Among them is, for example, Fruit of Friendship: Portraits of Mary Beale, which shows 25 of his works from public and private collections. In a journey that questions how the painter radically inverted the gender roles of the time, with her husband Charles dedicated to his wife’s career and diligently supporting her studio, the exhibition includes self-portraits, portraits of her family and friends, as well as commissions formal.
These types of affections or collaborations between creators are precisely what Colnaghi investigates in his exhibition of Couples. A proposal that focuses on comparing especially pairs of works – whether by old masters or modern artists – to show the lasting power of inspiration over time.
Thus, for example, we find the Danseuse Espagnole (Spanish dancer), painted by Pablo Picasso in the year 1900, next to the Portrait of Cécile Miguel (1950-1955), by Françoise Gilot. Both painters had a complicated and suffocating relationship –especially for her– for ten years, which inspired, among others, the portrait Flower-woman (1949) by the Spanish creator.
Less truculent was the relationship between José de Ribera and Luca Giordano, a disciple of El Españoleto. This late Baroque Italian painter was the son of Antonio Giordano, a relatively unknown author who was a close friend of Ribera. From a very young age, Luca began to work with the Spanish creator in Naples and traveled with him throughout Italy, which allowed him to develop great skill in his painting. As a reflection of this master-disciple inspiration, the London gallery shows the paintings face to face Archimedes of Ribera and an astrologer by Giordano.
