Valushka with Cat Painting

Lukas den Svarte was born in Pietrasanta in September 1987. Always fond of writing, since the youngest age he started writing down novels, short stories and so on. He applied at the department of Literature of the University of Pisa, earning his Bachelor Degree in 2011. While focusing on literary activities, he studied graphical arts, dedicating himself to drawing and occasionally to sculpture, his father's job. In those years he adopted his pseudonym, following several trips in Northern Europe. ​ By pure chance, in 2014 it was offered to him the opportunity to work as a portraitist during organized events. From then, he has struggled to improve himself in the field, trying different styles and techniques until he reached, just recently, oil painting. After some portrait exercises, he also started undertaking anatomy studies and painting based on myths, tales and history, still focusing on the expressive power of gaze, gesture and posture. A self-taught student since birth, his purpose remains the mediation between objective representation of reality and the suggestive and evocative charm of a romantic and expressionist painting.