Claude Monet | The Rouen Cathedral series, 1892-1894

The Rouen Cathedral series was painted in the 1890s by French impressionist Claude Monet. The paintings in the series each capture the façade of the cathedral at different times of the day and year, and reflect changes in its appearance under different lighting conditions.

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The Rouen Cathedral paintings, more than thirty in all, were made in 1892-1893, then reworked in Monet’s studio in 1894. Monet rented spaces across the street from the cathedral, where he set up temporary studios for the purpose. In 1895, he selected what he considered to be the twenty best paintings from the series for display at his Paris dealer’s gallery, and of these he sold eight before the exhibition was over. Pissarro and Cézanne visited the exhibition and praised the series highly.

Domenico Purificato | Neorealist painter

Domenico Purified (Fondi, 1 November 1915 - Rome, 6 November 1984) was a Italian painter, protagonist of "Neorealismo".

In the first part of his career he joined the defined current Roman, initiated by Scipione (Gino Bonichi) and Mario Mafai , shared with Raffaele Wheats. A multifaceted artist, from 1940 to 1943 he was editor of the magazine Cinema.

After the war he was the protagonist in Rome of Neorealism, capturing in his paintings some of the people, country figures and scenes of everyday life.

Claude-Marie Dubufe (1790-1864)

Born in Paris in 1790, Claude-Marie Dubufe began his apprenticeship in Jacques-Louis David's studio in 1804, although his father originally intended him for a diplomatic career.

His first shipment to the Salon in 1810 is "A Roman starves himself and his family to death, rather than touch a deposit of money entrusted to him" (location unknown). This painting was not noticed by the critics, so Claude-Marie decided to go to Italy to complete his training.

He returned to the Salon in 1812 with a large mythological scene, «Achilles taking under his protection Iphigénie, which his father Agamemnon wanted to sacrifice» (unknown location) and two portraits of women, the genre that will be the source of his success.

Odoardo Borrani | Macchiaioli painter

Odoardo Borrani (22 August 1833 - 14 September 1905) was an Italian painter associated with the Macchiaioli group.

He was born in Pisa. The Borrani family moved to Florence, where Odoardo enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1853.

There, he studied under Gaetano Bianchi, Giuseppe Bezzuoli and Enrico Pollastrini. However, he became independent of the academic styles.

His first painting while at the Academy was titled Un veglione di maschere alla Pergola.

In 1859, he painted Lorenzo the Magnificent Saves Himself From Being Murdered in the Sacristy of the Cathedral, an episode of the Pazzi Conspiracy.

Édouard Bisson | Academic /Genre painter

Fanciful ideas and flowing line characterize Édouard Bisson's (1895-1939) studies of graceful feminine types. Distinguished by a certain charm, they agree with Delacroix that the first quality in a picture is to be a delight for the eyes.

Born in Paris in 1856, Édouard Bisson studied art under one of the most successful of French artists, Jean Leon Gerome.

He exhibited regularly at the Salon of French Artists of which he was a member.

He was awarded Honorable Mentions in 1881 and 1889, a Third Class Medal in 1897, and a Bronze Medal at the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1900.

Karen Offutt, 1967 | Impressionist Figurative painter

Karen Offutt was born and raised in Dallas, Texas by a creative family who encouraged her to explore her artistic talent from an early age. Her father is an artist and her mother is a designer and owner of a needlepoint company.

Throughout her formative years, Karen excelled in art classes and participated in several art exhibits. She studied at North Texas State University in search of a more formal fine arts education. As a young adult she sought a more serious outlet for her talent.

The turning point in her career came when she made the decision to study abroad and committed herself to becoming a fine artist.

Olivier Massebeuf, 1963 | Figurative painter

Olivier Massebeuf was born in Lyon, attended the Paris Beaux Arts Academy in the 1980’s and took pleasure in studying the work of graphic artists such as Hugo Pratt and Jacques Tardi but did not feel inclined to devote himself entirely to painting as a way of life.

In those days, he made a few acrylic paintings in black and white.

Between 1983-1987 he concentrated on his British studies but continued to draw and to indulge his fascination with the comic strip as an art form. With his sister Pascale he carried out a project called "Rosa". This involved the writing of a story which inspired the accompanying illustrative cartoon.

Pompeo Mariani | La Belle Époque

The 9th of September 1857 Pompeo Mariani (1857-1927) was born in Monza in a house in "Borgo Como" near S. Biagio Church from Martino Mariani and Giulia Bianchi.

His father Martino (1826-1886) ran - together with Gaetano Pellegrino - the Commercial School Mariani-Pellegrini of Monza.

In that school important generations of Lombard industrialists received the first fundamental teachings.

His mother Giulia (1838-1914) was the first daughter of the painter Giosué (1803-1875) and sister of the most famous artist of the Bianchi family, Mosè (1840-1904).