"A Tea for Alice" - Temporary Exhibition at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

Base on Lewis Carroll's "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland," the temporary exhibition "A Tea for Alice" (Um Chá para Alice) celebrates its main character through the notable artistic craftmanship and concept of 21 artists from 15 countries.

 Having the emblematic tea party with the Mad Hatter and the March Hare as the core them of the exhibition, "A Tea for Alice" features purpose-designed tables with different and distinct shapes and heights to form a type of mad lizard along whose back all the works are exhibited.

 Through ages, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" has inspired artists from all areas and has been translated into over a hundred different languages, making it one of the most universal and classical stories of all time. This temporary exhibition enables its visitors to perceive how thorugh their styles, schools and techniques all the whilst recognising the influence of cultures and discovering new interpretations, artists have conveyed their contemporary artistic view of the famous tea party.

 Close cooperation with Munich Library has also enabled the inclusion of a large number of old and modern editions of this work being made available for public consultation.
 Commissioned by Ju Godinho and Eduardo Filipe, and with the support of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, "A Tea for Alice" can be visited at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation's Temporary Exhibitions venue (floor 01) until February 10, 2013 (closed on Mondays).

 The artists featured are Alain Gauthier, Lucie Laroche, Nicole Claveloux and Rebecca Dautrement (France), Anthony Browne, Helen Oxenbury and John Vernon Lord (United Kingdom), Chiara Carrer and Lisa Nanni (Italy), Anne Herbauts (Belgium), Dusan Kallay (Slovakia), Iban Barrenetxea (Spain), Joanna Concejo (Poland), Klaus Ensikat (Germany), Lisbeth Zwerger (Austria), Maggie Taylor (USA), Narges Mohammadi (Iran), Nelson Cruz (Brazil), Suzy Lee (South Korea), Teresa Lima (Portugal) and Vladimir Clavijo (Russia).

 The exhibition entitled "A Tea with Alice," was recently held at The Story Museum, receiving some positive accolades from experts and public.

Drawings by Charles-Joseph Natoire at the Nîmes Fine Arts Museum

Son of the sculptor Florent Natoire, Charles-Joseph Natoire (Nîmes, 3 March 1700 -  Castel Gandolfo, 23 August 1777) is considered one of the most important representatives of the French painting of the 18th century and an excellent draughtsman.
 To mark the publication of Natoire's monographe by Susanna Caviglia-Brunel, the Nîmes Fine Arts Museum (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nîmes) presents from 08/06/2012 to 16/09/2012, an exceptional selection of 91 drawings from public and private collections, including the Louvre and the Atger Museum (Montpellier).

 Sanguines, charcoals and washes, have enabled Charles-Joseph Natoire to try the several uses of drawing during his creative process. From the ancient art, going through the study of old masters, drawing from life, as an exercise per se, or as a preparatory study for a more elaborated work of art, Natoire reveals in his drawings the taste for refinement  and a balanced blend of mediums, always in the search for beauty.

  Soon after entering the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1734, Natoire completed a considerable number of royal commissions (in Fontainebleau, Versailles, etc), establishing his reputation as a fine artist. From 1756, he reduced his painting production in favour of the drawings.
He was director of the French Academy in Rome from 1751 to 1775.

 Charles-Joseph Natoire is mostly recognized for the series of the History of Psyche for Germain Boffrand's oval salon de la Princesse in the Hôtel de Soubise, Paris, and for the tapestry cartoons for the series of the History of Don Quixote, woven at the Beauvais tapestry manufacture, most of which are at the Château de Compiègne.

The exhibition can be visited during the following schedule:
Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00

On second Thursday of the month from 10:00 to 21:00

 For more information, please contact:

 Phone: +0033 (0)4 66 67 38 21
 Fax: +0033 (0)4 66 21 29 97

ILUSTRARTE 2012 (Lisbon, Portugal)

From 13th January to 8th of April 2012, the works of 50 illustrators from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, and UK, can be seen at the Museum of Electricity (Museu da Electricidade) in Lisbon, Portugal.

