The 50 Paintings project

Painting # 40

Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci painted this canvas of christ in 1490- 527 years back.

Salvator Mumdi is  latin for Saviour of the World.

Christ is shown raising his two fingers in blessing and holding in his left hand a Crystal Orb - symbolising his role as savior of the World

Recently sold for 45 million dollars it becomes the world's most expensive painting ever sold. 

In Painting # 29 I had mentioned about the most expensive painting sold - that of Paul Gauguin titled "When will you marry" . it was bought by Qatar's ruling Emir's sister for 300 million USD

Well now it is no longer in that position because the above painting has been bought at 453 million USD by Prince Bader Bin Abdullah bin Mohammad bin Farhan al-Saud  .

The 50 Paintings Project 

Painting # 39

"Rosie the Riveter" by Norman Rockwell

An image painted by Norman Rockwell to acknowledge and affirm the support that  American women gave to the American  men who had left home  to fight in the World War II. That was a time when a large number of Ameriican Women stepped out to take up jobs for which there were not enough men to do. 

The posture is similar to that of Prophet Isaiah in Michaelangelo's painting in Sistine Chapel.

She has a muscular frame, with the Rivet on her lap and her lunchbox held by her right hand ( from where we get her name ROSIE. 

She is  on a lunch break but yet almost set to get back to work asap.

The American Flag behind her is the symbol of the reason she has chosen to step out of the confines of her home to do a man's job.

And do check out that she is crushing a copy of Mein Kempf by Hitler , clearly suggesting his downfall.And indeed two years later in 1945 the world did witness the end of Hitler.

If this painting is one which you have never seen before , then do have a look at the image below which we all have come across at some point  :)

At Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art at Arkansas, this painting of Rockwell is the reminder of the women's strength and grit . 

The model used for this painting was Rockwell's neighbour Mary Keefe who was immortalised in this painting by Rockwell.

Also Norman was the one who painted the famous (now vintage) Coca Cola   commercials.

"The 50 Paintings" Project

Painting # 38

"Girl at the window" by Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali , a Spanish Painter, sculptor, writer film maker, performer painted this canvas of his sister Anna Maria looking out of the window of their family home in Cadaques Spain. 

Dali is the most prolific artist of the 20th century and a famous surrealist painter. 

Surrealism was a movement which began around 1920 wherein artists painted scenes which seemed like from a dream, sometimes seeming illogical, but painted with a photographic precision nonetheless...  The scenes as though allowed  the unconscious to express itself.

'Girl at the Window' is presently housed in Museum in Spain  , 

however is not as famous as his work "The Persistance of Memory " showing melting clocks - kind of resonating with Einstien's theory that time is not rigid but relative...

If you go to the Museum of Modern Art in New York you can view this painting there donated by an anonymous donor :)

This is a painting which may not appeal to the eye of everyone but is certainly the subject matter of discussion in all art courses and probably is one of his most recognizable  works.

"The 50 Paintings" Project

Painting # 37

"The Crying Boy" by Bruno Amadio

If you travel to the   hill stations in the North of India, especially Mussoorie, Nainital and are walking on the mall road taking in the crisp mountain air.... there is a very good chance  that you may stop outside an Art shop selling paintings - and the reason would generally be the large print of  a cute chubby boy with a tear drop running down his right cheek.

Since my many trips to the beautiful mall road over the last 25 years I  have been looking at this boy with a tear, his sadness always causing a little discomfort in my heart (which lasted only till I made my way to another quaint shop in the hills).

 I was there recently  (excuse no. 1 for not updating my blog last week)  :) and yes it sat there in the same art shop as it had done years ago. When I asked the shop owner about the artist , surely he had no clue about it :)

So it was only this time  that I thought of actually finding out about the artist .

Bruno Amadio was an Italian painter who created a series of "Crying Boy" paintings . He was a trained artist and used to paint in Venice for tourists.

Mass prints of his paintings were created across the world  -  for which no royalty was paid to the artist whatsoever.

The painting prints spread all over with people buying it for the piercing stare of the little boy. 

It was also discovered that many homes / buildings where this painting was housed eventually caught fire . However whenever there was a fire everytime the painting came out unscathed.

So the next time you spot this painting on your adventure in the hills , stop and admire for a moment....

  and then be on your way to the next quaint shop in the mountains . 

P.S.  Hope you had a great Halloween