Handmade Paper Portrait Paintings

The paintings of Aleix Font (Sabadell, Spain, 1984) function as a narrative between the collective and the individual world, exploring space and its interac...

A pastel portrait of Lady Margaret Smith-Burges, later Countess Poulett (1754-1838) by Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830). Oval, pastel on paper 29.5 x 24cm (excluding frame), in an ornate giltwood and gesso frame with a coronet crest, circa 1785. Inscription on reverse ' Portrait in crayons by Sir Thomas Lawrence of the Dowr. Countess Poulett'. This is a rare and early work in Lawrence's career who as a child prodigy began working as a youth in pastels, moving on to work almost exclusively in oils after 1790. Margaret (born Burges) was the daughter of Ynyr Burges and Margaret Brown. She became the wife of Sir john Smith-Burges, 1st Baronet in 1771 and later after his death the wife of John, 4th Earl Poulett whom she married in 1816. During her first marriage, Margaret was a regular visitor to Bath and very likely sat for the young Lawrence whilst he was living there. Thomas Lawrence was born the son of an innkeeper who moved the family to Bath in 1779. His father, recognising his son's talent from an early age, advertised his services as a portraitist in the Bath Journal; 'Master Lawrence continues to take very striking Likenesses of Ladies and Gentlemen in the most pleasing attitudes, either in pencil or crayons'. The large number of potential sitters who had come to Bath 'for the season' or to 'take the waters' helped to support the family with a steady income and the child prodigy became very popular with aristocrats and the famous and wealthy. Hi sitters in Bath included Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and the actress Sarah...

This exquisite work is a late Qing Dynasty stone rubbing of historical Chinese folk hero Yue Fei. Yue Fei is no stranger to any student of Chinese history. A military general, calligrapher, and poet, he lived during the 12th century Southern Song dynasty in what is now Henan, China. Yue Fei has become synonymous with unyielding patriotic loyalty in China, one of the most well-known stories about him involved his challenge to charges of treason by ripping off his jacket to reveal four tattoos on his back that read "serve the country with the utmost loyalty" on his back. His status of folk hero in China derived from his military career fighting the Jurchen-led Jin Dynasty as a military commander which led to his execution on false charges when he patriotically followed the emperor's orders to return to the capital in order to prevent internal strife within the dynasty. Since then he has been a national hero in the pantheon of Chinese figures. Above the stele text is a seal that honors Yue Fei: 武勝定國軍節 度使開府儀同 三司湖北京西 路宣撫使兼營 田大使岳飛印 Translated it means "Seal of Yue Fei, the Military Commissioner of Wusheng Province, Commander Unequaled in Honor, Governor of Hubei, Jingxi-lu and Yingtan Provinces" Stone rubbings hold a long-held role in Chinese art and culture. These stone rubbings were produced when rice paper was placed upon an engraved stone or stele's surface and brushed with a liquid containing orchid juice. The paper was pressed into the engravings of the written characters and design with a brush. The inking method of this production caused the characters and images to stand out as white while the rest of the paper became black, giving it a distinct photo negative effect. During the Qing Dynasty, which existed from 1644 to 1912, antiquarian studies were a major tenet of the Chinese scholastic tradition, resulting in the widespread production and collection of rubbings. During the 19th century Qing Dynasty of China, stele rubbings that connected with Chinese antiquity became highly sought after. These rubbings were highly valued as faithful reproductions of ancient engravings of characters, images, and decorative motifs that carried important historical and art-historical information. The Chinese script is written in seal script, an older form of Chinese writing that developed out of its oldest form of writing, Oracle Bone...

"As an African-American artist in today’s world, I embody the vast differences found in our collective backgrounds. I view them as cultural assets. We are always self discovering and...

"As an African-American artist in today’s world, I embody the vast differences found in our collective backgrounds. I view them as cultural assets. We are always self discovering and...

"As an African-American artist in today’s world, I embody the vast differences found in our collective backgrounds. I view them as cultural assets. We are always self discovering and...

"As an African-American artist in today’s world, I embody the vast differences found in our collective backgrounds. I view them as cultural assets. We are always self discovering and...

"As an African-American artist in today’s world, I embody the vast differences found in our collective backgrounds. I view them as cultural assets. We are always self discovering and...

"As an African-American artist in today’s world, I embody the vast differences found in our collective backgrounds. I view them as cultural assets. We are always self discovering and...

"As an African-American artist in today’s world, I embody the vast differences found in our collective backgrounds. I view them as cultural assets. We are always self discovering and...

Original painting on handmade paper. Hand signed and dated on front by the artist. Custom framed as pictured. Artwork sheet size 22 x 15 inches. Artwork is in excellent condition. ...

Original painting on handmade paper. Hand signed and dated on front by the artist. Custom framed as pictured. Artwork sheet size 14 x 10.5 inches. Artwork is in excellent conditio...