Romantic Rebellions
D. Anghel 1
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D. ANGHEL
WWW.D-ANGHEL.COM
Front Cover: “Luisa Todi” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas 200x100 cm Lisbon, Portugal 2004 Private Collection
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ICAC
International Confederation of Art Critics
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“Works Of Mercy Clothe The Naked� By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas 160x100 cm, Lisbon, Portugal, 2009 Private Collection of the Portuguese Union of Mercies. Daniela painted all the artworks of the Friar Vitor Melicias Church.
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“The Three Graces” By D. Anghel oil on canvas 247x205 cm Luanda, Angola 2016
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Contents
The Artist
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“Creative Confrontations” Timothy Warrington, International Confederation of Art Critics
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“When Is A Still Life A Still Life?” Timothy Warrington, International Confederation of Art Critics
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“Romantic Rebellions” Peter Gagliardi, Chianciano Art Museum Curator
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“Surrealist Suggestions” Karen Lappon, International Confederation of Art Critics
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Artist Statement (un) folding life
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List Of Works
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“Banquet at the monastery” By D. Anghel, acrylic on canvas, 170x160 cm Lisbon, Portugal 2007, Private Collection
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“Leisure” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas 170x180cm Lisbon, Portugal 2007 Private Collection
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“Banquet” By D. Anghel Oil on canvas Previous Pages: “Banquet” By D. Anghel Oil on canvas “Banquet Detail” By D. Anghel Oil on canvas
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D. Anghel with artwork “Huambo Market” Oil on canvas 250x300cm Luanda, Angola, 2014, Private Collection
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The Artist
D. Anghel’s style is unique and the works feature monumental dimensions: the objects and figures that “inhabit” the suspended bodies turn D. Anghel’s work into an idiosyncratic place that awakens the vision. The image in the painting is structured as an “against-inside” movement that appears as the limit (de)constructed by bodies that reveal distances beyond the possibility of touching the visible; in other words, the drama of an open and closed space at the same time. So, the painting demands an infinite transformation method, perpetually creating a distance from and towards proximity constructed through the fold. D. Anghel studied painting and engraving techniques in the studios of great masters from Romania, Portugal, Israel, Germany and Russia. She graduated from the Fine Art Faculty of the Lisbon University in 2004. D. Anghel worked and lived in Romania, Portugal, Morocco, Brazil, Russia and Angola, where she has been living for the past 4 years.
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“Damascus Roses” By D. Anghel, Oil on canvas, 250x300 cm Luanda, Angola 2017 (with details)
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Creative Confrontations
Daniela Anghel is an artist that paints along the boundaries of conceptual, experimental and traditional art through an exquisite style that is as Baroque as it is contemporary and as Avant Garde as it is classical. The viewer encounters a surprising wealth of history, ideas and profound thought captured by a gripping, powerful and evocative hand. Hundreds of years of tradition are deconstructed, interpreted and masterfully recomposed into unique and compelling artworks that test and teach the meaning of art in all its wonder. The philosophical ideas behind Anghel’s work are nearly as remarkable as the execution itself. She is able to eloquently communicate her dissatisfaction with current artistic trends while conceiving staggering paintings that fulfil all the contemporary needs for innovation and novelty albeit without betraying the seeds and roots so painstakingly laid by the creative genius that preceded her. Parts of Angel’s expressive process are themselves a form of rebellion against current artistic output, or lack of, embracing what can be considered as true art. She approaches painting as a means to express and convey emotions and philosophies through a cultivated, refined and intricate style that radiates quality, talent and endless research.
Timothy Warrington International Confederation of Art Critics
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“Arab Beauty” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, 140x300 cm, Brasilia, Brasil, 2012
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When Is A Still Life A Still Life?
