Ilya Repin | A Parisian Cafe / Un caffè Parigino, 1875

Repin's time as an academic pensioner in Paris 1873-76 was a fruitful as well as confusing time for the rising young star of Russian realist painting and he responded to a bewildering variety of new stimuli with enthusiasm and uncertainty, painting both Russian motifs as well as the sights of contemporary France.

In particular it was a period of burgeoning experimentation as Repin (1844-1930) took cognisance of modern French artistic developments, the major outcome of which was his large canvas "A Parisian Café", which was sold in London in June 2011 for a record price by the artist.

Vasily Polenov | Woman Walking in a Forest Park, 1883

Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov / Васи́лий Дми́триевич Поле́нов (1844-1927)was born in Saint-Petersburg. His family placed great emphasis on the importance of art and culture. Indeed his father, Dmitri Vassilievitch Polenov (1806-1872) was a connoisseur of the artistic world, and his mother, Maria Alexeievna Voeïkova (1816-1895) a gifted portraitist of the Brullov school.

He spent his childhood in Saint-Petersburg, a major cultural center, and Carely, in the Olonentsky countryside.

Like his ancestors, Vasily Dmitrievitch studied law at the University of Saint-Petersburg, yet he dreamt of becoming a painter. He decided to take courses at the Academy of Painting (1863-1871).

While he was studying at the Academy, he was able to travel in Western Europe (Germany, Italy, Greece, France). He had a studio in Montmartre, an important center for Parisian art, and sought inspiration in Normandy.

Ernst Lorenz Murowana | Romantic Seascape painter

Ernst Hugo Lorenz-Murowana (Murowana Goślina (Poznan) 1872 - Berlin 1950) was an German painter, active in Berlin. His paintings show predominantly nocturnes views of Berlin, Potsdam, landscapes of Pomerania and from the Baltic Sea, flowers and interiors.

He worked as a painter as well as restorer, and used to live and work in Berlin until his death in 1950.

As he was born in Wielkopolska it is often mistakenly portrayed as a Polish painter.

Olivia Muus, 1985 | Museum of Selfies

Olivia Muus, a designer and marketer based in Denmark, has found a new fun idea that will make sure you won’t get bored the next time you visit a museum. Olivia, who works as an art director at an advertisement bureau, got the idea with a friend when the two of them were visiting the States Museum of Art (Statens Museum for Kunst).

“I Saw the paintings and thought that there was something selfie’ish in their expressions. I then played around with it a little bit and the result got to look really funny” She says about the images that were made by holding a phone in front of the images, so that it appears that the characters are in the middle of taking a selfie.

George Lundeen, 1948 | Departure / Partenza, 1986

"Departure", installed in the park near the library in Loveland, CO, is a life size bronze sculpture by the American artist, George Lundeen.
According to the artist, "The original piece came from a sketch I did in the Rome train station. There were a couple of kids across from me on the marble floor. It became the first life-size piece I ever did". The work was completed over two years, beginning in 1984.
George Lundeen is a native of Nebraska, and was a Fulbright-Hayes Scholar studying in Florence, Italy. He established his studio in Loveland, Colorado in the mid 1970s where he continues to live and work.