Atelier Lavinia Fontana
Alla National Gallery of Ireland la mostra “Lavinia Fontana: pioniera e trasgressiva” celebra l’opera dell’artista bolognese che, precorrendo i tempi e trasgredendo le norme vigenti, fece dell’arte la propria professione e del genere del ritratto una raffinata forma di comunicazione.
(re)Acting Rembrandt
The whole face has a life. Showing the whites of the eyes and opening the mouth in disbelief, Rembrandt’s face is acting. Or better re-acting. It’s as if I gave him a start coming from behind the corner, and he had exclaimed ‘Goodness! You gave me quite a turn, creeping up like that!’
Thomas Gainsborough, like the poet with the two mistresses
Before entering the exhibition rooms, I heard art historian Lindsay Stainton saying to BBC News: “Good God. That’s a study for Cornard Wood, and all of these are early Gainsborough drawings.” And “Good God indeed. That’s what you call a Aha! Eureka moment” was what I said to myself when I left.
A portrait true to (Spanish court) life
Until fairly recently, Portrait of Prince Alessandro Farnese was not one of the paintings I would have made a beeline for when calling in the National Gallery of Ireland. And yet it was the one I went looking for when the gallery finally re-opened its doors to visitors.