JaZzArt en València

«A veces los pensamientos que nos llevan a la creación mayor nacen en lo más oscuro y profundo de la noche cuando uno está en el quinto sueño y uno tiene que levantarse y ponerse a trabajar porque el duende no regresa si lo desprecias.» (Francisco Bravo Cabrera)

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«Sometimes the thoughts that lead us to greater creation are born in the darkest and deepest part of the night when one is quite snug in the arms of Morpheus, and one has to get up and get to work because the muse does not return if you disrespect it.» (Francisco Bravo Cabrera)

FRAGMENTOS Y PENSAMIENTOS QUE DIERON PIE A CUADROS MIOS

FRAGMENTS AND THOUGHTS THAT GAVE WAY TO SOME OF MY ARTWORK

GRACIAS – CHEERS

Os he hecho un paréntesis para introduciros a un pintor contemporáneo y he elegido a Miquel Barceló porque admiro su obra y porque creo que en ella se nota la influencia de los grandes maestros de la antigüedad que seguramente estudió durante su estancia en las academias de arte.

I thought it would be nice to take a break from the old and begin to introduce some of the new. I chose Barceló because I do admire his work and I think that in it one can see the influences that the study of art history and of the masters can bring to modern art.

Gracias…

Cheers…

Esto los políticos corruptos nunca se lo creen, pero lo padecen…

WHO IS THE GREATEST PAINTER OF ALL TIME?

Well, it could be said that it may be Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519)…
Art history has emphasised that he is the ultimate synthesis of art and science. And furthermore, and these are simply facts, that his Mona Lisa (to me a second rate portrait), and The Last Supper (phenomenal but badly done and due to that it is almost totally deteriorated), are among the most studied and reproduced images on Earth.

It has also been said (mostly by “experts”, good grief!) that he transformed painting into a form of intellectual inquiry. That he was able to merge light, anatomy, spirit and mystery into his paintings successfully.
And finally “experts” simply conclude that he was a genius.

I do not think he was a genius. I think he was a painter of his time and that there were probably many other “Leonardos” in abundance during the Renaissance, especially in Italy. He was not, in my opinion, the author of intellectual inquiry. And reference merging light, anatomy, spirit and mystery to create, well, allow me to introduce you to the real master, Sandro Botticelli, the author of La Nascita di Venere (The Birth of Venus). And let me add that Leonardo was also a bit lazy. Most of his paintings are unfinished and many times he had been commissioned, and paid, to create either a painting or a sculpture and he would leave the job either half done or not at all. Is that the work of a genius? I do not think so…

And The Mona Lisa, definitely not his best portrait and it would not have become so famous had it not been stolen. After the theft the “marketing” campaign created the mystique and after it was recovered the museum sent the painting on a world tour to ensure its fame. If you really want to admire a great Leonardo portrait take a look at “Lady With An Ermine” totally superior to The Mona Lisa.

Now, if we mean the most “famous” painter in art history, one might say it is Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)…
His life story, along with his art, was woven into a myth. He was the mad painter, victim of suffering and of course his death made him a martyr, and martyrs sell. They (“experts”) say that the struggle, the passion, the vision. I don’t buy it, and it reminds me of another artist, one that I do not like, because I do like and admire van Gogh, which is Frida Kahlo…

Art historians claim that his style, i.e. his use of colour and of “swirling emotion” changed the language of painting forever. Well, perhaps, but the language of painting has been changing and by his day, it had changed much and still is. So that is nothing so big that it can elevate him to that level.
Finally they claim that he put his soul into his work. I would remind the “experts” that most good painters have done that and still do.

So I would conclude that Vincent van Gogh was a great painter and a reference to all artists that study art history. And if you are, or aspire to be, an artist you must study art history. But to me he is not the most famous painter in art history.

But if we mean to say the “most influential painter on modern art”, without a doubt it would be Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)…
Picasso was the true genius of art. He totally reinvented painting and opened the door for all the other painters of the 20th Century. When he invented cubism he created a new way of expression on the canvas that allowed for all the other art vanguards of the 20th Century to come forth. He did not create surrealism, or abstract art, but his break with tradition and classicism allowed others to become surrealists, expressionists, or abstract artists. His innovations even allowed for the clear and unequivocal development of realism and ultra-realism.

Picasso worked tirelessly. His incredible body of work proves that he was the consummate professional of art. He delved into sculpture, poetry, theatre, set and costume design and let us not forget that he invented the collage.
Picasso was the true revolutionary of art.

So, who is the greatest painter in history? Well, you tell me. But, to not let you wondering, here are a few contenders:

• Michelangelo – unmatched in power and divine drama.
• Rembrandt – master of human light and introspection.
• Claude Monet – father of Impressionism and modern vision.
• Caravaggio – light and darkness turned into revelation.
• Diego Velázquez – painter of truth before photography existed.
• Francisco de Goya – Arguably the first modern painter.

CHEERS

Es verdad, el estancamiento destruye…

Fragmentos y pensamientos… bueno para pintar hay que pensar y saber que un cuadro carga encima…pero por debajo de la pintura…muchos pensamientos, quizás hasta algunos que no tuvieron nada que ver con la propia pintura. Y los fragmentos son aquellas partes que uno trae al cuadro quizás de otros cuadros o de otros pensamientos. Es la combinación idónea de la creación artística. Aquí algunas muestras de los fragmentos y pensamientos que dieron lugar a la creación de estos cuadros, muy antiguos ya, de Omnia Caelum Studios (Miami y Valencia).

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Fragments and thoughts… well, to paint you must think about it. I’ll tell you right now that a painting carries a lot of thought you don’t see beneath the paint you see. There are probably a lot of thoughts that have nothing to do with the painting itself. And the fragments are those parts that one brings to the empty canvas, perhaps from other paintings or from other thoughts. Thoughts and fragmentes form the ideal combination for artistic creation. Here are some examples of the fragments and thoughts that led to the creation of these very old paintings from Omnia Caelum Studios (Miami and Valencia).

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GRACIAS – CHEERS