The 5th edition of ILUSTRARTE 2012 shows 150 illustrations created by some of the most renowned illustrators of children literature, as well as those from emerging ones.

A juri composed by Isabelle Vandenabeele, Isidro Ferrer, João Paulo Cotrim, Martin Jarrie and Paolo Canton, decided to award the italian illustrator Valério Vidali with the Ilustrarte Grand Prix 2012.
Two special mentions were awarded to the works of Simone Rea(Italy) and Nina Wehrle and Evelyn Laube(Switzerland).

Included in the programme are a retrospective about the French illustrator Martin Jarrie and a display of books by the Portuguese writer António Torrado.

ILLUSTRARTE 2012 Will be inaugurated on the 12th of this month at 21h30 and can be visited between the 13th of January and 8th of April 2012, Tuesday to Sunday, from 10h00 to 18h00.
Admitance is free.

On the next spring, the exhibition will travel to Ghent(Belgium), thanks to a partnership between ILUSTRARTE and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Ghent, then other countries will follow.

1585 illustrators from 65 countries sent their artwork to ILUSTRARTE 2012.

A catalogue from the exhibition will be available.

Curatorship: Eduardo Filpe and Ju Godinho.
Advisory: Sara Morão.

"Leonardo. The genius, the myth" in Turin

An exceptional exhibition featuring near thirty original drawings on loan from leading Italian and international museums, and several writings on the famous Leonardo's Self-Portrait from the Royal Library of Turin, is taking place at the Scuderie Juvarriane della Reggia di Venaria (Venaria Reale) in Turin, Italy.
This is the third time that the master's self-portrait is shown to the public.

The introductory section of the exhibition presents a biography of the artist and references to Leonardo’s social context, his cultural background and training, as well as an overview on his various fields of activity.
A video curated by Piero Angela, entitled “What did the young Leonardo look like?”, illustrates Leonardo’s work with particular emphasis on the artist’s appearance.
At the end of the exhibition, a multimedia display designed and produced by Haltadefinizione, features a digital replica on a 1:1 scale of The Last Supper, on which an indepth analysis takes place concerning the physical appearance and expressions on this masterpice.
Leonardo's legacy is shown through a number of films representative of his Genius, curated by Arnaldo Colasanti.

Curated by Carlo Pedretti, Paola Salvi and Clara Vitulo, the drawings section presents the Codex on the Flight of Birds (Codice sul volo degli uccelli) and a complete set of near thirteen original works by Leonardo that are part of the collections of the Royal Library of Turin, including the famous Self-Portrait. Italian and international loans provide additional context and further integrate the subjects present in the Turin collection, with a special focus on the human face,
nature, human anatomy and machines.

Selected works by artists from the late 15th to the 19th century, curated by Pietro C. Marani, provide an overview of the figure of Leonardo in literature and figurative art, as the very appearance of the artist becomes an icon of the Renaissance genius.
Starting in the 1500s the image of the Master was associated with that of Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher who led the way into the investigation of nature.

With curatorship of Roberto Barilli, the figure of Leonardo in contemporary art, opens with the Vitruvian Man by Mario Ceroli and the famous tribute Mosa Lisa with moustache by Marcel Duchamp.
The Last Supper has served an inspiration for many artists, reprised by Andy Warhol as well as many other recent protagonists of the art scene like Spoerri, Nitsch, Recalcati and David La Chapelle.
Leonardo’s Notes from the Treatise on Painting describe stains on the walls as forms of arcane passages, a theme that was embraced by Informal Art and specifically Tachisme, including Tàpies, Rotella, Bendini and Novelli.

The exhibition is organised in the vast spaces of the 18th-century Great Stables by Filippo Juvarra of the Reggia di Venaria.
The display is designed by the Academy-Award winner Dante Ferretti, who presents Leonardo’s imposing machines as spectacular settings that contain original works.
Elaborate video projections on the walls celebrate the Self-Portrait.
A catalogue is available through Silvana Editoriale.

