Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525-1569) was a great Flemish painter of the XVI century. He is supposed to have been born in Broghel, near Breda (Netherlands). He was an apprentice of Pieter Coecke, and married his daughter. He had 2 sons with her, that also were painters: Jan Bruegel and Pieter Bruegel. For distinguishing between the father and the son, the father has been called Pieter Bruegel the Elder, and the son Pieter Bruegel the Younger. Bruegel is often compared with Hieronymus Bosch. In both painters, fantastic elements exist, and a reference to death. The artworks of both painters are full of small secrets, and scenes full by people. These are not paintings that can be just given a glance. They are that kind of artworks that can delight us, while discovering new details on and on. Pursuing his developing as an artist, Bruegel traveled to Italy, to study the Renaissance way of painting. Bruegel also depicted the reality of his times. From scenes of happiness, of everyday life, to scenes of suffering. But despite of what he painted, there's something that stands out in his works, and is his enormous strength. And over all that, his use of color. Doesn't matter what he tried to reflect in his paintings, the passion and strength of color in his artworks is indisputable. Bruegel gives as much importance to landscapes as to the human figure, caring about the details. Bruegel is a painter that reflects the movement, with independence of the subject of his artworks. There's life in his paintings, and very much action. Some of his works are depictions of popular sayings. Even though little about his life is known, we know the main thing of Bruegel, that is his art, full of strength, life, movement and an unparalleled use of color.

Antonio Gaudi was born in Reus (Spain) in 1852. He was a very sickly child, and suffered from rheumatism. His personalty was very shy and reserved. From the beginning he had always been a remarkable drawer. This allowed him to make the illustrations of a school magazine called Arlequin. Gaudi's father had to sell some land properties to be able to pay the studies of Antonio and his brother. Gaudi was not a good student. His interests were beyond the academic studies. He was imaginative, revolutionary. Elies Rogent, the director of the Architecture College, said once: "I don't know if we've given the degree to a genius or to a lunatic. Time will give the answer". His politic ideas were those of the Utopian Socialism. He worked as a draftsman for important architects. This was a positive step to get contacts for later works. After some works, Gaudy traveled to Paris. There, in an exposition, he met Eusebi Güell, a wealthy industrialist that became a friend and patron for Gaudi. In 1833 he accepted to lead the project "Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia" ("Expiatory Temple of the Sacred Family"). But Gaudi changed the project completely, and devoted to it all his time until he died. Gaudi was a man who felt a great passion for his work, so much that he even lived inside the buildings while they were in construction. He was mainly a creative genius. The imaginative shapes forged in iron in the balconies, the buildings or the furniture... all that was born from the mind of the genius. Gaudi was a visionary and a vanguard artist. He loved all the kinds of architecture: Classical, Arabian, Egyptian, Indian, Persian, Chinese, Japanese, Gothic, Baroque... He took elements from all that and merged them in his works, mixing, without following any rules or established conventions. He let his imagination fly, and that made his artworks so special and unique. His works were free and his fantasy knew no limits. His inspiration had its source in Nature. Gaudi said that in Nature there were logical shapes, strength and beauty. There were many who criticized him for his freedom of thought and his vanguard art. All that was perceived as a menace and an offense. Gaudi was more than a modernist architect and a creator of trends. He was a great artist, and his art obsessed him completely. In 1926, in a June 7th, he went for a walk like all days, and was run over by a streetcar. He was carrying no documents to identify him. His clothes were old, and had not very good appearance, so they thought he was a beggar, and took him to a Hospital for poor people. A priest recognized him. Three days after, he died. Between his most remarkable works there are: Casa Vicens (1883–1885), Palau Güell (1885–1889), College of the Teresianas (1888–1890), Crypt of the Church of Colònia Güell (1898–1916), Casa Calvet (1899–1904), Casa Batlló (1905–1907), Casa Milà (La Pedrera) (1905–1907), Park Güell (1900–1914), and Sagrada Familia (1884–1926), although this last one is still in construction. Antonio Gaudi, one of the most brilliant architects that have ever been.

Odilon Redon (1840-1916) was born in Bordeaux (France). Actually, his name is Bertrand-Jean Redon. Odilon is a nickname derived from the name of his mother who was Odile. His father was an adventurer that had made a fortune. When Odilon was a child, he had many health problems so they send him to live in the house of his uncle, in the country. Redon was always a dreamer and introverted being. Since he was very young, he felt a great interest for art, which allowed him to express his inner life. The dream of his father was that Redon become an architect, but that never happened. Although sculpture was one of his first passions, he felt very early on a closeness to painting. One of the artist that did a greater influence over him was the watercolor painter Stanislas Gorin, that was his master. Redon admired Delacroix, Millet, Corot, and the symbolist Gustave Moreau. They all influenced his art. One of the best friends of Odilon was the biologist Armand Clavaud, who transmitted him the interest for writers like Flaubert, Baudelaire, and Poe. Clavaud was fascinated by the microscopic beings and the frontiers between the animal and vegetable world. This was reflected in the artworks of Redon, where he sometimes paints hybrid characters, and strange creatures that emerged from his imagination and the long conversations with his friend. Redon was a free, inspirational painter. The inflexibility of Paris' School of Fine Arts was a hell for him. Another big influence for Redon was the drawer and etcher Rodolphe Bresdin. Bresdin was an imaginative artist that captivated Redon. The paintings of Redon had several stages: from the lithographies and the drawings with pen and carbons to the colorful watercolors. The darker stage of Roden was in a bad moment of his life, when his sister died and as well as his first son (before reaching one year old). The birth of his second son was an optimistic and colorful stage. After that, came the flower paintings, and the symbolists, the mythological, and religious stages. His artworks were always in perpetual change. His art is deeply inspired, and his paintings are surrounded by an halo of transcendence and depth. It doesn't matters whatever stage he was in, or whatever he painted, the common point in all his artwork was his deep melancholy.

