"Claudio Bravo's Eggplants" (oil on linen on panel; 8" x 10") sold

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The painting is the copy of a still life painting by Claudio Bravo (1936 - 2011), a Chilean hyperrealist painter. He was greatly influenced by Renaissance and Baroque artists, as well as Surrealist painters such as Salvador Dalí. He lived and worked in Tangier, Morocco, beginning in 1972. Bravo also lived in Chile, New York and Spain. He was known mainly for his paintings of still lifes, portraits and packages.

The painting is a reminder of how beauty resides in everyday things.

"Detail from Vermeer's Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window" (oil on linen; 12" x 12')

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The painting is the copy of a detail from "Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window" (c 1657–59) by Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer. The well-preserved painting is on display at the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden. For many years, the attribution of the painting was lost, with first Rembrandt and then Pieter de Hooch being credited for the work before it was properly identified in 1880. After World War II, the painting was briefly in possession of the Soviet Union.

A pretty intimidating painting to copy, don't you think? Look at the girl's ringlets, intricate dress, and her reflection on the window panes. I am learning much through these copying efforts.

"Detail from Sargent's Mrs George Swinton" (oil on stretched canvas; 16" x 12")

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The painting is the copy of a detail from "Mrs George Swinton" (1897) by the master portraitist John Singer Sargent. The original hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago.

Mrs. George Swinton epitomizes the painterly virtuosity that made John Singer Sargent one of the most favored portraitists of fashionable Europeans and Americans in the late 19th century. Extravagant color and brushwork were central to Sargent's success, as was his ability to present an image of his sitter that adhered to social standards.

In Elizabeth Swinton's case, he accentuated her regal bearing and feminine satin dress. She was also known for her musical talents; at the time her portrait was executed, she was recognized as an amateur singer and later began performing professionally. Swinton's pose indicates both the poise of a performer and the countenance of a fashionable socialite.

As it happens, Sargent is one of my favorite artists. When Danni Dawson gave her portrait painting class an assignment to copy a portion of his portrait with the emphasis on how he handled satin fabrics, I picked this painting. Look at Mrs Swinton's gorgeous dress and the arm chair her right hand holds on to so elegantly!

"Detail from Velazquez's 'Juan de Pareja'" (oil on linen; 12" x 9")

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In 1648, as court painter to Philip IV of Spain, Diego Velázquez was sent to Rome to purchase works of art. Velázquez brought with him Juan de Pareja, a slave, who served as an assistant in the artist's workshop. During his stay in Rome, Velázquez executed an oil portrait of Juan de Pareja.

Velázquez painted the portrait of Juan de Pareja, who was of Moorish descent, in his workshop, as an exercise in preparation for his official portrait of Pope Innocent X. The Pope, a ruddy-faced man who would be depicted in the bright pink and crimson robes of his office, presented a tricky study in both color and composition. Additionally, since he would be executing a portrait from life, Velázquez would be forced to work quickly while still capturing the essence of the pope's character.

The "Juan de Pareja" reflects Velázquez's exploration of the difficulties he would encounter in the Pope's portrait. To compensate for a restricted palette of colors, Velázquez adopted a loose, almost impressionistic style of brushwork to bring an intense vitality to his subject. Juan de Pareja (circa 1610 – 1670) became an artist in his own right, and in 1654 he was freed by Velázquez.

The Portrait of Juan de Pareja was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum in 1971. At the time, the purchase price of over $5.5 million set a new record for paintings at auction. (The above information is from Wikipedia.) The hefty price tag tends to blind the viewer's eyes from truly seeing the portrait. During the three-week-long study of its detail of head and shoulders, I was mesmerized by Velazquez's brushstrokes and his penetration of the subject's intelligence.

"Detail from Vermeer's Girl with a Red Hat" (oil on linen; 10" x 8")

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The painting is the copy of a detail from "Girl with a Red Hat" (c. 1665–1666) by the Dutch Old Master Johannes Vermeer.  The original hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

"Girl with a Red Hat" is a rather small painting (9.1" × 7.1").  I was indeed shocked at the size when I first saw it at the NGA, even for Vermeer, whose masterpieces are known for their intimate scale.  My copy is of a slightly larger size, a tiny bit of the bottom cropped off, along with a simplified background, to make it a version of the original.  It is seen as one of a number of Vermeer's tronies – depictions of models fancifully dressed that were not intended to be portraits of specific, identifiable subjects.
 

"Detail from Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earing'" (oil on linen; 10" x 8")

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The painting is the copy of a detail from "Girl with a Pearl Earing" (1665) by the Dutch Old Master Johannes Vermeer. The original hangs in the Mauritshuis in The Hague in the Netherlands.

The most beloved painting by Vermeer is a tronie, the Dutch 17th-century description of a 'head' that was not meant to be a portrait. It depicts a European girl wearing an exotic dress, an oriental turban, and an improbably large pearl earring.

In case you are wondering about these copies of masterpieces I have been posting lately, they are for my own pleasure and education. I carefully select my favorite paintings of Old and Modern masters and copy details from them as best as I can, observing the brushstrokes, color blending, facial modeling, and so on. I sometimes go to a museum if it is nearby to look at the originals for accurate coloring and take my own pictures. It has been highly educational and rewarding process so far, and I intend to do many more for the next few years. Perhaps trips to Amsterdam, London, Paris, Rome, New York, etc. are in order?

"Detail from Sargent's 'Lady Agnew'" (oil on linen; 12" x 9") sold

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The painting is the copy of a detail from "Lady Agnew of Lochnaw" (1892) by the master portraitist John Singer Sargent. The original hangs in the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh.

Sargent's dazzling and unforgettable image of Lady Agnew is one of the most famous of his many portraits of fashionable London society. For both the artist and his sitter, the painting was an instant success, establishing Sargent's reputation as the portrait painter of choice for the London elite and immediately transforming the newly elevated Lady Agnew into a society celebrity.

Lady Agnew fixes the viewer with an intelligent, faintly amused gaze, but it is her elegant white silk dress and lilac sash that threaten to steal all our attention. Unfortunately, the sash didn't make into the small copy.

Sargent's image of Lady Agnew helped her to become a leading light in fashionable circles, holding lavish salons in her London home. Ironically, the high costs of this hospitality meant that she was eventually forced to sell some family pictures including this portrait which was purchased by the Scottish National Gallery in 1925.

"Detail from Rembrandt's Self-Portrait" (oil on linen; 10" x 8")

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The painting is the copy of a detail from "Self-Portrait" by the Dutch Old Master Rembrandt van Rijn. The original hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

Rembrandt painted many self-portraits in his lifetime. He painted this self-portrait in 1659, after he had suffered financial failure despite so many years of success. His spacious house and other possessions had been auctioned the previous year to satisfy his creditors. In this late work, the deep-set eyes that bore into those of the viewer seem to express inner strength and dignity.