Anghel utilises the symbolic meaning of the still life, an art form that has been neglected but also devastated by modern ideas, as a provocation to viewer. Once a sacred and loved art form, from the renaissance to Van Gogh and the Victorian Era, it has seen a sharp decline in appreciation, artistic integrity and sophistication. In fact, the art market itself has neglected the Still Life in recent years due to minimal demand from collectors as a whole. However, the symbol is strong and the message is clear in that the Still Life represents an inherent academic and intellectual quality that is objective and tangible. It is this indisputable and indispensable requirement of skill and talent, also integral to Anghel’s work, that is arguably absent in too many forms of modern art and installation. Art and artistic ability have been somewhat disconnected as the latter is, paradoxically, no longer a necessity in the conception of so called art. The Still Life, the culmination of solitary artistic study, contains a powerful meaning in the context of Anghel’s work and perhaps been reinvented by this artist although without the will to alter its intellectual foundations. A new energy and meaning are intended to highlight the inadequacies of today’s art forum albeit without attempting to challenge art itself, rather Anghel underlines the connection between her creations and art history while emphasising the distance between art history and much of contemporary art. A distinction based on talent, thought, research, execution and undeniable genius. Anghel has utilised the Still Life’s embedded roots but juxtaposed its identity into a new concept that incorporates the narrative aspect of religious art with the idea of discovering silent and static beauty by painting an object through an intense investigation of form. She has changed the rules
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“Raw Chocolate” By D. Anghel acrylic on wood, 30x30 cm, Lisbon, Portugal, Private Collection
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When Is A Still Life A Still Life?
with regards to compositional approaches expected from distinct artistic models with the magnification of immense attention to detail usually reserved for much smaller and simpler types of work. The fluidity, depth and light that emanates and is captured in so many of Anghel’s paintings conveys a superbly modern approach to subject matter while, in contrast, the detail required to embark and execute artworks of such strength utilising chiaroscuro, an infinitely elegant colour palette and sublime brush strokes has a profound impact on the viewer. It is doubtless that no such vision and penetrative portrayal of what art is, and what art ought to be, would be possible without such skilful technical skills and magnificent artistic vision. The intellectual challenge brought forward by Daniela Anghel is significant in that it questions the purpose of art as a means of communication while simultaneously representing the polar opposite of many aspects of contemporary art. Anghel is an artist whose versatility and sublime talent offers her the priceless ability to choose an art form and invent a new direction. The infinite creativity and instinctive gift to freely and eloquently juxtapose a wide variety and range of artistic experiments onto one canvas is exceptional, not to mention rare. We encounter a sensationally unique mind that can confidently and effectively draw a direct comparison from Picasso to Caravaggio whilst communicating the fragile and delicate nature of art by skilfully and fabulously utilising distorted imagery that conveys a sense of time, elegance and depth that is as inventive as it is gripping.
Timothy Warrington International Confederation of Art Critics
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“Temptation” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, 120x100cm, Lisbon, Portugal, 2006 Private Collection of Maria Marques
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“Surrender” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, 120x100 cm, Lisbon, Portugal, 2006 Private Collection of Maria Marques
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“Becoming Saint John The Baptist” By D. Anghel Oil on canvas 221,5x312 cm Luanda, Angola, 2015 (with details)
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Top: “Fisherman” By D. Anghel, acrylic on canvas with gold foil 170x300 cm Lisbon, Portugal, 2007, Private Collection of Choi Man Hin Right: “Snowland” By D. Anghel, acrylic on canvas, 170x300 cm Lisbon, Portugal, 2007 Previous Page: “Social Realism” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, 200x300 cm Brasilia, Brasil, 2012
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“Surrealism is not a movement. It is a latent state of mind perceivable through the powers of dream and nightmare” Salvador Dalí
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Romantic Rebellions
Ideas of rebellion conveyed through concurrent artistic philosophies are a central theme of Anghel’s work in that she essentially utilises her superior artistic capabilities to communicate and affirm the point that not all art is the same. Rebellion does not however negate romanticism and a deep rooted sense of poetic beauty remains an intrinsic characteristic of her work, regardless of the complex subject matters and demanding issues tackled. The parallels that can be drawn through art history are endless and an interesting example are the Pre-Raphaelites. The likes of Burne Jones, Lord Leighton and Dante Gabriel Rossetti idealised the female figure and expended significant energy into the creation of the perfect portrait. In the late 19th Century, these artists moved away from artistic forms related to expected norms and developed a comparatively modern style whilst reinventing certain aspects of the Renaissance. Anghel can be said to have an equally exciting evolutionary journey, however, she has the rare ability to conceive and transmit romance in the most difficult and challenging contexts. Anghel is an artist that uses a meticulous and elegant delicate style to create monumental paintings that are enriched with profound creative vivacity and compelling artistic integrity.
