Antonio de la gandara biography sample
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, 20th Mai
"Notable pictures by American and French masters.(…) Passing now from home art to Europe, we find almost a beautiful companion to Whistler's masterpiece [Montesquiou's portrait], and this is Gandara's portrait of the Princesse de Chimay, née Ward. The lady has the reputation of being the most beautiful woman in Paris. Her hair is now golden, in contrast to raven eyelashes, and her imperial profile is majestic. The way the artist has painted her flesh tints is like some delicate shell work. She stands in a flowing, clinging Empire robe of white satin, the short baby waist embroidered in gold. One arm gracefully gathers a long silken gauze scarf, which the other hand just touches. It seems to float from her shoulders, as the dress appears both to cover and show her limbs. She is at once modestly draped and almost nude. Her disdainful head is thrown back; she breathes, and is certainly the most living portrait I have ever seen. As the passing crowd put it, she l
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Biographies
Gandara, Antonio de la ( &#; ) He was born in Paris. From Wikipedia &#;The Free Encyclopedia&#; (with corrections): His father was of Spanish ancestry, born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico and his mother was from England. As such, his talent was strongly influenced by the two cultures. At only 15 years of age, Gandara was admitted as a student of and at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Soon, he was to be recognized when the jury of the Salon des Champs-Elysées singled out the first work he ever exhibited: a portrait of Saint Sebastian. Gerome Cabanel Less than ten years later, young Gandara had become one of the favourite artists of the Paris elite. His models included Countess Greffulhe, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg, Princess of Chimay, Prince de Polignac, Prince de Sagan, Leconte de Lisle, Paul Verlaine, Leonor Uriburu de Anchorena, Sarah Bernhardt, Romaine Brooks, Jean Moreas, and Winnaretta Singer. . . . Influenced by , his unique skill is demonstrated in
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I am Madame X - Scribner, New York
Diliberto, Gioia
March
p - "A few years later, I sat for Antonio de la Gandara. A handsome man with flashing gray eyes and black hair rippling back from a broad forehead, La Gandara was a popular man about town and celebrated painter of fashionable women and historical subjects. He pursued me even more avidly than Sargent had, writing me notes, sending me flowers, calling on me nearly every afternoon to plead his case. Finally, in , I agreed to pose for him. The complete portrait shows me dressed in a shimmering vit satin gown, standing in strong light against a dark background, my face in kontur, my back to the viewer. I'm holding an ostrich-plume fan, and my hair fryst vatten twisted into a high, complicated knot. You can't see much of my face, and the figure is unremarkable. As a work of art, it doesn't amount to much. Yet, it's stylish, and the creamy colors coordinated with our décor. Pierre liked the portrait enormously and had no trouble convin