"Leonardo: The genius, the myth" (Leonardo. Il genio, il mito) can be visited from November 17, 2011 to January 29, 2012 at the Juvarra Stables of the Reggia di Venaria, Turin Italy. Tuesday - Friday (9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.), Saturday and Sunday (9.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m.). Closed on Mondays (except for any public holidays, in which the visiting hours are the same as Sunday).
The exhibition is closed on December 25.
On January 1st, opens at 11.00 a.m.

Given the exceptional nature of the exhibition and the extraordinary measures required for the conservation and the safety of the works on display, only 120 visitors are allowed inside the Stables every 30 minutes.

This major exhibition marks the end of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of
Italy’s Unification, a tribute to the brightest example of the Italian creative genius.

Rembrandt and his Circle. Master drawings from the Frits Lugt Collection

The Dutch cultural centre Institut Néerlandais, Paris, has put together nearly one hundred of the finest drawings by Rembrandt and his circle from the famous Frits Lugt Collection.

"Rembrandt and his circle" exhibition shows twenty drawings by Rembrandt and a selection of the best work from his pupils and contemporaries, including Ferdinand Bol, Govert Flinck, Lambert Doomer and Nicolaes Maes.

The drawings are shown in frames which range from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century from the Netherlands but, France, Italy, Spain and Germany, which have been recently restored especially for this occasion. Oak, walnut, poplar, ebony, pear, tortoise-shell and gold leaves are among the used framing materials.

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606 -1669) produced a considerable number of drawings with a great variety of subjects and techniques.
He would lodge his apprentices in his studio, where he taught numerous students.
These students had usually began their studies under the instruction of other artists before they came to Rembrandt, namely Carel Fabritius, Ferdinand Bol, Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, Samuel van Hoogstraten and Willem Drost.



Managed by the Fondation Custodia, a partner of the Institut Néerlandais in Paris, the private collection of Frederik (Frits) Johannes Lugt (1884-1970) is regarded as one of the twentieth century’s greatest private collections of Rembrandt drawings and etchings, together with a coherent collection of works by artists in Rembrandt’s circle, including pupils and followers.

Lugt's collection includes finished works as well as sketches in black chalk and sanguine, some of them connected to paintings, many of them produced as exercises or for personal pleasure, and others likely to have been used as models for Rembrandt’s pupils. Pen and ink, washes, brown ink, sanguine, black chalk and gouache were some of the mediums used by Rembrandt.



Peter Schatborn, former head of the Rijksprentenkabinet, the national print room
at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and expert on 17th century drawings, in particular by Rembrandt, spent these last ten years studying the Frits Lugt’s collection of drawings by Rembrandt and his circle.
This exaustive research led to new attributions; thus twenty-five of
the drawings changed authors, some of whom had not yet been represented in the collection.

Schatborn's annotations have been recently published in the catalogue raisonné of the Frits Lugt Collection and this exhibition acknowledges his work by presenting and explaining them to the public in an exhibition room focused on this thorough research.
A free of charge lecture by Peter Schatborn will take place Tuesday 13 September 2011 at 7 pm (reservation is required).

The "Rembrandt and his Circle" exhibition (Rembrandt et son Cercle) can be visited until the 2nd of October 2011 at the Institute Néerlandais, 121 rue de Lille, Paris.

"Gabinete de Anatomia" Exhibition at Fundação Arpad Szenes - Vieira da Silva

Included in the commemorations of the centennials of the University of Lisbon and its Medical School, the Arpad Szenes-Vieira da Silva Foundation and the Medicine Museum of the Medical School from the University of Lisbon have put together a compilation of anatomical drawings by Vieira da Silva and Arpad Szenes, and from the collection of the Medicine Museum, including anatomical drawings recently catalogued during the investigation project «image in science and art» from the Philosophy Center of Sciences from the University of Lisbon.

Created by Professor Henrique de Vilhena, teacher of artistic anatomy at the Escola de Belas Artes de Lisboa (Fine Arts School of Lisbon) and founder of the Instituto de Anatomia da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa (Anatomy Institute of the Medical School from the University of Lisbon), the collection of drawings from the Medicine Museum is comprised of scholastic drawings completed by its students between the years of 1905 and 1938.

