Guillermo Coll Blog & News

04May 2024 by kike_K No Comments

Domenico Gnoli

Painting

The untimely passing of Domenico Gnoli (1933-1970) has left all of us with “our mouths watering”. Nobody knows how far he could have reached this much original and refined Italian artist, pen-named “the golden boy” by the mass media. Painter, designer, stage designer, able to find the beauty in a button, a lapel or a collar. The subjects of his paintings could be considered as pop- art, but as Gnoli was so elegant, classic and with a metaphysic touch he became also unique, a rare human being of the Italian art in the 20th century, just as Morandi or De Chirico, personal, innovative and, as the same time, attached to the sense of tradition.

William McGregor

Painting

I have always thought that the paintwork achieved from the middle of the 19th to the middle of the 20th centuries is the golden age of modern. One of my favourites is William McGregor Paxton (1869-1941), a much-refined painter which was deeply and undisguisedly inspired by Vermeer, whose works and technical resources he used to furtherly study and this, particularly focussing in the use of dark-room (camera obscura) conditions by the Dutch master. We cannot deny Paxton's admiration of Vermeer, in particular his portraits and indoor sceneries which are so delicate.

Pieter Saenredam

Painting

The indoor and outdoor churches painted by the Dutch Pieter Jansz Saenredam (1597-1665) unveil a certain amount of mystery and a refined special touch and that's the reason they have always been so much captivating over time and for so many painters like Vilhelm Hammershoi or Fernando Zobel. The Saenredam's churches are so different as there is no evident sign of faith, no “grandeur” at all. The characters almost never pray, they just walk along the aisle, visit the chapels, just as they were in a cabinet of curiosities. A touch of austere piety given by the use of colour so measured, so accurate, the rest is just architecture, space and light.