Frank Holl R.A. | Victorian painter

Francis Montague Holl RA (London 4 July 1845 - 31 July 1888 London) was an British painter, specializing in somewhat sentimental paintings with a moment from a narrative situation, often drawing on the trends of social realism and the problem picture in Victorian painting.

He was also, especially in his later years when the demand for social realism slackened, a portrait painter, mostly of official-type portraits of distinguished and therefore elderly men, including members of the royal family.

He died in his early 40s, which some contemporaries attributed to overwork, as he had been very busy in the last twenty years of his life.

Vincenzo Volpe | Verismo painter

Vincenzo Volpe (December 14, 1855 – February 9, 1929) was an Italian painter.

From 1874 to 1890, he painted mostly genre scenes.

From 1891 to 1896, he concentrated on religious art, then returned to genre works and portraits.

Vincenzo Volpe was born in Grottaminarda, Campania.

His family moved to Naples when he was eight, and in 1871 he enrolled at the Accademia di Belle Arti there and studied with Domenico Morelli.

Maggie Siner, 1951 | Semi-realist Still life / Figure painter

A quiet voice in contemporary art, Siner’s paintings are prized for their enduring qualities: a perfect sense of the fleeting moment, exquisite clarity of light, bold gestural brushwork, delicately balanced structure, fine craftsmanship, the captured moment of absolute recognition and beautiful whimsical takes on the everyday world.

Her subjects range from the intimate (a handful of cherries), to the monumental (earth and sky), to intimate portraits and unpredictable combinations of objects.

Maxmilian Ciccone, 1972 | Figurative painter

Italian painter Maxmilian Ciccone was born in the beautiful mountainous region of Calabria, near Catanzaro.

As a child, was evident his artistic inclination which later led him to study art at the Liceo Artistico of Catanzaro.

Without ay further education, his art career has continued to grow steadily.

His intense passion for art lead him to study painters of the past, such as: Caravaggio, Shishkin and Kramskoi.

Virginia Woolf | Resta viva / Stay alive

Qualunque cosa succeda, resta viva.

Non morire prima di essere morta davvero.

Non perdere te stessa, non perdere la speranza, non perdere la direzione.

Resta viva, con tutta te stessa, con ogni cellula del tuo corpo, con ogni fibra della tua pelle.

Resta viva, impara, studia, pensa, costruisci, inventa, crea, parla, scrivi, sogna, progetta.

Erik Werenskiold | Mrs. Heimbeck Study for The Dinner Party, 1929

René Rousseau-Decelle | Le pesage de Longchamp, 1910

René Rousseau-Decelle studied with the master of French Academic painting, William Bouguereau, in the waning years of the older artist’s life.

It is clear that the young Rousseau-Decelle quickly moved away from the tightly-painted images of French peasant girls and threw himself headlong into the world of the haute bourgeoisie of fin-de-siècle Paris.

Like his master, Rousseau-Decelle found a very commercially successful niche and adhered to that formula throughout his career.

René Rousseau-Decelle | Le pesage de Longchamp, 1910 (detail)

Peter Ilsted | Copenhagen Interior School

Peter Ilsted (14 February 1861 - 16 April 1933) was a leading Danish artist and printmaker. He was most associated with domestic interior scenes.

Biography

Peter Vilhelm Ilsted was born at Sakskøbing in Guldborgsund, Denmark. He was the son of merchant Jens Peter Ilsted and Johanne Sophie Lund.

He was the brother-in-law of painter Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916). He married Ingeborg Lovisa Petersen (1869-1945) in 1891.

He came to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1878, completing his course of study in five years.

He made his debut at the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition in 1883.

Hans Ole Brasen | Genre painter

Hans Ole Brasen (16 January 1849 - 24 February 1930) was a Danish painter. He won the Eckersberg Medal (an annual award of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts) in 1894.

Brasen was born in Hillerød to a merchant father. His mother had painted some flower paintings as a young girl which inspired him to take up painting.

In 1863, he began an apprenticeship with master painter Ernst Schmiegelow, who supported his artistic talent and helped him get into the Art Academy.