Retrato de Modesto Castillo by Pablo Picasso sells for £2.2 million

 Picasso's oil on linen entitled "Retrato de Modesto Castillo," sold at Christie's London for £2,169,250 ($3,399,215 / €2,691,453) during the Impressionist/Modern Day Sale on June 21, widely surpassing the highest auction house expectations (£100,000 - £150,000).

 The work was painted by Pablo Picasso in 1895 at the age of 13, during the last months of his time living with his family at the 2nd floor of 14 de Payo Gómez, located in Corunna (Coruña, Galicia, North-West Spain),  where his father, José Ruiz Blasco, had acquired a position teaching art.
Picasso's daughter Maya Widmaier-Picasso has confirmed the authenticity of the painting.

 At this stage of his life, Picasso already presented a remarkable draughtsmanship and indubitable talent, clearly shown on this portrait of Modesto Castilla y Casal wearing a Mourish disguise.
Modesto was the natural son - out of matrimony - of Dr. Ramón Pérez Costales.
Born in Oviedo and former Fostering and Fine Arts Minister, Dr. Ramón would become Picasso's first patron.

 Renowned biographer of Pablo Picasso, John Richardson, considers this age a relevant period in the artist's life, when his skills improved soon after his sister's death.
Palau i Fabre, an expert in Picasso when he lived in Corunna (1891-1895), estimates the existance of 15 to 20 works that he considers the first adult ones, completed during this period.

 The work in question follows an interesting path until nowadays: Having deceased with no legitimate inheritors, Dr. Ramón Costalez left his legacy to the maid-servant.
According to art critic Pablo Todela, the painting was bought by the Corunna born painter José María de Labra in late 1940's early 1950's, later selling it to a German museum.
The portrait of Modesto Castilla shows up later as part of the collection of M. Bruh, who acquired the painting through an anonymous bid at Sotheby's, London, 1 July 1964, lot 176, and thence by descent to the owner who decided to sell it at auction through Christie's London.

Consulted source: Article by Ana Rodríguez (La Opinión newspaper, Coruña)

World Press Photo 2012 Lisbon, Portugal

From 27th April through 20th May 2012, the Electricity Museum in Lisbon, in partneship with Visão magazine, hosts the World Press Photo 2012 exhibition tour.

This year's edition gathers over 160 awarded photographs selected from over 101254 images submited by 5247 photographers from 124 countries.

Samuel Aranda was the winner of the World Press Photo of the Year 2011, with a photo taken on 15 October 2011 while he was working in Yemen on assignment for the New York Times.
The photo depicts a woman holding her 18 year old son Zayed in her arms, victim of tear gas during the clashes in Sanaa, inside a mosque used as a field hospital by demonstrators against the 33 year-old regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The photo became a reference image of the Arab Spring (الثورات العربية‎)

The World Press Photo 2012 in Lisbon, Portugal, can be visited Tuesday to Sunday (10.00 - 18.00).
Entrance is free.

Woburn Abbey unveils "Portrait of an Old Man" as Rembrandt masterpiece

An oil painting entitled Portrait of an Old Man or The Old Rabbi, dated 1643 and usually hung in a private room of the Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire, home of the 15th Duke and Duchess of Bedford, has been authenticated as a Rembrandt masterpiece.

Regarded as a world authority on Rembrandt, Professor Ernst van de Wetering invited to Woburn Abbey last year to study the portrait. He concluded that the quality and style of work corroborate it could only have been painted by the Dutch old master Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Rijn.

This painting goes far beyond a study of old age, for as Professor van de Wetering has highlighted: “This painting is one of Rembrandt’s most impressive evocations of dignity in old age. The way the light makes the figure emerge from the dusky space and illuminates the wrinkled skin of the face, and the hands resting on a stick, makes it an outstanding specimen of Rembrandt’s art.”

It is believed that the portrait owned the Dukes of Bedford and a painting in the Gemaldegalerie, Berlin (thought to be a portrait of Rembrandt’s wife, Saskia) were intended as a pair. Both were painted in 1643 on a mahogany panel taken from the same sugar case. This along with the arrangements and drawing similarities, as well as its biblical style: the prominent hands each displaying a ring on the little finger, the black hat with fine decoration and the decorative chains, led to the suggestion from Professor van de Wetering that the pair are depicting the Old Testament biblical story of Boaz and Ruth.

The first written reference to "Portrait of an Old Man" in the Abbey records dates from 1791, indicating it was cleaned that year. Along with two other portraits, it was initially accepted as a Rembrandt, however later studies of the three portraits resulted in uncertainty. Nonetheless the curatorial staff believed that the portrait had virtues that made it stand out as something special.

Woburn Abbey General Manager Jonathan Irby said: “This is a discovery and a fine addition to the Abbey’s wonderful collection of Dutch art.
We are very excited about bringing this exquisite painting into the public eye, especially since visitors will be able to get within a few inches of it. The opportunity to discover a ‘new’ Rembrandt will provide an even more memorable day for our visitors in 2012.”