Peter Gagliardi Chianciano Art Museum Curator
Opposite: “Pink Rococo� By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, 150x120 cm Lisbon, Portugal, 2005
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“Holy Ghost the Father� By D. Anghel, engraving Prova de artista, agua forte, agua tinta, maneira negra, Lisbon, Portugal, 2003
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“Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art� Leonardo da Vinci
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“Works Of Mercy Visit The Sick” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, 160x Private Collection of the Portuguese Union of Mercies. Daniela pain
x180 cm, Lisbon, Portugal, 2009 nted all the artworks of the Friar Vitor Melicias Church
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“Dutch Window” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, 146x97 cm, Lisbon, Portugal, 2002 Private Collection, Honorable Mention at the Spring Salon of 2003, Art Gallery of the Estoril Casino 38
“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen� Leonardo Da Vinci
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“Works Of Mercy Giving Drink To The Thirsty” By D. Anghel, acrylic on canvas, 120x100cm, Lisbon, Portugal, 2009, Private Collection of the Portuguese Union of Mercies. Daniela painted all the artworks of the Friar Vitor Melicias Church Opposite: Detail of “Works Of Mercy Giving Drink To The Thirsty” 40
Surrealist Suggestions
D. Anghel is not a typical artist and upon primary viewing of her work the link with the subconscious dimensions of her mind are highly distinguishable. She experiments with touches of surrealism and still life as well as more traditional artistic methods allowing for the conception of complex paintings that are uniquely classical and in the same instance avante garde. The artist’s personal style is able to instantly capture the spectator’s interest through boldness of colour and powerful movement combined with expressive and very fine brushwork. The artwork is highly distinctive and the artist is wonderfully talented and holds exceptional skill. Anghel connects surrealism with other aspects of art history, the Renaissance and the Victorian era are combined in paintings where people and objects are indiscriminate. The artist creates paintings within paintings in compositions that are presented as still lifes of magical dreams. The artist has created an intellectually stimulating unique style of painting that amalgamates art history and expresses her mind powerfully and creatively. Anghel’s artwork consists of very fine brushstrokes and evocative hues making her paintings extremely dramatic and vigorous. In fact, the compositions provoke intrigue in the viewer, conveying an affinity with nature and life as well as fantasy, an attribute that correlates well in numerous works.
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“Renaissance” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas 176x195 cm Lisbon, Portugal, 2003, Private Collection
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Surrealist Suggestions
Anghel quite literally draws inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci, particularly with her paintings “Mona Lisa Revisited” and “Attributed to Leonardo da Vinci” as well as the Renaissance, from which she has been significantly inspired. The artist transports the spectator back to the 15th Century whilst maintaining a modern vision in creating a balance and sense of individual innovation to her paintings. Parallels can be drawn between Anghel and Titian as well as Michelangelo in relation to use of colour and the creative process seen in the work. One can also claim an evident inspiration taken from Salvador Dalí and Max Ernst in regards to the tecnical approach used by Anghel. The artist, quite remarkably, reinvents elements from art history with her own artistic approach creating diverse and exquisite artworks, captivating the observer and leaving them touched. The paintings are experiments of shape and movement balanced on the delicate ideas that bound the gentle emotions that transmit hidden romantic and poetic messages. The effect formed by the complementary colours is stunning and their strong impact on the eye is absolutely powerful and breathtaking. The spectator can experience the thought process of being enthralled by the artist’s way of expression which translates into how Anghel views the world, she tells a story in her artwork making each artistic conception intriguing and eloquent. There is an enormous regard to tradition in her paintings, she touches upon the juxtaposition of culture and complex social matters, this radiates through the paintings and creates the message in the artwork. The regard and interest in the world and rich influences from global cultures undoubtedly derives from the background of the artist who has experiences a wide variety of different traditions and environments. Anghel has a broad understanding of the world, and a naturally inquisitive personality and unrivaled skill to communicate her thoughts and creative conceptions.
