On 22 Dec, 2010 With
A self-portrait formerly considered a Rembrandt knockoff has been deemed a genuine early work of the Dutch master—and valued at $40 million. Rembrandt Laughing, executed on a small copper plate, was examined by Holland’s leading Rembrandt experts. A British art collector purchased the work late last year for $4.5 million from an auction house that had appraised it at $3,100. “It has an incredible presence,” said a Rembrandt authority. “The light has the most natural quality you can think of—and I love the naturalness of the laughing.”
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On 20 Dec, 2010 With
The Daily Tele swallows a fake Picasso Would you fork out your redundancy money to buy a Picasso off the internet? Happens all the time. The Daily Telegraph’s Elizabeth Fortescue reported last week that a young Sydney woman took her online Picasso to an “antiques roadshow” in Dee Why the other day. She asked the expert if she’d done the right thing. The news was stunning. Fine art valuer Sue-ann Smiles immediately identified it as a Picasso. “I knew straight away. Quite frankly, (the painting) should be in the National Gallery of Australia. This is a cultural heritage piece,” she said. The woman told Ms Smiles she had bought the painting, sight unseen, from a private owner in Europe and that she only…
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On 20 Dec, 2010 With
John Myatt, (born 1945), is a British artist and convicted forger who, with John Drewe, perpetrated what has been described as “the biggest art fraud of the 20th century”. Early life The son of a farmer, Myatt attended art school, and discovered a talent for mimicking other artists’ styles, but at first only painted for amusement and for friends. He worked as a songwriter for a time, and wrote the single “Silly Games”, a UK Top 40 hit for Janet Kay in 1979. He later worked as a teacher in Staffordshire. Painting When his wife left him in 1985, Myatt gave up teaching to spend more time with his children, and attempted to make a living by painting original works in the style of well known artists….
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On 19 Dec, 2010 With
Eva Gouel and Picasso (1912-1915) Fernande left Picasso in 1912, months after Picasso took an interest in Marcelle Humbert, known as EvaGouel (1885-1915). Picasso was devastated by her early death due to tuberculosis or cancer in 1915. Picasso professed his love to Eva by painting “I Love Eva” in some of his paintings. Still, during Eva’s sickness Picasso managed a relationship with Gaby Lespinasse. (Picasso’s father died in May, 1913 at the time that Eva moved in with him.)
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On 17 Dec, 2010 With
A graphic is an original work of art made in two steps. First, the artist creates a prepared surface with the art design or image; and secondly, that image is inked and transferred directly to paper using the force of a press to push the sheet of art paper firmly against the inked surface that contains the prepared image. An original graphic is sometimes referred to as a print, not to be confused with an inexpensively produced reproduction (which is a copy of a work of art that was originally created in another medium). The forms of prints (or original graphics) that are most common are intaglios such as etchings, engravings, linoleum and wood block prints, and the planographic medium…
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On 15 Dec, 2010 With
Fernande Olivier and Picasso (1904-1912) Artist model Fernande Olivier (1881-1966) was Picasso’s first long term relation and subject of many of Picasso’s Rose Period paintings (1905-07). Picasso met her after settling in Paris in 1904. Although Fernande was married, she stayed with Picasso for 7 years. Fernande modeled for other artists between 1900 and 1905 after which she moved in with “the Spanish artist”, Picasso, who then prevented her from modeling for others. Fernande’s having published selections from the memoirs of her life with Picasso infuriated the artist but eventually, at age 70, Picasso paid the ailing and bedridden Fernande a small pension. The full memoir was not published until 1988, “Loving Picasso”. In early 2004 the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. had an exhibition of…
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On 14 Dec, 2010 With
Olga Khokhlova and Picasso (1917-1927) In 1917 ballerina Olga Khokhlova (1891-1955) met Picasso while the artist was designing the ballet “Parade” in Rome, to be performed by the Ballet Russe. They married in the Russian Orthodox church in Paris in 1918 and lived a life of conflict. She was of high society and enjoyed formal events while Picasso was more bohemian in his interests and pursuits. Their son Paulo (Paul) was born in 1921 (and died in 1975), influencing Picasso’s imagery to turn to mother and child themes. Paul’s three children are Pablito (1949-1973), Marina (born in 1951), and Bernard (1959). Some of the Picassos in this Saper Galleries exhibition are from Marina and Bernard’s personal Picasso collection.
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On 12 Dec, 2010 With
Fuseli was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1788, and early in 1790 became an Academician—honors won by talent without the slightest coöperation of intrigue. His election was nevertheless unpleasant to Reynolds, who desired to introduce Bonomi the architect. Fuseli, to soothe the President, waited on him beforehand, and said, “I wish to be elected an academician. I have been disappointed hitherto by the deceit of pretended friends—shall I offend you if I offer myself next election?” “Oh, no,” said Sir Joshua with a kindly air, “no offence to me; but you cannot be elected this time—we must have an architect in.” “Well, well,” said Fuseli, who could not conceive how an architect could be a greater acquisition…
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On 5 Dec, 2010 With
This work was afterwards destroyed by fire, but the composition has been preserved by the burin of Fontana. His next performance was his celebrated picture of St. Pietro Martire, in the church of SS. Giovanni e Paolo, at Venice, which is generally regarded as his master-piece in historical paint[Pg 3]ing. This picture was carried to Paris by the French, and subsequently restored by the Allies. Notwithstanding the importance of these and other commissions, and the great reputation he had acquired, it is said, though with little probability of truth, that he received such a small remuneration for his works, that he was in actual indigence in 1530, when the praises bestowed upon him in the writings of his friend Pietro…
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On 3 Dec, 2010 With
Rousseau and Picasso. Whilst the public often ridiculed Rousseau’s work and organisers of the official Salon exhibitions rejected his submissions, he was admired by a younger generation of avant-garde artists, many of whom also lived and worked in Montparnasse at various points in their careers. This group of artists included Picasso, who bought several of Rousseau’s paintings and held a legendary banquet, ‘Le Banquet Rousseau’, in his honour. Many of these younger artists were fascinated by so-called ‘primitive’ art, discovering a powerful form of expression in African tribal masks and other non-Western artefacts. For them, Rousseau was a homegrown curiosity, a ‘modern primitive’ whose paintings captured something of the vitality they admired in these other art forms. Picasso purchased Rousseau’s…
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