Sandra Sedmak Engel | Abstract Figurative painter

A Maryland native, Sandra Sedmak Engel has lived in Baltimore, Md for the last 19 years. She holds a BFA with honors from the University of Maryland, and is very involved in many local arts organizations.
Sandra served as the Artist's Representative of the Steering Committee for School 33 Arts Center for several years, and was an integral part of starting up the Member's Gallery.
She is an honorary member of The Creative Alliance in Baltimore, where she also volunteers as a life drawing monitor. She is currently teaching encaustic painting workshops at both art centers, as well as in studio.

Johannes Vermeer | The Milkmaid /La Lattaia, 1657-1658

The Milkmai was painted by Johannes Vermeer in about 1657-58. The small picture (18 x 16 1/8 in., or 45.5 x 41 cm) could be described as one of the last works of the Delft artist’s formative years (ca. 1654-58), during which he adopted various subjects and styles from other painters and at the same time introduced effects based on direct observation and an exceptionally refined artistic sensibility.

Influenced by the detailed realism of Gerrit Dou (1613-1675) and his followers in Leiden, Vermeer created his most illusionistic image in The Milkmaid (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, SK-A-2344).

Ralf Heynen, 1978 | Figurative painter

Ralf Heynen - alias Ranonus, is a Dutch painter from Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Despite the first impression of a sophisticated and detailed picture his technique is based upon light and tonality and typical brushstrokes. These strong light effects and the subtle use of colour are typical for his work.

Ralf Heynen is an autodidact painter, having learned the trade by studying 17th-century masters like Vermeer.

The works of Russian realists and Singer Sargent were a huge inspiration.

Ivan Loginov, 1994 | Academic painter

Иван Логинов is an Russian artist🎨.

"I was born in a small town of Abakan in the south of Siberia. At the age of 15 I went to St. Petersburg to study drawing".

Иван Логинов is assistant of head teacher at The Imperial Academy of Arts, Saint-Petersburg.

La Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana

Vatican Apostolic Library -BAV, official library of the Vatican, located inside the Vatican palace. It is especially notable as one of the world’s richest manuscript depositories.

The library is the direct heir of the first library of the Roman pontiffs. Very little is known of this library up to the 13th century, but it appears to have remained only a modest collection of works until Pope Nicholas V (1447-55) greatly enlarged it with his purchase of the remnants of the imperial library of Constantinople (now Istanbul), which had recently been conquered by the Ottoman Turks.

Baroque sculpture in Rome | The Four Fountains

The Quattro Fontane /The Four Fountains - is an ensemble of four Late Renaissance fountains located at the intersection of Via delle Quattro Fontane and Via del Quirinale in Rome.

They were commissioned by Pope Sixtus V and built at the direction of Muzio Mattei, and were installed between 1588-1593.

Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) | Page 6

At the height of his fame, the Florentine painter and draughtsman Sandro Botticelli was one of the most esteemed artists in Italy. His graceful pictures of the Madonna and Child, his altarpieces and his life-size mythological paintings, such as 'Venus and Mars', were immensely popular in his lifetime.

The son of a tanner, he was born Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, but he was given the nickname 'Botticelli' (derived from the word 'botticello' meaning 'small wine cask').

Smart beyond his years, the young Botticelli became easily bored at school. He was known for his sharp wit and his love of practical jokes, and he quickly earned a reputation as a restless, hyperactive and impatient child. Fortunately, his precocious talent was recognised and he was withdrawn from school and sent to work as an apprentice.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini | Baroque sculptor

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, (born Dec. 7, 1598, Naples, Kingdom of Naples (Italy)-died Nov. 28, 1680, Rome, Papal States), Italian artist who was perhaps the greatest sculptor of the 17th century and an outstanding architect as well.

Bernini created the Baroque style of sculpture and developed it to such an extent that other artists are of only minor importance in a discussion of that style.