Michael Cheval, 1966 | Playhouse of Quintessence

Michael Cheval | Gina Lollobrigida's portrait

“Playhouse of Quintessence” series of paintings embodies Michael Cheval’s philosophical reflections and his attempt to express a certain phenomena via limited means.
At the core of this idea lies the principle of theatrical pantomime where the language of gestures is most important. The task was further complicated b...y the artist’s restriction to use only the face (or the mask) and the hands.

Michael Cheval, 1966

Michael Cheval è nato a Kotelnikovo, una piccola città a sud della Russia. È cresciuto in mezzo a pittori, pennelli, tele e cavalletti. Suo nonno, un artista e scultore di professione, ha inculcato l'amore di Michael per il disegno fin dalla più tenera età. A tre anni poteva già disegnare composizioni con complesse e multiple figure, illustrando le sue fantasie ed impressioni.

Nel 1980, Michael e la sua famiglia si trasferirono in Germania. Questo nuovo luogo fece una grande impressione sul giovane artista.

I musei e i castelli, le vie antiche e i meravigliosi paesaggi del sud della Germania definirono in modo permanente i gusti e le predilezioni di Michael. Sempre interessato alla storia e alla letteratura, Michael fu assorbito anche dalla musica. Mise su una band con cui si dedicò al rock 'n' roll per anni. Compose canzoni e scrisse poesie.

Dopo il diploma e aver servito l'esercito sovietico, Michael si recò a Nebit-Dag, una città del Turkmenistan nel mezzo del deserto Kara-Kum, vicino al confine iraniano.

David Inshaw, 1943 | Pop painter

David Inshaw -born 21 March 1943 in Wednesfield, Staffordshire, England-, is a British artist who sprang to public attention in 1973 when his painting The Badminton Game was exhibited at the ICA Summer Studio exhibition in London.

The painting was subsequently acquired by the Tate Gallery and is one of several paintings from the 1970s that won him critical acclaim and a wide audience.

Others include The Raven, Our days were a joy and our paths through flowers, She did not turn, The Cricket Game, Presentiment and The River Bank (Ophelia).

Charles Levier | Cubist painter

French painter🎨 Charles Levier (1920-2003) was born to a French father and American mother in Corsica.

From an early age, he held a fascination with color and form which led him, at age seventeen, to the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs for private studies.
During World War II, Levier served in the French Army in North Africa, later becoming Liaison Officer with the U.S. Office of Strategic Services.

John Singer Sargent | Venice painting

Sargent's Venice work illustrates an artistic double-life

By Roderick Conway Morris, © The New York Times, april 20, 2007

John Singer Sargent⏭ was the most sought-after society painter of the late 19th and early 20th century. But he led a double life.
Throughout the nearly 30 years he was occupied with portraiture, he produced hundreds of landscapes and figure studies not intended for public view, seldom seen outside his studio or beyond his immediate circle of family and friends.