El Greco had ambition. He left Crete for Italy and, later, Spain, chasing a bigger career. Why such restlessness? Money, of course but also a stubborn pursuit of his artistic vision. In Toledo, it finally emerged. His portraits are “fantastic”, his religious works attention-grabbing with their “electric” colours and twisting, elongated figures. El Greco was “all about drama”.
Tapestry is a tough art form – expensive, complex and slow. Artists are not always happy about weavers deciding how a painting (say) is transformed into a woolen and silk object. Thinking tapestry could be modern art, Cuttoli commissioned pieces from artists like Picasso, Braque, and Matisse. Many of the pieces created are masterpieces and helped revitalize the ailing French tapestry industry. An excellent video on tapestry making is in the linked piece.
An ode to a favourite artwork. “The ancient Egyptian head of a queen emerges from an extraordinary piece of yellow jasper. The sculpture was broken below the nose, leaving behind a presciently modern fragment of exquisite lips. [She is] a monument to a pure and constant beauty. So, I suppose I’m tired of the miracle of nature. I want something that … is thrown at me by the breathless force of its creation.”