965-69 and in Surrey, at the Royal Russell School from 1969-1976. In 1976 he took a one year Foundation course at Gloucestershire College of Art and Design and went on to graduate in 1980 from Leeds Polytechnic with a BA (Hons) degree in Fine Art.

Fernando Pedrosa, 1947 | Hyperrealist Figurative painter

Fernando Saenz Pedrosa was born in Palencia, Spain. At a young age his talent as a draftsman became very evident - so evident, that in1965, at the age of 18, he was enrolled in the prestigious Architectural School of Madrid. From 1965-1970, Pedrosa’s study as a draftsman and painter became more prolic. From his studies at the architecture school, he was able to mature his skill in drawing and combine that with painting. Painting became Pedrosa’s manner in which to bring his drawingsto life and he was so astounded by the art of painting that after five yearsof study, he decided to dedicate his career and life to it.

Peter Hobden, 1952 | Figurative Impressionist painter

"Born in Geneva, Switzerland, I followed primary and secondary school at the International Scool of Geneva.

I obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Languages (Chinese and French) at the Polytechnic of Central (now known as Westminster University).

I discovered painting late, in 2006, after a career of almost 25 years in computers in a humanitarian organization".

James Carroll Beckwith | Academic painter

James Carroll Beckwith (September 23, 1852 - October 24, 1917) was an American landscape, portrait and genre painter whose Naturalist style led to his recognition in the late nineteenth and very early twentieth century as a respected figure in American art.

Carroll Beckwith, as he preferred to be known, was born in Hannibal, Missouri on September 23, 1852, the son of Charles and Melissa Beckwith. However, he grew up in Chicago where his father started a wholesale grocery business.

Botticelli | Venus and Mars, c. 1483

From: The National Gallery, London

Mars, God of War, was one of the lovers of Venus, Goddess of Love. Here Mars is asleep and unarmed, while Venus is awake and alert. The meaning of the picture is that love conquers war, or love conquers all.

This work was probably a piece of bedroom furniture, perhaps a bedhead or piece of wainscoting, most probably the 'spalliera' or backboard from a chest or day bed. The wasps ('vespe' in Italian) at the top right suggest a link with the Vespucci family, though they may be no more than a symbol of the stings of love.