Maria Serafina Tribunella, 1955 | Tuscan Garden

Maria Serafina Tribunella is an American of Sicilian origin (born in Collesano, Palermo); raised and educated in New York City. After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from New York University, she married and moved to the home of her ancestors, Italy. It is there shat she now resides making her living as an accomplished painter alongside her husband, the Neapolitian artist, Raimondi Roberti.

The return to her native land has proved to be very important in the development of her artistic work. There is a very strong influence of The Grand Tour heritage of Southern Italy that is nostalgically rendered in her paintings.

Celestin Messaggio, 1952 | Impressionist Palette Knife painter

Italian-born French painter Celestin Messaggio was born in Lombardy-Italy, his parents left Italy for Normandy when he was still only a child. From 1955, the land of the "men from the north" will inspire Messaggio’s artistic beginnings. His attachment to Normandy is still present in his paintings today: "If today I also wish to reproduce the warm light of the south, the waters of Venice remain a mirror reflecting my visit of the water gardens in Giverny".

Kieron Williamson, 2002 | Impressionist / Watercolour painter

Kieron Williamson (born 4 August 2002) is a watercolour artist from Holt, Norfolk in England. His paintings and ability by the age of six have caused considerable interest in the UK media and are notable for his advanced use of perspective and shading.

He has been described as a prodigy, and at his second exhibition in 2009, his paintings sold out in 14 minutes, raising a total of £18,200 for 16 paintings. A subsequent exhibition in Holt in July 2010 saw his paintings all sold within 30 minutes, at a total value of £150,000.

The following week, on Friday, 6 August 2010, Williamson revealed on the BBC Norfolk website some of his latest paintings that would be exhibited in 2011.

Fabio Colussi, 1957 | Seascape painter

Babio Colussi was born at Trieste Italy, where he lives and works. An self-taught, as his style has been formed through the study of the great Triestine painters such as Barison, Zangrando, Flumiani and Grimani.

He paints his early watercolours at the age of four, his themes are landscapes, woods, and figures realized using wax crayons; later he approaches tempera and acrylics, and successively, in the early nineties, he paints oils on canvas and on board, now his favourite technique that he has never abandoned.

To make his paintings he draws inspiration from the sketches that he jots down in a notebook which he always has with him and that sometimes are implemented, as far as architectures are concerned, by photographic notes.

Colussi is present with his works in private collections in Italy and abroad -United States, Germany and Australia. He has exhibited at national and European level.

Ng Woon Lam / 黄运南, 1971 | Watercolour painter

Singaporean painter Ng Woon Lam /黄运南 was once an engineer with Bachelor degree from NTU and Master in Science from NUS. He neverthelss decides to take up the challange of becoming a full time artist to accomplish his passion.

He is now a signature member of National Watercolor Society (NWS) of US.

His works have numerous national and international awards and been featured in leading art publications e.g. The Artist's Magazine, Splash and Watercolor Magic. His paintings were selected into The American Watercolor Society's International Juried Show and The Oil Painters of America. His most recent article, 'seeing with fresh eyes' is published in International Artist, April 2007.

Andrea Mantegna | La Camera degli Sposi, 1465-1474 | Art in Detail

The Camera degli Sposi ("Bridal chamber"), sometimes known as the Camera picta ("painted chamber"), is a room frescoed with illusionistic paintings by Andrea Mantegna in the Ducal Palace, Mantua, Italy. It was painted between 1465 and 1474 and commissioned by Ludovico III Gonzaga, and is notable for the use of trompe l'oeil details and its di sotto in sù ceiling.

The chronological sequence of the paintings has been recently discovered: the painter started from the vault by dry painting in the background small bits particularly those of the oculus and the wreath surrounding it.

Edgar Degas | La scoperta realista

Nella primavera del 1859, Degas fece ritorno a Parigi, stavolta carico di ambizione e di fiducia nelle proprie capacità e nell'avvenire: anche una volta divenuto adulto, in effetti, il pittore avrebbe ricordato il periodo italiano con grande nostalgia, come uno dei migliori della sua vita.

In Francia, in ogni caso, Degas ebbe agio di conciliare l'immenso bagaglio museale acquisito in Italia con una visione dinamica della vita contemporanea, ricca di vivacità e di freschezza. Su questa linea nacque una serie di quadri a sfondo storico, talora anche di formato grande.

Il quadro più significativo di questo periodo è certamente Giovani spartane, alla cui trattazione rimandiamo nella pagina apposita, anche se Degas scelse nel 1865 di debuttare al Manet, esposta presso lo stesso Salon con un altro dipinto, Scene di guerra nel Medioevo (anche noto come Le sventure della città di Orléans).

Salvador Dali | Surrealist Newton, 1977

This sculpture was born of Salvador Dalí's respect for Sir Isaac Newton and his discovery of the law of gravity, represented by the famed falling apple. Dalí has pierced the figure with two large spaces: one which portrays the absence of Newton's unique physical body, while the other space clearly displays the lack of his singular mind.