Second Sight Painting By T. Smith

Year:

Medium:

Oil Painting

Size - (USA):

30 W x 30 H x 2 D (inches)

Size - (metric):

76.2 W x 76.2 H x 5.1 D (centimeters)

Theme:

Surrealism

Edition:

Original

Artwork ID:

349204

PDF Copy:

Artwork Info Sheet (PDF)

Artwork Description:

The woman is after a terracotta sculpture �Bust of a Lady� in the Kimbell Art Museum in Dallas attributed to Italian sculptor, Gian Cristoforo Romano, c.1500. The subject of the bust is Isabella d'Este, Marchioness of Mantua. Isabella was the most celebrated woman of her day, called "la prima donna del mondo." She cultivated one of the most illustrious courts in Renaissance Italy, and wielded considerable political power, acting as regent during her husband's absence and after his death. She was also a passionate and persistent patron who invited the most renowned artists in Italy to decorate her private quarters in the Ducal Palace in Mantua. A zealous, insatiable collector, she was the first woman to build a large and important collection of antiquities. Known as the "tenth muse," Isabella was the subject of many works of art. Perhaps the most famous today is Leonardo da Vinci's drawing of her in profile in the Louvre, which corresponds closely to the Kimbell bust; both show her with the hairstyle and dress that might be worn by an eminent marchioness of northern Italy around 1500. The giant peanut came from Pike Place Nuts in Seattle. The two objects are brought together by the associations between their color and interwoven lines, shapes and patterns. The peanut turned on a 90-degree angle rhymes with that of the woman�s eyes. She is looking beyond to that which is known but unseen evoking clairvoyance as indicated in the title.

Artwork Keywords:   Original Painting

Materials:   Oil Paintings