Beautiful Nightmares

Zdzislaw Beksinski was a Polish modern painter who's self-described "Gothic Baroque" style set flight to the imaginations and inner horrors of several generations. His painting style was of his own construction; he cited only music as his inspiration. As you can clearly see, his paintings are deeply intense and imaginative -- bordering on the grim and insanely dark at times. Interestingly enough, he was a peaceful, happy, humorous man outside of his art.

Much of his work tends to reflect the horrors of war or detail some fantastical realm where he bends the rules of reality and time. However, some of his figurative works (such as the one above) blend both dark and lighthearted elements in order to create conflicting emotions in the viewer.

He is, without a doubt, one of my favorite painters of all time. His mastery of the paintbrush and the incredible imagination he exhibited were unparalleled by any others. Unfortunately he was tragically murdered in 2005 by someone he refused to loan money to, cutting short the life of both a prolific and extraordinary artist.