Mona Lisa Lashes…

Written by Amitai Sasson on October 27, 2007

monalisa Mona Lisa Lashes...For many years, Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa has fascinated art historians. A French Scientist has researched the answers behind the fate of Mona Lisa’s missing eyebrows and lashes.

Pascal Cotte, the French Scientist, says his ultra-detailed digital scans of the masterpiece allow him to effectively skim through layers of paint to “see” into the past of Leonardo Da Vinci’s 16th-century portrait of a Florentine merchant’s wife.

According to Cotte, the world’s most famous painting originally included both brows and lashes. The scans of the painting reveal traces of Mona Lisa’s left brow that disappeared due to faulty restoration efforts.

Cotte’s published numerous findings:

  • Da Vinci changed his mind about the position of two fingers on the subject’s left hand.
  • Her face was originally wider and the smile more expressive than Da Vinci ultimately painted them.
  • She holds a blanket that has all but faded from view today.

Cotte said his analyses also revealed what he believes are the painting’s colors as they looked on Da Vinci’s easel.
“Mona Lisa” is the first of many masterpieces Cotte is planning to scan and help bring their past back to life.

Ten Tips for Artistic Oil Painting Arrangements

Written by Amitai Sasson on October 21, 2007

arrangement Ten Tips for Artistic Oil Painting ArrangementsExpress your creativity, and add sophistication to your wall – mix framed oil paintings in creative ways. Like fine ingredients in a fabulous meal, individual works of art can be combined to produce tantalizing wall décor arrangements.

The following is a list of ten well established practices for assembling great displays that turn your ordinary wall into something special…

  1. Balance – No matter what desired effect you wish your art to convey, successful art displays all have one thing in common: a cohesive balance of order, color and scale.
  2. Offset large art with small. Grouping small works of art together with a single large art piece brings to life the arrangement.
  3. Pay attention to the spacing between objects. The spacing should be even among all the pieces. Leave a bigger gap between oil paintings to let each piece be appreciated on its own. For a collage, the unity of the works is key, group the paintings closer together.
  4. Experiment with balance. Play around with different combinations of small and large works of art. As long as it’s symmetrical and well aligned you can just go with what you like best.
  5. Unity – A display can be made up of very different elements; an arrangement can still work as long as there’s a unifying thread, an idea that relates the works to each other.
  6. Choose a subject, theme or color. Subjects such as Nature or Travel are highly popular these days. It can be any theme as long as it links the paintings to each other. I like to create groupings by artists, group four Van Gogh paintings or three Mark Rothko art reproductions together transcends the power of their art and brings to life their unique styles and techniques.
  7. Use matching frames. Matching frames are a must in linking the different art pieces together in a smooth, cohesive way.
  8. Impact – Balance and unity are always important, but for a display to truly knock them off their feet, it needs to have an impact. Experiment with the arrangement, and look for ways to create drama in your display.
  9. Odd numbers of framed oil paintings create the most pleasing effect. Start off by placing the central piece at eye level or slightly above on the wall, and then expand your display outward from there.
  10. Use wall ledges. Ledges provide a blank canvas where you can layer the artwork so that one frame slightly overlaps the other. This technique puts the focus on the display as a whole, rather than on any individual work of art. 

These ten tips are just a few guidelines that you should keep in mind in preparation on your next decorating endeavor. Hope these tips help you out to create fabulous wall arrangements that will bring light and beauty into your homes.

Where is Pablo Picasso?

Written by Amitai Sasson on October 14, 2007

John Cleese and the Monty Python gang in a really funny sketch simulating a bicycle race to fame between the great modern artists of the 20th century. As everyone seems to pass through Picaso seems to be missing…

So, where is Picasso? Well it turns out that Picasso fell off the bike… Don’t worry he is not hurt but the pig has a slight headache…

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