Additions to our Gallery: Two Paintings by Dulce Beatriz

by Ricardo A. Alvarez

In pursuit of our main objective of offering you as representative a sample as possible of the work of our featured artist, master painter Dulce Beatriz , we have recently added two paintings to the collection, which are now on exhibit in the Gallery for your enjoyment.

These new additions to our exhibits are titled MUJER DE PERFIL (Woman in Profile), which may be viewed in GALLERY 2: Women and Children, and PAÑO ROJO (Red Cloth), now on exhibit in GALLERY 3: Still Life.

You can preview these works of fine art in the images that follow, but please keep in mind that by visiting the specific galleries where these painting are  now exhibited you will be able to view them in much more detail as you click on each image to zoom in.

MUJER DE PERFIL (Woman in Profile) by Dulce Beatriz – Oil on canvas 26″ x 36″ (66.04 cm x 91.44 cm)

MUJER DE PERFIL is a medium-sized 26″x36″ (66.04 cm  x 91.44 cm) painting embodying several of the strong elements that characterize the Spanish School, such as a bright and bold palette, the use of light and contrast between light and dark to highlight specific features in the painting such as the face of a subject or the folds of vestments, and in this specific case also the elongated, elegant flowing forms of the subject, painted from a live model, that are typical of the masterful brush of the artist Dulce Beatriz and reminiscent of the works by a master of the Spanish renaissance, El Greco (1541-1614). This painting is now available for purchase through the world leader in the art market ArtPrice (please visit www.artprice.com and search for Dulce Beatriz)

PAÑO ROJO (Red Cloth) by Dulce Beatriz – Oil on canvas 40″ x 50″ (101.60 cm x 127.00 cm)

PAÑO ROJO is a large format 40″ x 50″ (101.60 cm  x 127.00 cm) oil on canvas still life where the artist Dulce Beatriz exhibits her excellent technique in a compositions that takes us beyond the surface where the various components are displayed, to the back wall and beyond to the trees and distant landscape visible through the open window, as well as in the depiction of the fruits and flowers and other components of the display. In fact this painting is so full of bright colors and contrasts, and possesses so much energy that it takes the still life genre to a totally new level.

Enjoy these wonderful additions to our virtual gallery as you visit us, and please keep coming back so that you may also enjoy everything we have on display and new additions in the future.  When visiting please take a moment to register as a subscriber to our virtual gallery, it takes less than a minute and it is absolutely free, so that you will be the first to be notified of new exhibits and other offerings here. To subscribe look on the left hand of the page and look for ‘SUBSCRIBE TO BLOG VIA EMAIL’ and just follow the instructions, all you will need to do is enter your email address and then click on ‘Subscribe’. You will then receive an email from us indicating how to confirm your registration, and that is all.

Also while visiting and admiring these two new additions to the Gallery, and other works of fine art exhibited here, please be so kind as to leave us your comments relative to any specific work of art or to your overall gallery visit experience, as this will be of great help in continuing to add to the collection for your enjoyment.

The Eyes of Dulce Beatriz

Marble bust of Cicero in the Capitoline Museums, Rome

by Ricardo A. Alvarez

More than 2000 years ago Cicero (106 – 43 BC) the Roman philosopher, lawyer, political scientists, consul, and one of the most brilliant orators that ever lived said “The countenance is the portrait of the soul, and the eyes mark its intentions”.

This phrase from such a great mind is representative of the importance humankind has always attached to expressions of the face, and in particular to the eyes, as reflecting the character, the intentions, in fact the very soul of a person. It has been because of such importance that artists have strived to portray the human eye with as much detail and expression as possible, whether in stone, marble or bronze or through paintings, and other media.

In this long quest for depicting life-like human eyes many have tried, but only a few have succeeded. In my opinion, I would count both the Flemish master Anthony VanDyck (1599-1641) and his contemporary, the Spanish master Diego Velazquez (1599-1660), as two of those who truly succeeded in depicting the human eyes as “…the windows of the soul” as says the old English proverb. Both of these great artists painted rather expressive faces – countenances – with equally expressive eyes. The masterful artistry of VanDyck and Velazquez is illustrated by the examples below:

Self-portrait by Anthony VanDyck

 

Detail of the eyes, from self-portrait by Anthony VanDyck

 

 

 

 

 

Portrait of Cornelis van der Geest (National Gallery of London) by Flemish master Anthony VanDyck

 

Detail of the eyes, from the portrait of Cornelis van der Geest by Anthony VanDyck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Self-portrait as a young man by Diego Velazquez

Detail of the eyes from self-portrait as a young man by Diego Velazquez

 

 

 

 

 

 

More than 3-1/2 centuries after Velazquez and VanDyck we again find and artist painting eyes that evoke the words of that master of the sonnet, Spanish great Gustavo Adolfo Becquer (1836-1870) that once wrote “The soul that can speak through the eyes can also kiss with a gaze”, or the equally descriptive words of Englishman Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892): “Her eyes are houses of silent prayer” . This artist who paints such eyes that let us peer into the very souls of the subjects in her painting, is our own featured master Dulce Beatriz.

To illustrate what I have said about the masterful manner in which Dulce Beatriz depicts the eyes of the old men and women, always painted from live subjects, who are among her favorite subjects, please take a look at the examples that follow:

Detail: The Eyes, from “Mujer de Rojo by Dulce Beatriz

 

 

 

 

 

Detail – The Eyes, from painting “El Pastor” by Dulce Beatriz

 

 

 

 

 

 

Detail – The Eyes, from painting “Muchacha con Aretes” by Dulce Beatriz

 

 

 

 

 

 

Detail – The Eyes, from painting “El Anticuario” by Dulce Beatriz

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is all in the eyes, the Eyes of Dulce Beatriz. For more “eyes” please visit GALLERY in this site, and then select :Gallery 1: Old Men or Gallery 2: Women and Children.

 

 

 

DULCE BEATRIZ: Now in Auction at ArtPrice!

by Ricardo A. Alvarez

I am very pleased to share the news that a painting by our featured artist Dulce Beatriz is now being offered in auction through the world leader in the Art Market ArtPrice until 30 November 2012. Below is the image of the specific painting, titled EL TROVADOR,  being so offered:

Oil on canvas by Dulce Beatriz – 30″ x 42″

I invite you to examine this painting closely: notice the eyes which are truly lifelike, the quality is so fine that we would have to go back to the Flemish master Anthony VanDyck to find an artist capable of the same excellence in the depiction of the human eyes. Then notice the expression on the face of the old man, how he holds the mandolin with his left hand while his right hand is ready to pick the strings of the mandolin.  take a look at the musical instrument and you will recognize an old-fashioned Neapolitan style mandolin by its almond-shaped front and the bombee back. Notice the scroll and pegs at the top, the fine lacquer finish and the beautiful reflections of light on the mother-of-pearl inlaid decorations.

From the title of the painting “EL TROVADOR” we know this old man is a “troubadour”, meaning a poet and composer who went around declaiming or improvising his poetry to the accompaniment of music usually played on a mandolin, guitar or a lute. Now look at the expression on the face of the old man, and you can almost hear the sentiment with which he declaims his verses.

This work is an excellent representative sample of the artwork created by Dulce Beatriz in the best tradition of the Spanish School. To see more of the work by this masterful artist please go to GALLERY on the menu at the top of the page.