Johann Matthias Ranftl | Genre painter

Johann Matthias Ranftl (Vienna, 1804-1854) was a Viennese Biedermeier painter.

The artist's grandfather came to Vienna from Regensburg, where the painter Franz Anton Maulbertsch was his best man in 1766.

The parents, Johann Baptist Ranftl and Barbara Ranftl, née Kautz, ran an inn on the Favoritner Linien.

Johann Matthias Ranftl himself was born in the suburb of Wieden No. 125.

Leopoldo Metlicovitz | Modern Poster artist

Leopoldo Metlicovitz (17 July 1868 - 19 October 1944) was an Italian painter, illustrator and poster designer.

Together with Leonetto Cappiello, Adolf Hohenstein, Giovanni Maria Mataloni and Marcello Dudovich, he is considered one of the fathers of modern Italian poster art.

Son of a merchant of Dalmatian origins (the family name was originally Metlicovich), he began working in the family business at a very young age and at fourteen years old he entered as an apprentice in a printing house in Udine, where he learned the technique of lithography.

Ronald Soeliman | Plein-air painter

Dutch artist Ronald Soeliman (1965-2020) used palette knives when he painted.

The oil paints are thickly applied to the canvas whereby the use of a palette knife gives extra textural feel to the surface.

Sometimes he uses palette knives to suggest small branches in the wet paint.

Often it seems as if he models the paint straight on the canvas itself.

Demelsa Haughton | The magic forest

Demelsa Haughton is a painter of whimsical and magical imagery.

From the bright setting of a tiny ladybird village (complete with corner shop) to the gloomy darkness of a forest filled with gnarly trees that were once children... her work creates a sense of wonder and gives a snapshot of imaginary worlds and characters, often with an injection of quirky, subtle humour.

With a lifelong love of traditional stories, and anything magical or supernatural, she is influenced by stories far removed from real life and endeavours to capture this in her paintings.

Rita Levi-Montalcini: "Meglio aggiungere vita ai giorni, che non giorni alla vita"..

• "Tutti dicono che il cervello sia l'organo più complesso del corpo umano, da medico potrei anche acconsentire.

Ma come donna vi assicuro che non vi è niente di più complesso del cuore, ancora oggi non si conoscono i suoi meccanismi. Nei ragionamenti del cervello c’è logica, nei ragionamenti del cuore ci sono le emozioni".

• "Nella vita non bisogna mai rassegnarsi, arrendersi alla mediocrità, bensì uscire da quella zona grigia in cui tutto è abitudine e rassegnazione passiva, bisogna coltivare il coraggio di ribellarsi".

Vittorio Matteo Corcos | Dreams / Sogni, 1896 | Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna Roma

Denise Findlay, 1973

Denise Findlay was born into a family of incredible artistic pedigree.

Her Great Great grandfather was Fra Newbery, founder and director of Glasgow School of Art.

Fra was influential to Charles Rennie Mackintosh in the commissioning of the G.S.A. building.

He was married to Jessie (Rowat) Newbery.

Jessie was credited as being the originator of the famous 'Glasgow Rose' motif through her beautiful embroidered collars, belts and dresses.

Karl Becker | Academic Classical painter

Karl Ludwig Friedrich Becker, also known as Carl Ludwig Friedrich Becker (1820-1900) was a German history painter and president of the Berlin Academy.

Becker was born and died in Berlin.

He was a pupil of August von Klöber, Peter von Cornelius and Heinrich Maria von Hess, and afterwards studied a year in Paris, two years in Rome, and visited Venice.

Silvio Porzionato, 1971

Silvio Porzionato was born in Moncalieri (Torino, Italy).

He is a figurative painter who prefers oil paint on large canvases.

He takes photographs of friends and people he meets on the street.

His figures are depicted in statuary close-ups, although ordinary people; have the power to make us forget the typical private dimension of the portrait and, at the same time, they have the power to become icons of the human race.