Portrait of Elizabeth Johansson
James Aponovich
Oil on panel, 7" x 5", 2012
Often, during this project I have mentioned my wife, Beth. By way of introduction let me present this portrait of her. I met her by seeing her drawings and to this day she is a dedicated and wonderful artist. She also takes my rough drafts and photos and translates them into this elegant format. To her I have much to thank.
Fra Filippo Lippi
Portrait of a Man and Woman at a Casement
Tempera on wood, 25" x 16", c. 1440
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Recently, Beth and I were in New York to attend the Armory Show. As we were staying on the Upper East Side, The Met was only a short walk from the hotel. We were there to meet our friends Judith and Robert and to see three exhibits,
The Steins Collection ( the collections of Leo & Gertrude Stein), The furniture of Duncan Phyfe,
and a knock out show of The Portrait in Renaissance Italy.
Jan Van Eyck
Man with a Red Chaperon
oil on panel, 14" x 10", 1433
National Gallery, London
Both the Van Eyck and the Lippi paintings were executed about the same time, and both could not be more different. The sober, lofty, idealized formality of the Italians is contrasted with the hard psychological abstractness of the Flemish. I have always striven to align myself and my painting style with the warm Italians of the Fifteenth Century, but I just can't shake that cold Northern blast from the Flemish that is really my greatest influence. Maybe these New England winters are getting to me.
Next up, the final one.
Copyright 2012 James Aponovich
No comments:
Post a Comment