Lyne Lafontaine, 1959 | Symbolist /Fantasy painter

Canadian painter Lyne Lafontaine: "Between reality and imaginary, I explore a world where human faces are at the center of my artworks.

My universe moves around symbolism, fantasy, onirism and feminity. Sensitivity and liberty must prevail upon all. To me, facial expressions and human feelings have always been a great fascination and an endless source of inspiration.

Self taught, I’ve been drawing since my very early age. I make drawings mostly using graphite, but I also use color pencil and ink.

It is with wonder and astonishment that I realize to what extent fluidity can come from the simple line of a pencil.

Drawing and oil painting are my preferred mediums. They give me the array of possibilities I’m looking for. This avenue is vital for me".

Sharon Burkett Kaiser, 1946 | Plein air painter

California plein air impressionist Sharon Burkett Kaiser engages collectors with paintings consumed with harmonious color, beauty, and the complex relationship of light and form.

The artist's developed knowledge of color comes from a keen inner sense and from years of study with prominent artists/instructors Sergei Bongart (1918-1985), Charles Movalli, and Sunny Apinchapong Yang.

This valuable guidance, along with influences including Iliya Repin (1844-1930) and Valentin Serov (1865-1911), has yielded striking original paintings filled with fresh color, depth, and vitality.

Sharon was born in San Rafael, California.

Tiziano Vecellio (1485-1576)

Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (c. 1488/90 - 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian, was an Italian painter🎨 during the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno, then in the Republic of Venice.

During his lifetime he was often called da Cadore, from Cadore, taken from his native region.

Recognized by his contemporaries as "The Sun Amidst Small Stars" (recalling the famous final line of Dante's Paradiso), Titian was one of the most versatile of Italian painters, equally adept with portraits, landscape backgrounds, and mythological and religious subjects.

Cristoforo Stati | Orpheus with Violin, 1600-1601 | Art in Detail

Orpheus by Italian sculptor Cristoforo Stati /Cristofano da Bracciano (1556-1619), famous for taming beasts with his music, is here shown entertaining himself, his body swaying to the sound of the lira da braccio.

The statue was carved for the Palazzo Corsi, Florence. | © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Franciabigio | The Last Supper / L'Ultima cena, 1514

The frescoes with the Last Supper are among the most interesting artistic monuments in Florence.

As a result of the suppressions of religious orders which took place in the 18th and 19th century, a great many Florentine convents have been turned into museums.

In them visitors can directly experience the art of the several excellent painters who in various periods have sought to express the beguiling spirituality of the Last Supper which Christ took with His disciples.

Franciabigio | Renaissance painter

Franciabigio (1482-1525) was a Florentine artist, who closely associated with, though had a distinct style from, his colleague Andrea del Sarto (1486-1531). He was born Francesco di Cristofano, but was called Marcantonio Franciabigio or Francia Bigio. Some of his works now known were once attributed to his contemporary Raphael (1483-1520). He was highly praised for his painting of frescoes.

Paul Horton, 1958 | Storyteller artist

Paul Horton was born in Harborne, Birmingham. "- Looking back on my childhood it seems I was always drawing and painting, I think it was my destiny to become an artist. By the mid-seventies I was taking my art very seriously and studied Life Drawing and History of Art at Bournville School of Art, I also began exhibiting my work at regular intervals. 

I was awarded a Certficate of Merit in 1976 by the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists which gave me my first critical acclaim and in a strange way seemed to seal my fate adding to my determination and desire to become a professional artist.

Johan Zoffany | The Tribuna of the Uffizi, 1772-1778

In the summer of 1772 Zoffany set off for Florence with £300, letters of introduction and a commission from the Queen to paint highlights of the Grand Duke of Tuscany's collection shown within the Tribuna of the Uffizi Palace.

The inspiration for the commission could have been the Cabinet of Paintings (Royal Collection, now given to Formentrou), then attributed to Gonzales Coques, which hung in Queen Charlotte's work-room at Kew.