"Portrait of an Old Man" or "The Old Rabbi," will be on public display from 30th March in the gold and silver vaults of the Woburn Abbey. An unparalleled opportunity to view this ‘new’ Rembrandt up close.

BP Portrait Award 2012

The call for entries to the BP Portrait Award 2012 closes on the 13th of this month.

Open to everyone 18 years of age or over on 1 January 2012, this prestigious annual competition sponsored by BP, seeks to encourage artists to develop their skills and creativity in portraiture.

The First Prize winner will receive a cash award of £25,000, plus, at the judges’ discretion, a commission worth £4,000, to be agreed between the National Portrait Gallery and the artist.

A Second Prize of £8,000, a Third Prize of £6,000, a BP Travel Award 2010 worth £5,000 and the BP Young Artist Award in the value of £5,000, will be attributed.

All entrants aged between 18 and 30 as of January 2012, will automatically be considered for both the BP Young Artist Award and the BP Portrait Award, but an individual cannot win both.

Entrants can register online or by regular post, however since the deadline is February 13, entering online is the best option.
The entry fee for this competition is £34

Read the rules carefuly before submiting the entry form, namely which media and supports can be used and sizes.

Now in its thirty-third year, the BP Portrait Award 2012 exhibition will run at the National Portrait Gallery, London, from 21 June to 23 September 2012.

Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2013

The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery is accepting entries for its third “Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition”, open to all artists, 18 years of age and older (as of January 1, 2011), who are legal residents of the United States or its territories with an address in the United States at the time of the competition.

Entries will be accepted in all visual arts media, including, but not restricted to: painting, drawing and watercolor, sculpture, weaving, ceramics, photography, prints, video, film, and other digital or time-based media. Works must have been completed after January 1, 2010 and not previously submitted for this competition.

The work entered should be understood as a portrait in the broadest sense, either a traditional, representational work or a more experimental portrait (for example, an entry might not include a face). However it must be based on the artist’s direct contact with any living individual (s). Self-portraits will be accepted.

Each artist may participate with only one entry, which must be submited online until November 30, 2011 (midnight MT(Mountain Time). There's a $35 fee, payable by credit card. All fees are nonrefundable.

The grand prize is $25,000. The winner will also have an opportunity for a commission to create a portrait of a remarkable living American for the National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection. The artist and the National Portrait Gallery will work together to select the subject of the portrait and the fee for the commission.

The second prize will be $7,500. The third prize will be $5,000. The judges may commend up to four additional works with prizes of $1,000 each. The People’s Choice Award winner will receive $500.

Winners of cash prizes are responsible for all taxes due on such awards.

The Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2013 is currently scheduled to be on view at the National Portrait Gallery from March 22, 2013 until January 26, 2014, and may travel at the conclusion of the exhibition.

Before submiting their entries, participants should carefully read the rules and pay attention to the calendar.

First-prize winners in a previous Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, are not elligible for participation.

In Berlin: Renaissance Faces - Masterpieces of Italian Portraiture

Renaissance Art Exhibit Kicks-Off in Berlin... por NTDTV

The Gemäldegalerie—National Museums in Berlin and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, have partnered to organize a major exhibition on the genesis of the Italian portrait of the Renaissance.

The exhibition shows more than 150 works, including drawings, paintings, sculptures and medals loaned by major art museums, galleries and private collections, such as the Louvre, the National Gallery in London, the Uffizi Gallery, Museum der bildenden Künste in Leipzig, Victoria and Albert Museum, Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, and National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin.

Set against the backdrop of Italy’s geographical, political and cultural complexities in the 15th century, the exhibition is divided into three thematic sections: Florence, where the independent portraiture debuted on a significant scale; the courts of Ferrara, Mantua, Bologna, Milan, Urbino, Naples and finally papal Rome; and finally Venice, where only late in the century a portrait tradition established itself.
Through the observation of profile portraits from 15th-century Italy, visitors will observe a society dominated by family descent and social hierarchies, where conventions were binding.

Among the celebrated painters from the Renaissance who are represented in this major exhibition, are the names of Antonello da Messina, Bellini, Botticelli, Donatello, Francesco Laurana, Giambono, Lombardi, Mantegna and Masaccio.
But for many, the major highlight is Leonardo da Vinci with his painting ‘Lady with an Ermine’ from the Czartoryski Collection, Cracow.


Leonardo da Vinci - Lady with an Ermine por ikonotv

An extensive programme of events is on offer to accompany the major exhibition,
including a series of five lectures, held from September to November
2011, on the various sitters and the world famous artists who painted them.

The exhibition "Renaissance Faces - Masterpieces of Italian Portraiture" (Gesichter der Renaissance - Meisterwerke Italienischer Portrait-Kunst) can be visited at the Bode Museum in Berlin, from 25 August 2011 to 20 November 2011 (Fri – Wed 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Thur 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.).
After which it will be exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York,
from 19 December 2011 to 18 March 2012.

