Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec | Post-Impressionist painter

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, in full Henri-Marie-Raymonde de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (born Nov. 24, 1864, Albi, France-died Sept. 9, 1901, Malromé), French artist who observed and documented with great psychological insight the personalities and facets of Parisian nightlife and the French world of entertainment in the 1890s.

His use of free-flowing, expressive line, often becoming pure arabesque, resulted in highly rhythmical compositions (e.g., In the Circus Fernando: The Ringmaster, 1888).

The extreme simplification in outline and movement and the use of large colour areas make his posters some of his most powerful works.

Alfio Presotto, 1940 | Neo-romantic painter

Alfio Presotto is a Venetian painter trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence and, in 1960, joined the Realism group of Milan.

He has exhibited his paintings of him in numerous exhibitions and reviews throughout Italy and beyond.

In 1969 he exhibited at the U.S.A.L.B.A. in Milan, the exhibition at the Salotto Rossini in Pesaro in 1970 and participation in the Salon Art Libre in Paris in 1974.

Thomas Benjamin Kennington | Victorian painter

Thomas Benjamin Kennington (1856-1916) was an English genre, social realist and portrait painter.

He was a founder member of the New English Art Club (NEAC) and the Imperial Arts League.

Life and works

Kennington was born in Grimsby in Lincolnshire and trained in art at the Liverpool School of Art (winning a gold medal), the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London, and the Académie Julian in Paris, where he studied under Bouguereau and Robert-Fleury.

He later moved to Chelsea in London.

Albert Einstein's letter to Marie Curie, 1911

Marie Skłodowska Curie (7 November 1867 - 4 July 1934) was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person and only woman to win twice, the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two different sciences, and was part of the Curie family legacy of five Nobel Prizes.

She was also the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris, and in 1995 became the first woman to be entombed on her own merits in the Panthéon in Paris.

Maya Angelou / Nick Alm | Still I rise / Ancora mi sollevero!

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

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).