Matthew James Collins

Harmony in Gold and Blue

2019

Hercules and Omphale Oil on panel, 52 x 41 cm According to legend, Hercules had to make atonement and became a slave to the Lydian queen Omphale. When she found out who her slave was, she married him. Falling for his mistress and made effeminate by the luxury of court life, the former hero allowed himself to become the laughing stock of the court. He dressed in women's clothes, spun wool and did other women's work, whereas Omphale wore his lion's skin and carried a wooden club. When the time of punishment was over, the hero realised his delusion and left Omphale. So far, the painting could not be clearly assigned to an artist. Nevertheless, it impresses with its fluid and convincing painting, whose colourfulness and conception are reminiscent of the Prague School around Bartholomäus Spranger. This work follows an engraving and an etching made by Michel Dorigny in 1643 after a design by Simon Vouet. It shows the same scene but the print differs in minor details from the present painting (see e.g. the head of the lion) and the treatment of the faces seems to be painted more detailed and refined. So far there is no painting...

Already in the collection of Emperor Rudolf II in the first decade of the 17th century this composition was famous. The original is by Parmigianino and Rudolf's court painter Joseph Heintz...

This painting is likely to be from the late 18th or early 19th century, and is seemingly inspired by Antonio Correggio's "Virtue of Vice" circa 1531. Frame dimensions: 30 x 49 inches. This painting has been in a private California collection for over 40 years. It was acquired from a high end antique...

"HARMONY" Painting (FRAMED) 30" x 24" inch by Isaac Pelayo Medium: oil and acrylic on wood Comes in frame Size framed: 32" x 26" inch ABOUT THE ARTIST: Isaac Pelayo is a head on ...

His first name sounds like a concerto. Vivacious, its name is reminiscent of an aperitif or a cyclist. The addition of the two evokes the Italianate. Indomitable and unavoidable. Mor...

"SARAH" Painting (FRAMED) 30" x 24" inch by Isaac Pelayo Medium: oil and acrylic on wood Comes in frame Size framed: 32" x 26" inch ABOUT THE ARTIST: Isaac Pelayo is a head on crash collision between The Renaissance and Street Art. In a household where constant turmoil and violence were more apparent than most a young Pelayo met escape and peace within the confines of himself and his own creativity. Hispanic born in the heavy beating heart of Los Angeles on the seventh day of June 1996. Pelayo was caught in the crossfires of everything that surrounded him but art served as his only guidance. After dropping out of college Pelayo turned from his hyperrealistic pencil portraits to oil painting where his passions grew more immensely. As of today Pelayo’s work is most influenced and fueled by the crème de la crème of old master painters like Da Vinci, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, and Velazquez as well as graffiti artists such as RETNA, Shepard Fairey, and EL MAC. In 2017 his work caught the attention and landed in the firm grasp of renown rapper and collector Alvin “Westside Gunn” Worthy. He has created several album covers and artworks for the Buffalo rap moguls music label Griselda Records including his personal collection. Pelayo’s paintings are widely recognized and sought out from all over the globe. His collectors include Sean “Diddy” Combs, Westside Gunn, Benny The Butcher, Jeff Hamilton, Shepard Fairey, Jaysse Lopez, and Everlast of House of Pain...