On 13 Jul, 2010 With
Personal life Within Leonardo’s lifetime, his extraordinary powers of invention, his “outstanding physical beauty”, “infinite grace”, “great strength and generosity”, “regal spirit and tremendous breadth of mind” as described by Vasari, as well as all other aspects of his life, attracted the curiosity of others. One such aspect is his respect for life evidenced by his vegetarianism and his habit, described by Vasari, of purchasing caged birds and releasing them. Leonardo had many friends who are now renowned either in their fields or for their historical significance. They included the mathematician Luca Pacioli, with whom he collaborated on a book in the 1490s, as well as Franchinus Gaffurius and Isabella d’Este.[citation needed] Leonardo appears to have had no close relationships with women except for…
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On 3 Jul, 2010 With
Miss Heyneman recalls: “When he was dissatisfied he never hesitated to destroy what he had done. He spent three weeks, for instance, painting Lady D’ Abernon in a white dress. One morning, after a few minutes of what was to be the final setting, he suddenly set to work to scrape out what he had painted. The present portrait in a black dress (above), was done in three sittings.”
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On 30 Jun, 2010 With
10 intriguing facts and trivia about the great artist, Leonardo da Vinci. By Marion Boddy-Evans, About.com I had great fun working my way through the book Da Vinci for Dummies (Buy Direct) and thought I’d share some of the intriguing things I’d learned about him. The kind of things that come up in trivia quizzes or to drop into conservations at a dinner table. Leonardo da Vinci Fact No 1: Not a Prolific Painter Leonardo left fewer than 30 paintings, and these aren’t even all finished. But before you think you can do the same and still go down in art history, remember he also left hundreds of drawings, sketches, and pages of notes. His reputation isn’t just based on his paintings. Leonardo…
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On 30 Jun, 2010 With
The drawing may be original or may be a print of a Sargent “Mug” which is then inscribed by Ethel Barrymore which she may have given out to close friends. Another drawing — original I assume — has turned up at Adelson Galleries — see below. There is obviously a difference between the two. It appears that Sargent did more than one drawing — this one above being the main one. However my feeling is that Ethel wouldn’t have signed an original — I mean she might have been vain but that’s pretty extreme, and I’m finding other instances where the sitter had prints made of Sargent’s “Mug” drawing which they then gave out to close intimates. That may be…
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On 30 Jun, 2010 With
Some museums have lined up to authenticate “amazing” find of lifetime plaster casts, but the leading experts refuse to comment By Martin Bailey A secret battle is being waged over a previously unknown group of plasters of all Degas’ known sculptures that—if proved to be genuine—would represent one of this century’s greatest art discoveries. The cache was unveiled by dealer and sculpture specialist Walter Maibaum, who runs the New York-based Modernism Fine Arts, in Athens on 27 November. But so far, the discovery has received little critical analysis, despite widespread press coverage heralding the find. Behind the scenes, the experts are divided: some believe the plasters to be previously unknown lifetime casts, bringing us closer to Degas’ original sculptures. Others…
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On 23 Jun, 2010 With
The US artist reveals what he hopes to communicate to the public through his work By Adrian Dannatt Touring Jeff Koons’s gigantic Chelsea studio in anticipation of his big summer solo show at the Serpentine in London (until 13 September) is rich in discombobulation. This is partly because the place is just so large: endless cavernous rooms, one after the other, teeming with workers and assistants, more than 120 of them, all hard at work in intense silence producing paintings and sculptures, maquettes and studies, a high-tech laboratory somewhere between a James Bond set and a Warholian super-studio. But it is also because Koons himself, always unfailingly polite, gracious and soft-spoken, is a genius not so much at self-promotion as…
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On 18 Jun, 2010 With
His first major painting, an “academic” work is First Communion, featuring a portrait of his father, mother, and younger sister kneeling before an altar. Picasso was 15 when he finished it.
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On 18 Jun, 2010 With
The photographer known for his glossy, glamourised images reveals why he fell out of love with fashion and is now focusing on his art By William Oliver Over a 20-year career, David LaChapelle has carved a name for himself as an enfant terrible of pop culture photography. The cutting, acerbic wit and layered symbolism in his celebrity portraiture, fashion and advertising images is seen as a bolt of honesty—albeit a glamourised and high-gloss one—in an industry known for its false vision of reality. During the last few years, LaChapelle has moved away from commercial work to focus on fine art. While retaining his unique visual style, this new direction highlights his interest and understanding of both contemporary practice and art…
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On 17 Jun, 2010 With
Personal life of Lucian Freud. Freud is rumoured to have up to 40 illegitimate children, although this number is generally accepted as an exaggeration. After an affair with Lorna Garman, he went on to marry her niece Kitty (daughter of sculptor Jacob Epstein and socialite Kathleen Garman) in 1948. After four years and the birth of two daughters, Annie and Annabel, their marriage ended. He had begun an affair with Lady Caroline Blackwood, a society girl and writer. They married in 1953. The marriage was dissolved in Mexico in 1958. Freud has children also by Bernardine Coverley (fashion designer Bella Freud and writer Esther Freud); Suzy Boyt (5 children: Ali, Rose Boyt, Isobel, and Susie Boyt); and Katherine Margaret McAdam…
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On 13 Jun, 2010 With
Okay, it’s not exactly his car, but I couldn’t resist. Last year, 44-year-old mechanic Andy Saunders of Dorset, England, spent six months converting his old Citroen 2CV into a cubist work inspired by Pablo Picasso!
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