A painting in the collection of the Prado in Madrid that was long assumed to be a copy of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa done at a later time was recently cleaned and restored, revealing a previously unseen background where there was once just dark, and on further examination is now thought to be a copy done in Leonardos’ studio by one of his pupils at the same time as the master was working on the original.

If true, the painting gives us not only an insight into the master’s techniques, as it was apparently revised as Leonardo revised the original, but also reveals a clearer picture of what the original, which has not been cleaned for some time, may have looked like when originally painted.

According to The Art Newspaper, which broke the story, the scholarly paper that suggests the new placement of the painting within Leonardo’s studio at the same time as the original was presented in conjunction with the current landmark exhibition Leonardo da Vinci: painter at the Court of Milan that ends soon at the National Gallery, London.

I’ve linked to several articles below, though most source from The Art Newspaper. The LA Times has posted perhaps the best side by side image of the two paintings.

The copy by the as yet unidentified student shows us not only the brighter colors that probably lie under layers of varnish in the original, but a younger looking subject (assumed to be Lisa Gherardini).

It also makes clearer what I have long asserted to be the source of her famously “enigmatic smile” — mouth corners turned up at one end, but straight on the other [see my previous post: La Gioconda (The Mona Lisa), flipped for your viewing pleasure].

Sean Beavers is an artist who plays with context, juxtaposing his still life subjects in particular, with boxes, paintings of them resting on drawings of similar subjects, or in other backgrounds that accomplish one of the things that art does best — allowing us to see the commonplace with fresh eyes.

Beavers says in his artist’s statement that he thinks of his work as symbolist, in that the subjects of his compositions represent something beyond the objects themselves, and while I don’t claim to have an understanding of the intentions behind his pieces, I do find that element of “more than meets they eye” comes through and adds to the appeal.

I particularly enjoy the series he calls “Stillscape”, in which he paints objects commonly used for still life in the context of shoreline landscapes.

Beavers also paints figurative work and landscapes. The latter tend to be spare and open, often with dramatic cloud formations as their focus.

[Via Jeffrey Hayes]

Adam Hargreaves is an English painter whose focus is on landscape, and in particular, trees.

Though not present in all of his compositions, trees are often the primary subject. Hargreaves finds special fascination in trees with gnarled, twisted trunks, roots covered in moss and wonderful textural elements that give his landscapes a great deal of presence. In a way, it almost feels as if he were doing tree portraits, so individual do some of them seem.

His work appears detailed in small reproduction, but in larger images shows as pleasingly painterly. Though his approach is never overtly impressionistic and his color palette is often muted, there are times when his compositions remind me of some of Van Gogh’s lesser known works, particularly those influenced by Japanese prints.

I personally respond strongly to visual texture in paintings, and in this characteristic, Hargreaves constantly delights. From weathered bark to soft moss to delicate patterns of leaves and branches, he seeks out the most interesting textural aspects of his scene and conveys them with tactile virtuosity.

Adam Hargreaves is the son of Roger Hargreaves, the well-known author and illustrator of the “Mr. Men” series of children’s books. Adam inherited responsibility for the line from his father, and when not painting, continues to write and illustrate books in the series.

Adam Hargreaves is represented by the Fairfax Gallery which has a selection of his work online.

On Hargreaves’ own site, there are two galleries under “Paintings”, for work from 2010, and 2009. Both come up as a slide show, but it can be stopped and thumbnails can be accessed from controls at the bottom. In the 2010 gallery, there is an additional “zoom” control. While not really a zoom feature in the usual sense, it does bring up larger versions of some of the images (as does clicking on the images themselves).

[Via ensuciando las paredes]