From the artist: "This is a creative imagining of the muse/female love interest of Dante Alighieri (author of The Divine Comedy) and inspiration for his book of romantic prose and poetry La Vita Nuova, as well as my own take on Dante Gabriel Rosetti's pre-Raphaelite painting of the same name and theme." Louis Braquet is a top-selling artist in New Orleans, and as his paintings sell out quickly at the Royal Street gallery that represents him we are thrilled to have been chosen to show his work here, giving our customers a shot at them as they are produced. Braquet is a native New Orleanian who attended the prestigious New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) in his youth, where he began his rigorous training by replicating paintings by masters such as DaVinci, Caravaggio, Bosch, and Delacroix. This traditional discipline, ignored by most of today’s artists, is obvious in his old-world craftsmanship. He works with a range of mediums including acrylic, oil, ink, charcoal, and graphite. Braquet is an avid reader of history, esoterica and mythology spanning the classical, art nouveau and jazz age periods, and themes, subjects and characters from his reading often feature in his work. However, he also frequently paints contemporary figures, and is available by commission as well for portraits (consider having a loved one portrayed in fictional setting and costume!).