Karen Lappon International Confederation of Art Critics
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Above: “Contemplation Of Byzantium (Catholic Body)” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas 97x200 cm, Lisbon, Portugal, 2002, Private Collection Opposite: “Odd Nerdrum” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, 146x97 cm Lisbon, Portugal, 2002, Private Collection
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“Cherry Tree Out Of Blossom II” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, 180x200cm, Lisbon, Portugal, 2011 Opposite: “Cherry Tree Out Of Blossom I” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, 30x30 cm, Lisbon, Portugal 2011, Private Collection Previous Pages: “Attributed To Leonardo Da Vinci” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, 170x180 cm, Lisbon, Portugal, 2007, Private Collection
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“Leningrad” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas 200x300cm, Lisbon, Portugal, 2007
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“Creativity is that marvelous capacity to grasp mutually distinct realities and draw a spark from their juxtaposition� Max Ernst
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“Huambo Market” By D. Anghel oil on canvas 250x300 cm, Luanda, Angola, 2014 Private Collection
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“Reserved Land” By D. Anghel oil on canvas, 169x200cm, Luanda, Angola, 2016
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“An artist does his most difficult work when he steps back from the blank canvas and thinks about what he is going to create” Michelangelo
Opposite: “Paula Rego” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, Lisbon, Portugal, 2005, Private Collection Previous Pages: “Country Life” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, 100x130 cm, Lisbon, Portugal, 2008 57
“Amalia Rodrigues” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, 195x176 cm, Lisbon, Portugal 2005, Private Collection of the Appolloni family
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“Final Judgement” By D. Anghel, acrylic on canvas 146x97cm, 146x97cm, made in 2002, Lisbon, Portugal, Private Collection
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“Qatar Airways” By D. Anghel oil on canvas, 250x300 cm, Luanda, Angola, 2015
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“Diana The Goddess Of The Hunt” By D. Anghel oil on canvas, 250x300cm Luanda, Angola, 2015 Opposite: “Dyrup Paints” By D. Anghel oil on canvas 250x200 cm, Luanda, Angola, 2015
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“Sophia De Melo Breyner” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, 180x160 cm Lisbon, Portugal, 2005, Private Collection of the Appolloni family
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“Lilies” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, 180x160 cm, Lisbon, Portugal, 2000
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“Desert Ship” By D. Anghel oil on canvas, 200x250cm Luanda, Angola, 2015 64
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“Banquet” By D. Anghel, oil on canvas oil on canvas, 250x300cm, acrylic on canvas, Brasilia, Brazil, 2012 66
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“Business Opportunities“ By D. Anghel oil on canvas with gold foil, 92x130 cm Luanda, Angola, 2017
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“Cherry Trees Out Of Blossom III” By D. Anghel oil on canvas with gold foil, 100x100 cm Luanda, Angola, 2017
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“The Three Graces” By D. Anghel oil on canvas, 130x100 cm Luanda, Angola, 2017
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“Works Of Mercy Visit The Imprisoned” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, 160x100 cm, Lisbon, Portugal, 2009 Private Collection of the Portuguese Union of Mercies. Daniela painted all the artworks of the Friar Vitor Melicias Church Next Pages: “Holy Spirirt Made in China” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, 200x300cm, Brasila, Brasil, 2012
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“Pheasant Soup” By D. Anghel oil on canvas with gold foil, 50x40cm, Luanda/Angola, 2018
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THE ARTIST'S STATEMENT: (UN)FOLDING LIFE October, 2012 ABSTRACT The imminence of the tragedy opens the possibility of a new and paradoxical experimentation of the present. We assume that present can be lived and tasted in its unpredictability and transforming power, only because future has become impossible. Without future, to make things happen becomes imminent. Our main focus of this project is to disseminate the critical thought and the artistic production by opening spaces of experimentation so that the present can be discussed and exposed to new forms of intervention in the reality. We aim to build spaces (pictorial or sculptural spaces) able to promote forms of debate that can come across the political, economical and social positions of the moment. This is not only a proposal that intends to reconsider and renew the politics of the aesthetic thought but also a strategical and contextual affirmation of the primacy of politics, of the possibility of acting “despite all” and “against” the economical and social determinism. DENUNCIATION It’s urgent an art that revolts us by showing us revolting things, that makes us move on, act, that proposes