Franz Skarbina | Impressionist painter

Franz Skarbina (1849-1910) was a German impressionist painter, draftsman, etcher and illustrator.

Born in Berlin, he was the son of a goldsmith from Zagreb. From 1865-1869, he studied at the Prussian Academy of Arts.

After graduation, he spent two years as a tutor to the daughters of Count Friedrich von Perponcher-Sedlnitzky (1821-1909), during which time he travelled to Dresden, Vienna, Venice, Munich, Nuremberg and Merano.

In 1877, he had acquired the funds to make a year-long study trip to the Netherlands, Belgium and France, where he came under the influence of impressionism.

Christine de Pizan | The first professional woman writer

Christine de Pizan or Pisan, born Cristina da Pizzano (1364 - c. 1430), was a poet and author at the court of King Charles VI of France and several French dukes.

Venetian by birth, Christine served as a court writer in medieval France after the death of her husband. Christine's patrons included dukes Louis I of Orleans, Philip the Bold of Burgundy, and his son John the Fearless.

Her best known works include The Book of the City of Ladies and The Treasure of the City of Ladies, both written when she worked for John the Fearless of Burgundy. Her books of advice to princesses, princes, and knights remained in print until the 16th century.

Christine de Pizan - Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département des manuscrits, Français

Vittorio Sgarbi: Roberto Ferri, un accademico appassionato

Vittorio Sgarbi: Roberto Ferri, un accademico appassionato

Roberto Ferri accende il mio orgoglio. Non ebbi dubbi sulla qualità della sua pittura, intesa anche come proprietà di esecuzione, quando, non molti anni fa, lo pose alla mia attenzione Fabio Isman, entusiasta per una grande mostra che aveva presentato.

Nessun dubbio che le opere chiamassero stupore e meraviglia secondo i precetti dell’estetica barocca. Ma Ferri era un contemporaneo e per di più giovanissimo. Colpiva in lui la borgesiana indifferenza per il tempo.

Come se si dicesse: se devo dipingere, devo dipingere bene, altrimenti meglio fare il pasticcere, o, anche, come molti raffinati (da Giulio Paolini a Damien Hirst), il vetrinista.

Ecco: una cosa possiamo dire di Ferri: non è un vetrinista.

Eppure è adatto alle vetrine, ama esibirsi ed essere esibito.

Nicholas St John Rosse, 1960

Cornish artist Nicholas St.John Rosse has a traditional artistic background, honing his skill over the years. Draftsmanship and realism are central to his painting.

He focuses on the human figure, often exploring how posture conveys meaning.

Nicholas St John Rosse was educated at University College School.

From an early age he became interested in painting, encouraged and enthused by watching the landscape painter Donald Towner at work in the open air and visiting his studio.

Claude Monet | The River, 1881 | Museum Barberini

Claude Monet depicted an evening on the river using a reduced formal vocabulary. The impulsive play of lines seems to be rapidly set down, as if the painter had wanted to complete the composition just before the sun disappeared.

Several branches glow in the red light of its last rays. Although the picture has the appearance of a sketch, the artist’s signature indicates that he considered it an independent, completed work.

According to Academic standards, a finished painting was characterized by a polished surface in which even subordinate elements should be developed in some detail.

Monet resisted this aesthetic of the fini by dissolving the traditional distinction between the preparatory sketch (esquisse or étude) and the painting intended for exhibition (tableau).

François Habert (French, 17th Century)

These sumptuous still lifes are the work of the rare artist François Habert, active in France between 1643 and 1652, one of the most important still life painters of 17th Century France.

François Batet | Pittore della Belle Époque

François Batet (1921-2015) pseudonimo di Francisco Batet Pellejero fu un pittore ed illustratore Spagnolo, noto soprattutto per il suo lavoro di illustratore della letteratura per l'infanzia e la gioventù nella casa editrice Hachette.

Il suo tema preferito fu la rappresentazione di figure femminili degli anni '20 in stile Art Déco

Francois Batet è nato a Barcellona, in Spagna. Ha studiato pittura alla Scuola di San Jordi (Beaux Arts) ed anche all'Accademia di Tarrega.

Quando viveva a Madrid studiò i grandi maestri come Goya e Valasquez. Si trasferì poi a Parigi e studiò vari famosi pittori impressionisti francesi.

Ha vissuto e lavorato in Francia dal 1950. Lo stile classico della Scuola di Parigi di Batet richiama lo spirito della Parigi degli anni '20 e '30.

"Zorba the Greek" composer Theodorakis dies at 96

Athens, Sept 2. -Reuters - Composer Mikis Theodorakis, whose music crossed international boundaries in his captivating score for the film "“Zorba the Greek", died on Thursday, plunging Greece into three days of mourning.

A towering man with a brooding presence and a shock of wavy hair, Theodorakis's work evoked a progressive, democratic vision of the world, though his political struggles reflected a darker side of Greece rarely seen by visitors.

As news of his death at home in Athens at the age of 96 swept across the country of 11 million, authorities declared three days of mourning and tributes poured in from across the political spectrum. "Today we lost a part of Greece's soul. Mikis Theodorakis, Mikis the teacher, the intellectual, the radical, our Mikis has gone," said Culture Minister Lina Mendoni.