Born and raised in South Africa, Emmanuelle Capatos (b. 2000) originally moved to the UK to study Theatre and French at The University of Bristol. However, in 2020 she changed careers to pursue art, and a year later, started training at The Glasgow Academy of Fine Art. Run by Florence-trained artists, Sarah Margaret Gibson and Lee Craigmile, her time at the school had a profound impact on her artistic direction. There, learning the classical techniques of the Old Masters became a lifelong endeavour.

In January of 2023, she began teaching at the Academy as an assistant instructor, and a year later, progressed to become the Principle Instructor of Anatomy. She believes that the human form is one of the most complex and beautiful systems ever designed, and that knowing the anatomy when drawing the figure is as essential as knowing vocabulary when writing poetry.

Emmanuelle graduated from the Academy in June 2024. Her focus for the next years of exploration is to further develop a fluency in her craft - to learn a language of realism that captures the truth of a subject materially, and through it, give form to an emotional or spiritual realism that lies subtly underneath. She hopes to spend her life revealing through art, the light and beauty that sits so abundantly around us.