A catalogue (ISBN 978-3-7774-3581-7) with 432 pages, 261 plates in colour and black-and-white, 20.3 × 25.4 cm, hardback, is available at the museum for the special price of €29.90.

Available for download for free at www.smb.museum/gesichter or at the Apple Store/www.apple.com/itunes, is an online application containing around 100 commentaries, over 250 artworks in high resolution images, as well as some 50 videos.

BP Portrait Award 2011 Exhibition

Regarded as one of the most prestigious portrait painting competitions in the world, the BP Portrait Award gathers some of the best contemporary portrait and figure painters.

The prize winners for the BP Portrait Award 2011 were announced at the Awards Ceremony on 14 June 2011, with the First Prize being awarded to self-taught artist Wim Heldens for "Distracted."
"Holly" by Louis Smith with help from Carmel Said, won the Second Prize; "Just To Feel Normal" by Ian Cumberland won the Third Prize; Sertan Saltan was awarded the Young Artist Prize with his work "Mrs Cerna"; and the Travel Award 2011 was attributed to Jo Fraser for her painting "Flora MacGregor."

Fifty-five works (including the prize winners) selected from a record 2,372 international entries can be seen seen at the National Portrait Gallery, London until the 18th of September 2011.

Visitors to the BP Portrait Award 2011 Exhibition can vote for their favourite portrait until the 4th of September 2011.
The three most popular portraits of the Visitor's Choice will be displayed on the website from September 12th 2011.

The National Portrait Gallery in collaboration with Cass Art, will offer a Mabef wooden box containing a comprehensive range of oil paints and brushes, all worth over £300, to one of the voters.
Check here to see how you can enter this competition.

The National Portrait Gallery presents Hoppé Portraits: Society, Studio & Street

Since February the National Portrait Gallery (London, UK) is showing a retrospective of one of the most important photographers of the first half of the twentieth century: Emil Otto Hoppé.

Featuring 150 works, some of them previously unseen, the exhibition includes Hoppé’s strikingly modernist portraits of society figures and important personalities from the worlds of literature, politics and the arts, such as George Bernard Shaw, Margot Fonteyn, Albert Einstein, Vita Sackville-West and members of the royal family.

This is also the first exhibition to combine Hoppé’s extraordinary photographs of the famous with those he made outside the studio, in the street.

E.O. Hoppé (14 April 1878 – 9 December 1972) was born in Munich and resident in Britain from 1902, where he began photographing professionally in 1907.

The Hoppé Portraits: Society, Studio & Street exhibition can be visited until 30 May 2011.

You can enter a free competition where you can win one night’s accommodation and breakfast for two people, a copy of the Hoppé Portraits catalogue (RRP £30) and a pair of tickets for our forthcoming photographic exhibition Glamour of the Gods: Hollywood Portraits (7 July - 23 October 2011).

Image above: Tilly Losch by E.O. Hoppé, 1928
(c) 2011 Curatorial Assistance, Inc./E.O. Hoppé Estate Collection

13th International Portrait Competition, 2011

Organized by the Portrait Society of America, the 13th Annual International Portrait Competition is open to all artists, members and non-members.
Continuing the tradition of its previous editions, the competition aims to showcase the finest in international portraiture and figurative art, today.

More than $50,000 in prizes will be distributed, as well as awards for each of the 15 top artworks, including cash and other prizes.
Selected artists will be given recognition in the International Artist Magazine, the Art of the
Portrait® Journal and on the Portrait Society's website.
The winner of the William Draper Grand Prize will be featured in an article in International Artist Magazine and receive cash prize of $5,000 sponsored by Jack Richeson & Co.
The top 15 finalists will receive complementary tuition to The Art of the Portrait® Conference 2012.

Entrants can submit up to three digital entries on one CD, each accompanied by a 4" x 6" print labeled in the same format.
Artists must present independtly created works completed after March 2008, showing an original design and concept, and never having received an award in a previous national competition.
All entries must be postmarked on or before March 1, 2011.

There's a non-refundable fee of $45 to enter the 13th International Portrait Competition, which
must accompany your submission.
Finalists are required to register for the conference and be in attendance with their original work to win a top prize. Tuition is $395 for members/$455 for non-members.
Artists will be responsible for all shipping charges and insurance, both on site and during transit.

Finalists will be notified on March 23, 2011 and the exhibition will run from April 28 through May 1, 2011.
The Art of the Portrait® conference Gala Banquet will take place on April 30, 2011 at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta, Buckhead, Georgia.

The Art of Zac Freeman

Zac Freeman is a fine artist who works with several media.
He owns a B.F.A. from the Jacksonville University with cum laude and departmental honors and his art has been exhibited, among other places, at the Museum of Contemporary Art (Jacksonville), Chester Gallery (Chester, CT) and Miami Museum of Science and Space.
His work is part of the Art collection of The Regency Group ( Florida).
The quality of Zac Freeman's Art has granted him a well deserved recognition and has been featured on several publications.
Although as mentioned before he uses several media, I believe that the "Disposable" portraits collection made with junk, trash and disposable goods may be considered his ex libris.