Greetings SpainLifestylers,
One more newsletter before I jump into the fray!!
Firstly, I would like to clarify TALKS & LECTURES.
Talks are only 30-35 minutes long where I impart information by comparing two paintings or pieces of architecture. It is an easy introduction to the art of learning and will hopefully encourage others to be brave and jump into the full Lectures... which last 60-90 minutes.
Secondly, I wanted to share with you how much I enjoyed researching Diego Velázquez this summer to write this new textbook dedicated to his mythological paintings, which are a unique collection in the Prado Museum. I will use this book and its contents as a tribute to him when we travel to Madrid soon. We will not only see the paintings mentioned in the book, but also the Roman sculptures that he had recreated for his king Felipe IV. I am very much looking forward to this excursion, because I have never seen the replicas and I saw the real ones in Rome.
Did you know that Velázquez was an extremely cultured man? His bookcase, whose inventory still survives, contained one hundred and fifty-four titles, carefully selected from the most important disciplines such as ancient philosophy, astronomy, geography, cosmography, history, physiognomy, mathematics, geometry, perspective, anatomy, iconology, music, architecture, painting, sculpture and poetry.
In the coming weeks, before we set off for Madrid, I will explain more of the characteristics and information treasures of this wonderful master.
My first exchange will take place at my first ART TALK * The Multiverse of Velázquez - TUESDAY, SEPT. 20, 2022 @ 5PM
This TALK will compare two paintings by Diego Velázquez to discover the secrets behind his development and genius.
1 - One of his first paintings, Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (1618), from his early years as a student in Seville. T
2 - Las Meninas or The Family of Felipe IV (1656), considered the masterpiece and crowning achievement of his genius, painted at the end of his career.
Thirdly, I would like to share with you something interesting that I discovered about a long-lost painting by Sorolla. This painting will be in the Sorolla exhibition in Valencia along with other paintings that I have not yet seen. I have seen pretty much everything by him in my life, but this exhibition goes in depth and pulls out paintings from private homes!!!!
The painting is called Head of a Girl on a Bed by Joaquin Sorolla and is an old painting from 1883, depicting a girl on a bed torn between life and death.
The University of Lleida has recently authenticated this oil painting
Ximo Company, professor of art history at the University of Lleida and director of the Centre d'Art d'Epoca Moderna (CAEM), said of this little child on her way to death: "With sublime tenderness and realism, the very young Sorolla, who was only 20 years old, faces the difficult representation of an innocent and candid girl".
"Death experiences of this kind are not new in art history. They were practised as early as the 17th century, for example, but none achieves the realism and supreme expressive tenderness that we see in Sorolla's work," the expert asserts in this piece.
So this work and others that will be in this exhibition will be in my LECTURE * SOROLLA CHILDHOOD - TUESDAY, Sept. 27, 2022 @ 5PM
This lecture will include:
- why childhood was a continuous theme in Sorolla's works.
- the artistic and social trends that were in vogue at the time of Sorolla's greatest achievements
- the psychology and philosophy that influenced his personal beliefs
- the methods / techniques he used to paint his most dynamic compositions
And I have arranged the slides to fit the arrangement of the exhibition...
- family intimacy / painter's own children
- childish world of social status
- whole world of children's tasks, games, the entertainment of the children of the more affluent classes
- child labour / helplessness of the children of lower classes
- illness or infant mortality
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CLASSROOM REGISTRATION * CLICK HERE
WHERE: Darocas Studio - Benitachell - CLICK HERE
- Located inside: Benitachell Properties SL
- Street: Carrer Pare Plácido, 57, 03726 El Poble Nou de Benitatxell, Alicante
- Tel#: 648 15 60 66
FEE: 10 euros / pay cash on arrival
ZOOM REGISTRATION * CLICK HERE
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