Although the live model lessons took place at the Fine Arts School, it was in the Anatomy Institute of the Medial School, due to its proper facilities, that the study of the dissected body would take place.

Between the students under the instruction of Professor Henrique de Vilhena, one can find names such as Guilherme de Santa-Rita, Calvet de Magalhães, Dórdio Gomes, Frederico Ayres, Carlos Bonvalot, Helena de Bourbon e Menezes, Jorge Valadas, Norberto Correia, Estrela Faria, José Tagarro, almost all of them represented in this exhibition.

Passionate about anatomy, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva was by her personal option Henrique de Vilhena's pupil at the School of Medicine, quite probably during the years of 1926-27 according to dates found on her drawings.

The exhibition is divided in 4 sections: 1. Anatomy of Desire - anatomical drawings by
Arpad Szenes; 2. Fractioned Body - anatomical drawings by Vieira da Silva; 3. Head and Whole Body - anatomical drawings from the Medicine Museum; 4. Trunk and Limbs - anatomical drawings from the Medicine Museum.

Besides the drawings from the two referred collections, "Gabinete de Anatomia" also shows two sets of feminin and male nude drawings from the authorship of Arpad Szenes, one with distinct scholastic characteristcs, probably completed at the Academy of Budapest where he was a student of József Rippl-Rónai (Rippl-Rónai József in its native form) during the 1910s; the other one was completed between 1928 and 1932, possibly in Paris and after already knowing Vieira da Silva.

The exhibition also includes a series of preparatory drawings by Arpad Szenes for one of his most celebrated works: «Le Couple»

Curated by Manuel Valente Alves, with the support of the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian and of the University of Lisbon, "Gabinete de Anatomia" can be visited at Fundação Arpad Szenes - Vieira da Silva (10h00-18h00 Mon-Fri) between May 6 and July 3, 2011.
Closed on Tuesdays and holidays.

12000 Years Old Carved Faces in Lene Hara Cave

While on a search for fossils of extinct giant rats, inside the Lene Hara cave, located on the northeast tip of East Timor, a group of archaeologists and palaeontologists discovered engraved prehistoric human faces on the wall of the limestone cave.

According to their description, the petroglyphs are frontal stylised faces, each with eyes, a nose and a mouth.

Uranium isotope dating revealed that one of the faces, framed by a circular headdress with rays, is around 10,000 to 12,000 years old, placing it in the late Pleistocene. The other face carvings could not be dated but are likely to be equally ancient.

These petroglyphs found in the Lene Hara cave are the only known carvings of faces on the island of Timor that have been dated to the Pleistocene.

Archaeologists and rock art specialists have been visiting the cave since the early 1960s to study its rock paintings, which include hand stencils, animals, human figures, boats and linear decorative motifs. The age of the pigment art in Lene Hara is currently unknown but a fragment of limestone with traces of embedded red ochre was dated previously by Professor Sue O’Connor of The Australian National University to over 30,000 years ago.

Photo by John Brush

Drawing Lessons for Beginners

One of the most well known forums for artists is Wetcanvas.
In this forum, beginners and more advanced artists have access to a great source of information about several mediums.
Thanks to the generosity of its members, basic drawing classes are easily accessed, permiting beginning artists to develop their skills through easy to follow lessons.
The artist Ann Buckner has made PDF versions available on her website.

A Pastel on Pastelmat from Clairefontaine

This is a work that I am doing on Pastelmat from Clairefontaine.Its dimensions are 18 cm x 24 cm and the medium issoft pastels, including some pencils.Pastelmat is a sanded smooth paper, permiting good detail,vivid colours and a reasonable number of layers; not many though.On this paper, one has to carefuly plan ahead since layers influencethe upper ones (unless using a pastel with good covering power).This can be good or bad, depending on ones intentions.Blending with fingers is practically unobtainable on first layers. I advise not to start with the really soft ones, unless that is the colour to keep or that you won't add much more on top of it. Concluding I would say that this paper deserves a try.















Second stage and practically finished.
Now it's time to give it a rest and we'll see what
I may add in the future.















And after reading some opinions, I've finished it.
Now it's time to add it to my website.