Thomas Kinkade was born a 19th January of 1958 in Placerville (California). His parents divorced when he was 5 years old. He always felt a strong interest for art. There was not too much money in his home, and he worked as a paperboy. When he was 16 years old, he started to work as a painter apprentice of the artist Glen Wessels. His mother was his biggest support in his love for painting. After ending his College studies, he worked in the cinema making images for animation movies. In 1982 he marries with his childhood sweetheart, Nanette, with whom he will have 4 daughters: Merrit, Chandler, Winsor and Everett. Two years after their marriage, he and his wife started to publish their paintings together. His artwork is full of nostalgia. Thomas Kinkade is also known as "The Painter of Light". His work has a big influence of an American group of painters from the XIX century called "Luminists". In his paintings there's an abundance of Christian symbology. Thomas Kinkade is a man with a deep spirituality. In his spare time, he does numerous charity works. He also has a big sense of humor. Each painting is a tribute to his wife and daughters, so he hides their names or initials in his paintings. Each year, he gains more and more followers, attracted by his landscapes full of charm and peace. Thomas Kinkade is a family man, a generous spirit. He makes of serenity and tranquility the secret of his success.

Claude Oscar Monet was born in Paris (France) in the year 1840. Since he was very young he was deeply interested in art. When he was 15 years old, he did an amateur exposition in a store in "El Havre" with some drafts. Eugene Boudin was pleasantly amazed with those drafts, and offered himself to be his teacher. Monet agreed with pleasure. Even with the opposition of his father, that hated the idea of his son being an artist, he kept on following his dreams. He had to serve for two years in a military regiment in Algeria. After this, he went to Paris to study painting. There, he met Renoir, Sisley, Bazille... painters like him that became his friends. These artists, with Monet, became great symbols of the impressionist art. These group of impressionist painters had to fight against those others that preferred a more traditional art. They used to gather in the cafe Guerbois, where they shared ideas, experiences... In the past, the painters did the drafts outdoors, and finished their artworks in their studios. In the times of Monet, there was an evolution in painting materials: oils, temperas... These materials were not as easily damaged outdoors as before. So this supposed a revolution, and encouraged the artist to paint outdoors. This was called "plein-air". During the war, Monet was living in Holland and England. Later on, he went back to Paris. It took years for the public to start appreciating Monet's paintings, just like happened with his impressionist friends. But the perseverance and faith that Monet put in his art had its reward, and his paintings were present in relevant museums of all Europe. When he was old, he ordered to build a Japanese garden around his house, with a big pond plenty of water lilies. Monet was becoming blind because of suffering cataracts, but this was not an obstacle for making a series of paintings full of aquatic flowers and plants. When he was operated, he not only was able to see again, but also he could see ultraviolet light, as in the operation was removed a part of the eyes that block these rays. This made him see everything with a blue shade, that explains the colors of his last artistic period. Claude Monet died when he was 86 years old. When he died, the French government recognized him as one of the biggest landscape painters in Europe. His works are surrounded with a dream-like halo of peace and harmony. Without a doubt, Claude Monet was the painter of the dreams.

