January 8 is the birthday of Italian painter ELISABETTA SIRANI (1638-1665).

Sirani "was an Italian Baroque painter and printmaker who died in unexplained circumstances at the age of 27. She was one of the first women artists in early modern Bologna, who established an academy for other women artists." (Wikipedia)

To see examples of Sirani’s paintings, CLICK HERE.

January 8 is the birthday of Dutch-British painter LAWRENCE ALMA-TADEMA (1836-1912).

Alma-Tadema was "A classical-subject painter, he became famous for his depictions of the luxury and decadence of the Roman Empire, with languorous figures set in fabulous marbled interiors or against a backdrop of dazzling blue Mediterranean Sea and sky." (Wikipedia)

To see examples of Alma-Tadema’s work, CLICK HERE.

January 8 is the birthday of ussian avant-garde painter, art theorist, and poet PAVEL FILONOV (1883-1941).

"During 1913–1915, he (Filonov) associated closely with futurists such as Vladimir Mayakovsky, Velimir Khlebnikov, and other futurists. He collaborated with Kazimir Malevich to illustrate Khlebnikov's Selected Poems with Postscript, 1907–1914. In the autumn of 1916, he enlisted to serve in World War I and was stationed on the Romanian front. Filonov later took an active role in the Russian Revolution of 1917, serving as Chairman of the Revolutionary War Committee in the Dunay region.

In 1919, he participated in the 'First Free Exhibit of Artists of All Trends' at the Hermitage. By 1923, he had become a professor at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts and a member of the Institute for Artistic Culture (INKhUK). There, he founded the Masters of Analytical Realism, a significant art school with over seventy members, including the American sculptor and painter Helen Hooker. The group's work had a lasting influence on movements such as suprematism and expressionism.

A major retrospective of Filonov's work was planned at the Russian Museum in 1929, but the Soviet government prohibited it. From 1932 onward, Filonov endured severe poverty, refusing to sell his works to private collectors. He wished to donate his entire collection to the Russian Museum to establish a Museum of Analytical Realism. Tragically, he died of starvation on December 3, 1941, during the Siege of Leningrad." (Wikipedia)

To see samples of Filonov’s art, CLICK HERE.

January 8 is the birthday of Polish ballet dancer and choreographer BRONISLAVA NIJINSKA (1891-1972).

Nijinska, like her brother, the famed dancer and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky, was a member of the Ballets Russes, for which she helped Vaslav choreograph L’Après-midi d’un faune and The Rite of Spring. Nijinska also choreographed many classic ballets on her own, including Igor Stravinsky's "Les Noces" and Manuel de Falla's THE THREE-CORNERED HAT.

January 8 is the birthday of Russian ballerina GALINA ULANOVA (1910-1998).

"She is the genius of Russian ballet, its elusive soul, its inspired poetry. Ulanova imparts to her interpretation of classical roles a depth of expression unheard of in twentieth century ballet." - Sergei Prokofiev

"She was an angel and she danced like one." - Maya Plisetskaya

"Only she, the world's Number One ballerina, kept unswervingly to her chosen course, always unassuming, modestly dressed, entirely absorbed in dance and totally unreceptive to backstage intrigue. Her inner strength, her human qualities – these explain why she has remained pure, untouched by the day-to-day hassle of theatre life." - Rudolf Nureyev

Happy Birthday, BORIS VALLEJO!! The Peruvian-American painter is 84 years old today.

Vallejo "works in the science fiction, fantasy, and erotica genres. His hyper-representational paintings have appeared on the covers of numerous science fiction, sword and sorcery, and fantasy fiction novels and movie posters. They are also sold through a series of annual calendars.” (Wikipedia)