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Da Vinci's famous masterpiece, copied alongside the original!
Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa — probably the most famous painting in the world , right? It's also one of the most copied paintings in the world, with dozens if not hundreds of replicas created over the centuries. Everyone recognizes it , many love it: "iconic" is certainly a good descriptor of its impact.
Prado Museum earliest copy of da Vinci's famous piece , most likely painted right alongside the master in his own studio . The Art Newspaper reported the findings, and the news took the art world by storm.
For years, the Prado had in its collection what appeared to be a pretty standard Mona Lisa copy — in fact, some thought it was a pretty poor copy, as the background was a swath of black paint, instead of the dream-like landscape seen in the original. It turns out this black background had been added later, possibly during the 18th century, for reasons unknown, as discovered when the copy was scanned and underdrawings shockingly similar to those of the original were uncovered.
The Prado and the Louvre Mona Lisa resides behind layers of glass and security) have determined, based on various factors including panel composition, age, and the fact that the underdrawing of the copy changed and developed in a similar fashion to that of the original, that this copy was most likely painted concurrently with the original : side by side with Leonardo, probably by one of his more respected apprentices.
Now that the layers of black paint have been painstakingly removed from the copy, we can see the ethereal landscape background — and since the copy has been restored and cleaned, we have a much clearer view of the Mona Lisa herself. As da Vinci's original is priceless and irreplaceable , chances are it will never be cleaned; meaning its layers of cracked and darkened varnish will forever cloud our view. Since the copy is no longer so occluded, we can see Mona Lisa perhaps more as she was : a lovely lady much younger than the original makes her appear. Other details, such as the spindles on her chair, the delicate, semi-transparent veil around her shoulders — and yes, even her eyebrows — are far more visible in this copy and can tell art historians much about the original that was thought lost to time.
Next month, the Prado copy will travel to the Louvre for an upcoming da Vinci show, and the two paintings will be reunited after 500 years apart.
Mona Lisa , here at Jerry's Artarama we're pretty tickled about this new discovery. We ourselves, with help from you, just completed our own copy of the Mona Lisa , as featured on our 2012 catalog cover painted by you , our customers and contest entrants, and compiled by PictureMosaics.com into the mosaic masterpiece replica that is our thanks to you for your continued support. Who would have known that the timing would be so appropriate?)
So what are your thoughts on this newest discovery in the art world? Is the Prado Mona Lisa copy a star or a sham? Which version do you prefer, and why? Let us know in the comments below !
Raleigh's weekend-long arts festival was a huge hit!
For those of you in the Triangle area, you probably already know that this past weekend, September 15th – 18th, was one of Raleigh's biggest art community events: SPARKcon !
While the whole weekend is a spectacular event, we at Jerry's aren't bashful to admit our favorite activities were at artSPARK and graffitiSPARK! Maybe it's our affinity for art supplies and fine art, maybe it's our fun street art side, maybe it's just in our bones, but these two cons in particular were not to be missed!
artSPARK featured tons of talented artists in gallery shows, P.O.D. installations and live painting events, and invited everyone to participate with events like the Big Draw (creating small artworks on the spot), the Camera Phone Projection (a chance for camera phone photographers to see their snaps on the big screen), the New Sense Young Artist Arena (arts and crafts for teens and pre-teens) and more! And of course, everyone’s favorite — the chalk art painting competition ! Despite the threat of rain, Fayetteville Street was full of devoted drawers painting their squares full of brilliant and beautiful chalk art !
graffitiSPARK was no less exciting, with graffiti Style Wars scheduled between local street artists Knathan Weston and Alec Swiniarski versus Sean Kernick and Sabastian Misersteinbachensal, and a Live Painting event where local award-winning graffiti artists teamed up to tag and paint two trucks with some amazing art .
One of our favorite artists, Dan Nelson
All in all, it was an amazing weekend, full of fantastic art from a fantastic community ! It will definitely be hard to wait a year for the next SPARKcon.
Did you go to SPARKcon, or participate in any of the events? Tell us how you liked it in the comments below!
Budding young artist takes the art world by storm!
Pint-Size Picasso ," four year old prodigy painter Aelita Andre began her forays into the world of art at the amazing age of 9 months old, had her first exhibition when she was 2, has produced over 200 paintings and now has a solo exhibition at Agora Gallery in New York City. Earning as much as $25,000 per painting sold, young Aelita seems poised to be the next star of the art world !
Aelita’s parents, Nikka Kalishnikova and Michael Andre, are both artists themselves, and are happy to support and encourage their child’s talents. Art critics the world over have touted her style as abstract expressionism, accidentalism, or surrealism. Aelita uses acrylic paints on canvas with abandon, and accents her pieces with found objects such as twigs, toys, and even paintbrushes themselves, creating three-dimensional effects and interesting textures.
Aelita’s current exhibition at the Agora Gallery is open until this Saturday, June 25th, if you are in the area and would like to see her art for yourself.
What do you think about young Aelita’s artistic masterpieces? Does she show a true understanding and control over her paintings? Do you believe that any child , given the proper resources and encouragement, could create works just as impressive?
Art, in any form, has been proven to be a powerful imaginative stimulant, and can help children learn to express themselves as well as providing beneficial, therapeutic effects. If you’re interested in encouraging your own child’s creativity, Jerry’s offers a wide selection of kids’ art supplies happier , more open , and more expressive once they have experienced the freedom of art !
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Raleigh, NC (May 18, 2011)//For nine months in 2009 Raleigh documentary film director Robert King and his wife, Lisa created a film that followed the unique art-collaboration between three local artists: Georges Le Chevallier, Sean Kernick and Paul Friedrich. The result of this process is the film “3 the Hard Way”. Now, two years later Robert King has been diagnosed with an anaplastic astrocytoma brain tumor. These artists are uniting once again, this time to support their friend by raising money from a one-time special screening of the film “3 the Hard Way”. All proceeds from this screening will help with medical costs and finding a cure for King.
King was diagnosed with a glioma brain tumor on January 10, 2004. The spot on his brain had been growing since 2001. He received brain surgery in 2004, and 100% of the tumor was removed. Recently, between May 2010 and January 2011 the tumor returned and is now a grade 3 anaplastic astrocytoma brain tumor. King went through chemotherapy and radiation and it has not shrunk the tumor. Money is being raised to search for Roberts cure.
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