Nicholas Roerich – great Russian artist

Nicholas Roerich was a great Russian artist, historian, archaeologist and ethnographer, poet, writer, art critic, traveler and a prominent public figure. He fought for peace and for protection of cultural treasures. Roerich’s ideas have had a significant influence on the formation and development of the New Age in Russia.
Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich was born on October 9, 1874 in St. Petersburg. His father, Konstantin Roerich, was a reputed lawyer and notary.
He was taught drawing by Mikhail Mtkeshin, then studied at the Faculty of Law in St. Petersburg University and at the Academy of Art. Arkhip Kuinji became Roerich’s mentor.
In the autumn of 1901, Roerich married Helena Shaposhnikova. She became his wife, friend, travelling companion, and inspirer. They had two sons – Yuri and Svyatoslav.
From 1902 to 1910 Nicholas was the member of The World of Art and then became its president.
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Claude Monet – Great Impressionist. Self Portrait with a Beret, 1886

Claude Monet was a French painter known for painting in the style called impressionism. In Renaissance paintings were regarded as windows through which one viewed the natural world. But in the 19th century paintings became increasingly two-dimensional, they became events in themselves. The new style was initially understood in the spirit of illusionism.
His paintings remain popular today and they are on display in art museums around the world.
Oscar Claude Monet was born on November 14, 1840 in Paris. In 1845 his family moved to Le Havre. His father wanted him to become a grocer and continued the family business. At the age of 15 Monet was known all over Le Havre as a caricaturist. He sold his drawings for 15-20 francs.
A meeting with landscape painter, Eugene Boudin, in 1858 had a profound influence on the young artist. In the following year Monet visited Paris and decided to stay there. He worked at the free Academie Suisse.
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Amedeo Modigliani – Italian painter

Amedeo Modigliani was an Italian painter and sculptor. As painter, sculptor, and draftsman, Modigliani was among the few truly great masters of the School of Paris.
Amedeo Clemente Modigliani was born on July 12, 1884, in Leghorn. He was the youngest of four children. Giuseppe Emanuele Modigliani, known Italian politician anti-fascist, was his older brother.
In 1898, Modigliani began attending Guglielmo Micheli’s private art studio. 14-year-old Amedeo was the youngest student in the class.
He studied at the academies of Florence and Venice. Amedeo was greatly influenced by the art of the Renaissance.
In 1907 Modigliani arrived in Paris, where, in the Montmartre district, he lived a truly bohemian life. He undermined his health through alcoholism, drugs, and an uninhibited amorous way of living. He settled in Dr. Paul Alexander’s house. The young doctor was the first patron of Modigliani. Their friendship lasted seven years. Alexander bought drawings and paintings by Modigliani. There were 25 paintings and 450 drawings in his collection.
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Ansel Adams – bright photographer

Ansel Adams was an American conservationist and photographer famous for his black-and-white photographs of nature and the American landscape. He was among the first people to promote photography as an art form. Adams was very fond of nature.
Ansel Easton Adams was born on February 20, 1902 in San Francisco, California. His father was a successful businessman. In his childhood Adams wanted to become a pianist. Passion for music was quite serious, but later he became acquainted with the works of photographer Paul Strand and became interested in photography. Then Adams for a long time could not choose between his two passions. In 1916 he made his first amateurish photos at Yosemite National Park.
In 1919 he joined the Sierra Club and worked as a caretaker. From 1936 to 1970, Adams was president of the Sierra Club.
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Camille Claudel – muse of Auguste Rodin

Camille Claudel was the French sculptor, muse, pupil, and lover of Auguste Rodin. She is better known for her relationship with Rodin than for her works of art. In 1898, Claudel composed some of her best sculptures after her breakup with Rodin.
Camille Claudel was born on December 8, 1864 in Fere-en-Tardenois, France. She was the eldest of three children. She was the elder sister of the poet and diplomat Paul Claudel. Since her childhood Claudel was interested in modeling with clay.
By the age of 15 Claudel had completed busts of Napoleon and Bismarck, a group of figures depicting the tale of David and Goliath. The girl was sent to study at an art academy. Claudel entered the Colarossi Academy in Paris.
At the age of 19 Claudel met Rodin.
The following year, Claudel hired as assistant to help complete Rodin’s masterpiece, The Gates of Hell. Many art historians believe that Claudel sculpted the hands and feet of the Burghers of Calais.
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Isaac Levitan – master of landscapes. Self-portrait, 1880

Isaac Levitan was a Russian painter, master of landscapes, academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts (1898).
Isaac Levitan was born on October 15, 1860 (or August 30, 1860) in Suwalki province into a Jewish family. His father taught French and German and worked as an interpreter during the construction of the railway bridge, which was conducted by the French company. Levitan’s nephews, sons of his sister Teresa Berchanskaya, are artists Leo Birchansky and Raphael Birchansky.
In the early 1870s the Levitans moved to Moscow. In 1871, Isaac’s elder brother entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. In the autumn of 1873 13-year-old Isaac entered the school. His teachers were artists Perov, Savrasov and Polenov. In 1875, Isaac’s mother died and his father was seriously ill. On February 3, 1877 his father died of typhus. In March 1877 two Levitan’s works were exhibited and 16-year-old artist received a small silver medal and 220 rubles “to be able to continue his studies.”
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Samuel Morse – great inventor

Samuel Morse was American artist and inventor, designed and developed the first successful electromagnetic telegraph system.
Samuel Finley Breese Morse was born on April 27, 1791 in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He was the eldest son of Jedidiah Morse, a noted Congregational minister, and Elizabeth Ann Breese Morse. He studied at Phillips Academy, in Andover, and at Yale University. The boy was fond of art. His father opposed a career as an artist. Samuel took a job as a clerk in a Charlestown bookstore. During this time he continued to paint, and his work soon came to the attention of two most respected artists, Gilbert Stuart and Washington Allston. They spoke highly of his abilities. So, his father sent him to London to study art in 1811. In 1813, Morse won the gold medal for his painting Dying Hercules at the London Royal Academy of Fine Arts.
In 1815 Samuel returned home. In 1826 Morse helped found, and became the first president of the National Academy of Design. In 1835 he became a professor in art at the University of the City of New York.
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