Starry Night Vincent van Gogh made this painting in 1889, 13 months before his death. He didn't paint it in front of the landscape, as it was his habit. He did it through his memories. And he did it from the Saint-Remy asylum (Provence). Van Gogh painted this artwork with passion, with vigorous, even desperate brushstrokes. The moon and stars are surrounded by light glows. In the distance, the village, as submerged in a dream. This picture has some Japanese influence, as he felt a great admiration for that art. He emphasized the mauve, yellow and purple colors. His euphoria can be sensed. He is the highest point of his happiness. Soon, he will fall in his deepest abyss. Since his desperation takes him, months later, to shoot himself in the chest. His agony will last for 2 days. It's said that in his deathbed he didn't stop smoking. Without a doubt, he wanted to leave. His time was gone. He was 37 years old. Cafe Terrace at Night Van Gogh depicts an elegant cafe-terrace in the on the "Place du Forum" in the very center of Arles (France). Van Gogh was amazed by the night lights, both the artificial as well as the ones generated by the moon and the stars. In this artwork, there's no symbolism nor thematic depth, just the everyday life. This is an optimistic moment of his life. He just paints a cafe in a city he likes, and feels satisfied. He wrote to his sister Wilhelmina van Gogh this after painting this work: "On the terrace there are small figures of people drinking. An immense yellow lantern illuminates the terrace, the facade, the side walk and even casts light on the paving stones of the road which take a pinkish violet tone. The gables of the houses, like a fading road below a blue sky studded with stars, are dark blue or violet with a green tree. Here you have a night painting without black, with nothing but beautiful blue and violet and green and in this surrounding the illuminated area colours itself sulfur pale yellow and citron green. It amuses me enormously to paint the night right on the spot." Starry Night Over The Rhone Van Gogh writes to his brother Theo and tells him that he has a big need of going out by night and paint the stars. He tells him about this painting, and writes him: "The public will like this painting very much, because the main topic is poetic." He depicts the night reflected in the waters of the Rhone, and the figure of two lovers. They are in the foreground. But instead of choosing two young lovers, he chooses a couple of old people. This way he symbolizes the eternal love, deep and calm: two lovers taking shelter on each other in the cold night.

Auguste Rodin is the author of The Kiss, probably the most famous kiss in the world. In an origin, this artwork was a small sculpture, part of a bronze portal made by Rodin called "The Gates of Hell". So we can tell that the most famous kiss was given at the gates of Hell. The statue is based in the character of Francesca da Rimini, who appears in the book "Dante's Inferno". Francesca was in love with the brother of her husband, Paolo. When they were reading a book about Lancelot and Ginebra, Francesca's husband discovered the lovers and killed them. So, in the statue, Paolo has a book in his hand. When they saw it, the French Government liked so much The Kiss that asked Rodin for a big size version in marble. The statue was so popular and people liked it so much, that Auguste Rodin was asked to make as much small statues of bronze as he could make. Private collectors even asked for big size versions of the Kiss for themselves. "The Thinker" was another statue that was in "The Gates of Hell", and also very much liked by the big public. So it was made a version in bigger size. These gates (The Gates of Hell) were going to be for an art museum in Paris. But the project was canceled and these gates remained in Rodin's studio until the death of the artist. The Gates of Hell were modified by Rodin during all his life. Someone said that this artwork was used by Rodin to make reflections about the human essence. The Kiss is a really enchanting sculpture. It's an statue that is difficult to stop watching to. Thanks to its beauty and to the favour of the public, we can tell that lovers finally were freed and stayed kissing far away from Hell, and for all eternity.

Francesco Giocondo ordered Leonardo Da Vinci to paint his wife, Lisa Gherardini (the picture is called Gioconda because she was the wife of Giocondo, Giocondo/Gioconda). Francesco Giocondo was a merchant friend of Leonardo's father. Others said that was the father of Leonardo, Sir Piero Da Vinci, who ordered the portrait to Leonardo. This way, Francesco Giocondo, who was a wealthy man, could become a good patron for Leonardo. Leonardo spent much of his time doing strange gadgets and needed to finance them. Leonardo painted Lisa Guerardini when she was 24 years old. He liked so much the result of the picture, that never gave it (always found an excuse to not giving it). In all his travels he took the picture in his suitcase and never separated from it. Her strange smile... Lisa was from a rich family. It's not strange that rich people had bad eating habits, because vegetables and fruit were for poor people. So many wealthy people had nutrition problems, and it's not strange that they haven't all their teeth. Some say she was probably pregnant when Leonardo painted her. Her hands are swollen, and is wearing no rings. You can also note that she has no eyebrows. To remove the eyebrows was a trend in her times. They said that Francesco Giocondo was deeply in love with Lisa. Someone said that Lisa was sweet and guileless. If you order a portrait of you wife and the painter never gives it to you, and takes it always with him... What could Francesco feel? What had Lisa to make men go so crazy? The picture is enigmatic, everybody is captivated by its atmosphere. She is always staring at you. No matter where you stand, she keeps staring directly at you. How influenced Lisa Gherardini to Leonardo? Here you are a video with other women painted by Da Vinci.... All them are a little Gioconda. Because love has a face and many names.

When I saw this video I was surprised of its beauty and atmosphere. There are so many women, so different, and so expressive, in so many works of art... Full of tenderness and serenity. They tell so many things through their eyes... They tell about their times, their lives, their illusions and wishes. They are as beautiful as mysterious. They were seen through the artistic eye of a painter. They will always be there in a room or in a landscape forever watching us. We only can appreciate their generosity and admire them. For the artist who made that video : Thank You.

I would like that my blog's readers have something of me, and the best of me is my art. These fractals express the most inner feelings of human soul. I hope you'll like them. (Just click the images to show at full size, then right click and save the image to your hard drive. You can also download them all and use as screensaver) The Uncertainty The Strange Flower The Flame The Carriage The Spell The Next Sunday The Flight Of The Bird Dune Dreaming Next days these paintings will be avaliable as framed prints in Emma Alvarez Shop.