Tracey Emin

Is This a Joke

2009

Jack Lorimer Gray, 1927-1981, was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia to Scottish parents. His talents as an artist were spotted by E. Wyly Grier while Gray was still a child. He attended t...

Attributed to Jacopo Guarana (Verona 1720 – 1808 Venice) Canvas, unsigned The Deeds of Apollo Provenance: Suida-Manning Collection These seven scenes are brilliant evocations o...

Provenance: James Byrnes, Los Angeles (1917-2011) Giusto Le Court was born Josse or Justus de Corte in the Flemish city of Ypres. His father Jean was a sculptor and presumably his earliest training was with him before he entered the studio of Cornelis van Mildert. The young artist was clearly influenced by the dominant Flemish sculptor of the time, Artus Quellinus the Elder, with whom he may have worked on the decoration of the Amsterdam City Hall. Following the lead of many northern artists he travelled to Rome, perhaps more than once, before settling in Venice around 1655. It was there, as one of a colony of expatriate artists, that he made his name as a sculptor. One of his first Venetian commissions was for the monument to Alvise Mocenigo in the Church of San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti, where Le Court sculpted the marble figures of Strength and Justice. He also collaborated with the celebrated architect Baldassare Longhena, most famously for the high altar of Santa Maria della Salute, where he carved the multi-figured altarpiece depicting the Queen of Heaven Expelling the Plague. The present marble sculpture depicts the infant Saint John the Baptist, reclining, wearing his traditional hair-shirt, embracing a lamb, and holding the bottom of his attribute, a reed cross. Attached to his shirt is a baptismal cup, with which he would become associated later in his life. Veneration of the infant Saint John the Baptist was prevalent throughout Italy and images of the saint in childhood—often called “Giovannino,” or little John...

Florentine, Probably Seventeenth Century Titled L’ultime parti note nel Indie occidentali Dated on the edge of the cartouche: “M.D. LXIII. M.AG” [1564…the month of August] In the 1560s Cosimo I de’Medici, the powerful Duke of Florence, undertook a major renovation of the Palazzo Vecchio, the venerable palace that to this day dominates the city at the Piazza della Signoria. For the Sala della Guardaroba, literally the wardrobe room, but in fact the storeroom of the Duke’s most precious holdings, Cosimo conceived of a grand decorative project that was to reflect in one space the entire cosmos --both an indication of the Duke’s ambition and an allusion to his name. The plan, supervised by Giorgio Vasari, involved the construction of walnut cabinets to contain the Medici treasures, on the outside doors of which were to be placed large hand-painted maps specially commissioned to document and illustrate the current knowledge of the world. Portraits of famous men were to decorate the tops of the cabinets and two large globes –one representing the terrestrial world, the other celestial—were to descend from openings in the ceiling. The commission for the maps, inspired by Ptolemy’s Geographia, was given to the celebrated mathematician and cosmographer, Fra Egnazio Danti (Perugia 1536-1585 Alatri). Fifty-three maps were ultimately created. Thirty were conceived and executed by Danti between 1563 and 1575. The remaining twenty-three were completed by Stefano Bonsignori between 1576 and 1686. They remain in place in Florence in the room for which they were created. The present work is an exact-size painted, drawn and inscribed copy of Danti’s map of California...

This contemporary plaster sculpture of a ram’s head is inspired by the art of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece with a reference to Neoclassicism and Neoclassical period old masters, when the discoveries of archaeological sites became the focal point in art history between the 18th and 19th century. The artist is able to attribute incredible details to this work of art featuring a majestic appearance due to its large curling ridged horns. This animal figurative work of art is sculpted on the round, the artist took inspiration both from his imagination and archaic reminiscences. He modeled the inert chalk creating an animal with very real facial expression and incredible realistic features with intricate detailed head. This sculpture is the plaster cast hand modeled by the artist that served him as a reference model to create a bronze sculpture with the lost wax technique, also the bronze version is on sale on my page. So it represents the first phase of a fascinating and long process of creating sculptural art, a studio piece made as a maquette before a bronze version was cast. The present aries' head sculpture has been painted to simulate the green patina that archaeological metal sculptures take over the centuries. Two green patina sculptures...

This museum quality old master oil on canvas formal portrait painting depicting the family of the Count Zanardi is signed by the artist- the female painter Lucia Casalini Torelli- and published in a book dedicated to Casalini Torelli’s workshop and academy. This palatial masterpiece artwork comes directly from the ancient Villa Maraini Guerrieri - Palidano di Gonzaga (Mantua), an historic Italian heritage building owned by the descendants of the family portrayed for more than two centuries, until 1998. The big scale of this oil on canvas masterpiece painting states the relevance of Lucia Casalini Torelli as a painter. The present artwork is a formal family portrait painting that aim to introduce the characters depicted according to their social role in the society. The noble family is all gathered under a loggia overlooking a park, the landscape in the background is partially covered by a beautiful red cloth on the right side. The father stands up and holds the hand of his eldest son, proudly introducing his future heir. The son wears a light-blue dress and red boots, he is depicted in a serious pose holding a black tricorn hat under his arm and a rapier sword on his belt. The mother wears an elegant gold and dark green brocade dress, she is sitting with her youngest daughter on her knees while her second son is by her side. The little daughter wears a lovely long red and dress with white lace and holds an apple on her hand. The son stands next to his mother and is dressed in a brown priestly clothes. This palatial old masters piece was probably painted in 1740 due to the similarities with Cardinal Doria’ s portrait, now on display at the Doria Palace Museum, the official residence of the Prince of Genoa. The painting features original canvas (“prima tela”) and antique original patina, it is in excellent overall condition considering the age, use and its large scale. A formal detailed condition report and the results of the inspection with the UV lamp accompanied by photos is available on request. As well as for its exceptional quality and quite perfect state of conservation, this painting is particularly important and even more valuable both for the artist who painted it and for its absolutely exclusive provenance. Lucia painted the most prominent and powerful noble families of her time, the location of these paintings is unknown to the art market as it is extremely likely that the portraits are still kept in private collections. Furthermore, Lucia was one of the most appreciated artists of her time, so important that she was admitted as a member of the academy at a time when women were forbidden to attend these studies. In 1706, Felice Torelli...

Last Dance is an Oil on Canvas painting in soft, light aqua tones with red/brown accents. Frank Arnold is thought by many to be one of the foremost abstract...

“My Other Side” is 48”x 36”. This is an earlier piece by Arnold from the estate of a late collector of his work. This piece is predominantly shades of red from light to almost black....

"2X8" is 60” x 48”. The yellows, greens, aquas and blues are combined in the heavy hand, brush and knife strokes which characterize much of this artist’s work. Frank Arnold’s paintin...

The present work of art titled "Urban Abstraction (ripped off posters)" is part of a series of paintings that the artist composed in the 1980s and 1990s inspired by the observation of the urban reality of those years. The artist take the cue from his walks in Florence, both in the center and in the suburbs, and by the observation of billboards and posters scattered throughout the city. The mass of information, colors, messages and words were carried on the canvas with acrylic colors, ideally reconstructing the tears and overlaps of all the information and advertising contained on these huge sheets of paper that invade our cities. The geometric lines are overlaid with jagged lines, overlaps and color dripping and also the choice in the color palette, with different shades of white, gray, rose, orange red and blue helps in rendering the result of the tears and ripped paper. The result is a beautiful multicolored modern abstract canvas, both aesthetically and ethically, with many rich layers of color, texture and expression in which the artist leaves his own message. The painting is housed in a simple modern white lacquer wood frame. Andrea Spinelli...