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@fineartcommissions is proud to support and celebrate #internationalwomensday and help to forge positive change for women 💜💚🤍 #choosetochallenge #equality #artistsofinstagram
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Here is another work @fineartcommissions helped with, proudly hanging in situ. Portraits are not just representation of a sitter / sitters, but also lovely artworks to brighten up the home. We are always able to help with the aftercare of every commission; from the framing, to the delivery as well as the installation in your home, office or public building. #portrait #family #childrenportraits #tbt #insitu #family
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Picture of the month. This month Associate Director of @fineartcommissions Sam Parker Bowles talks about Sacrifice of Isaac by Caravaggio When I was fifteen, I decided that I would like to study History of Art for A-Level. Without a moment's hesitation, my mother whisked me off to Florence for a guided tour of the city, which was possibly not how I had hoped to spend my half term holidays at that age! Regrettably, I didnt fully appreciate the wonder and splendour of this beautiful city at the time and the Botticellis and the frescos blurred into one in my ungrateful teenage mind. However, one artwork really stood out and grabbed me upon first sighting and that was Caravaggio's 'Sacrifice of Isaac' (1603). The painting illustrates the passage of the Old Testament in which God ordered Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. Caravaggio faithfully depicts the crucial moment of the dramatic story, when Abraham, at the very moment in which he is about to sacrifice Isaac, is blocked by an angel sent by the Lord. For me, it is the combination of the beautifully detailed realism, the sense of drama and movement in the painting and, a word I learnt that day - chiaroscuro (the strong contrast between light and dark). Here, the light falls on the back and shoulders of the angel, on Abraham’s orange robe, his head and wrinkled brow, and really highlights Isaac's anguished face. Even the ram is bathed in a soft, but lesser light. In the background, a gentle glow diffuses over the backdrop, symbolising the light of divine grace coming through the murkiness of the middle ground. The contrasts between dark and shade really highlight the action and add to the sense of drama. For me, this painting has it all. It’s a masterpiece of renaissance art. #renaissance #portrait #artistsoninstagram #drama #chirascuro
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Artist Edvard Munch wrote mysterious graffiti on his painting of The Scream, infrared scans have shown. For a century the graffiti was thought to have been the scream of a critic offended by Edvard Munch’s art, but a conservation project has confirmed that Munch scrawled “can only have been painted by a madman” in pencil on his most famous painting. Infrared scanning of the first painted version of the artwork has drawn a match between the tiny lettering and documents written by the Norwegian artist. Mai Britt Guleng, a curator at the National Museum of Norway began investigating the inscription-first discovered in 1904-and, after consulting with colleagues, deduced it was the work of the master “It’s a combination of being ironic, but also showing his vulnerability,” said Guleng. “He is actually taking this very seriously and he is hurt because there is a history of illness in his family, and he was very anxious, but he showed himself be marked by it. I would prefer to call it an inscription and not graffiti now” The original painting, which is one of four, was painted and first displayed in Munch's home city Oslo (then Kristiania) in 1893. It has become a radical and timeless expression of human anxiety. Its influence stretches as far as the 90s Hollywood Scream horror film series, and on to the modern-day emoji 😱 #munch #artistsofinstagram #restoration #edvardmunch #hiddenmessage #portraiture
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The Feast of Saint Valentine was established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496 to be celebrated on February 14 in honour of Saint Valentine of Rome, who died on that date in AD 269. The day became associated with romantic love in the 14th and 15th centuries when notions of courtly love flourished, apparently by association with the "lovebirds" of early spring. In 18th-century England, it grew into an occasion in which couples expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). Show your love to your Valentine with a beautiful flower print by @nickyphilipps #flowers #valentines #love #art #artistsoninstagram #fineartcommissions #romance
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Picture of the month. Each month @fineartcommissions will be posting a picture chosen by an artist or a member of the gallery team with a brief description of why said artwork means something to them. First up, for February, we have @nickbashall.artist who has chosen ‘The execution of Lady Grey’ by Paul Delaroche. Nick says “I love the fact that a painter was able to capture the drama, emotion and historical significance nearly 300 years after the event, i.e History painting at its best. It was painted in 1833 and she was executed in 1554. Lady Jane Grey was queen for something like 10 days. It was part of a scheme by an ambitious courtier to marry his son, Lord Dudley, to royalty which backfired on the son’s wife, Jane.” Image: Paul Delaroche, The Execution of Lady Jane Grey (1833) ©️The National Gallery, London #pictureofthemonth #oilpainting #historypainting #portrait #artistsoninstagram
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Earlier today Sotheby’s New York saw its star lot, a rare 15th century portrait by Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli titled ‘Young Man Holding a Roundel’ (c1480) go for a staggering $92.2 million, making it one of the most expensive Old Masters works to ever sell at auction. For the last 40 years, it had been in the possession of the late real estate developer Sheldon Solow, who purchased the work in 1982 for $1.3 million. This means that the sale realized an appreciation of about 7,000%! Sotheby's senior vice president Christopher Apostle described Young Man Holding a Roundel as a "masterpiece" ahead of the auction. "This Botticelli is so much more spectacular in every way than anything we've seen coming to the market. This image symbolises and exemplifies the Renaissance in Florence. We haven't seen anything like it in my lifetime.” The painting shows a man in his late teenage years with long golden hair sitting holding a disc - the roundel - which features a bearded saint with his right hand raised. The roundel is an original 14th Century artwork attributed to Sienese painter Bartolommeo Bulgarini. #portrait #fineart #oldmasters #investment
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We always love it when clients send us photographs of their portraits in situ, especially when the delightful models pose with them as well 👧🏼👩🏼 This was a commission we arranged for a milestone birthday of the girls’ father. Portraits make fantastic and original presents that will be cherished by many generations. Please do get in touch if you are planning that perfect present. We can help with finding the artist, arrange the sittings and advise on the framing and logistics. These works were framed by @elletsonframes #childportraits #personalisedgifts #portrait #gift #birthday #fineartcommissions #oilpainting
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Home schooling in the late 1880s looks a lot more enjoyable than printed work sheets, noisy google meets and bribing with treats! Happy 165th Birthday to John Singer Sargent (image “Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose” 1885–6 ©️Tate) #portraiture #childportraits #childrenportrait #flowers #homeschooling #artistsoninstagram #sargent #fineartcommissions
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On this day in 2010 @nationalportraitgallery unveiled this painting of TRH Princes William and Harry by celebrated portrait artist @nickyphilipps. It is the first official oil portrait of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry. Both men are shown wearing regimental dress uniform and are depicted "in conversation" - an imagined moment just before they leave Clarence House to take part in the 2008 Trooping the Colour ceremony. #royalportrait #portraiture #princes #brothers #commissionedportrait #artistsoninstagram #royal #portrait #fineartcommissions
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Need that last minute Christmas present? We have a lovely selection of works for sale, including paintings by 👉1 @nickyphilipps 👉2 @jrcoreth 👉3 Susie Philipps 👉4 @nickyphilipps. Visit our website for all our works for sale. Happy shopping and happy Christmas. #christmas #shoplocal #shopsmall #shopsmallbusiness #shopindependent #portrait #commission #gallery #stilllife #fineart
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As ‘tis the season, our current window portrait is of Alan Rickman, star of two of the most popular Christmas movies of all time : Love Actually and Die Hard. If only he had been in Elf, he would have won the tinsel trifecta! What’s your favourite Christmas movie? Comment below. #christmas #christmasmovies #alanrickman #portrait #portraiture #commission #actor #hohoho #loveisallaround #yippeekiyay #fineartcommissions