a critical point of view toward the domination forms, that transforms us in a resistance against the system. Art needs a new explicit form with causes and consequences. Its exercise should create moments of ambiguity, a sense crisis, in order to appeal to what’s obvious. It is necessary to delete the bound between ignorant people and illuminated ones. We cannot let ourselves overwhelmed by the “complexity of the system”. Today, the danger is not that they are trying to cheat on us, but that they do disillusion us. So, the main place of the research is the paradigm of the denunciation. The work of art assumes the responsibility of showing what we don’t know yet, of building the idea of a lucid critical point of view, opposite to the unconsciousness of those who don’t want to or cannot see the reality of the historical processes. Surely, there is no way that could lead us to the diagnostic, on the contrary, we need to take distance not to come back to certainties, to the “right treatment”, but to put the finger on the wound, and not to appoint it to guilt. The work of art is not looking for guilty people; it creates the place for a new reflection, the possibility of a new life. The artist does not have a conceptual map with solutions for the problems of the contemporary world, but the artist has got the arms to affirm, to create its speculative exercises, to undo the models of concrete political matters. This process of unwrapping the political statements (on freedom, racial, religious, economical problems, for example) will seek the logic that there is more to be seen than we can see, than we may have in front of our eyes. Therefore, we propose to experiment some specific contexts, which will reveal to be closer than they seemed to be, and introduce them in a movement. Our artistic exercise will not bring answers about the causes of the problems but will develop inquiries that aim to make bodies and motivations to re-organize the communitarian and social perspective, working with and on discontentment.
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“Folding Blood� By D. Anghel, Prova de artista, agua forte, agua tinta, maneira negra, Lisbon, Portugal, 2002
Our purpose is to diagnose the ingenuous and to demolish the illusions. Our main character will be the “innocent”, the idealist. On the other side we’ll have the realist – the reasonable type. This is the way that the world is distributed. We see it as more efficient than other antagonist criteria, with which we seem to be more familiar, such as: truth and lie, insanity and rationality, good and bad, etc. The innocent hero is a militant whose ideas and causes forbid him to see the world as it is. In our works will have, on one hand, places where the “innocents” live, tied up to unquestionable evidences, attached to the superficial skin of things; on the other hand, a common place where the “reasonable man” lives, where evidences tie up all those who’ve lost their illusions. The important thing is that we have got naive and self-consciousness people, ignorant people and sharp ones, illusionists and down-to-earth ones. Seeking these criteria of dominated/dominator, dreamy/ realistic, the project embodies a double principle as a point of departure: • in a way, it aims to revisit and to unwrap some existent narratives on centuries of artistic production; • in another way, it re-launches those historical, canonical thoughts on art into a new aesthetic, philosophical and political context. The artistic discourse will gain a critical state during the process of re-composition. Individuals get out of their original places (a determined social class, for example), free themselves of their predestined life and future. People will get out of their network, will lose their destiny. Undressed by its original/ predestined habitat, our character will be seen as a body out of joint, out of the regular distribution of places, out of social competences. 1. The first phenomena that we’ll consider for the experimentation is the European fortress as a discussion on the economical and social protectionism. We will contemplate words, environments and not individual stories. In this case, what is to be thought and painted is not the problem of equality that should include everyone but the crises, the despair and the disequilibrium that it generates. The disequilibrium will be used as a strategy for temporary configurations not of those who want to stay but of those who want to run. 2. A second territory of exploration will be the recent “Arabic spring” emancipation movement. 3. The right to run is our third focus. The figure of those who migrate, the dislocated human being, the emigrant who needs to run as a consequence of an economical problem is seen from a negative point of view. And our question is why political migrants are considered heroes and economical migrants are just a bunch of slaves? We aim to think the problem of the migration not only as a consequence of the globalization but as a challenge for the artistic production. We’ll been trying to re-organize the present, not only as an effect of the imminence of the disaster but also as a way of re-visiting some themes such as: “The Hero of our time”, by Mikhail Lermontov, “The stealing of Europe”, “Pilgrims going to Mecca”, by Léon Belly, “The market in Cairo”, by Leopold Carl Muller, “Desert”, by Leopold Carl Muller, “The death of Sardanapalus”, by George Gordon, Lord Byron (Delacroix version), “Pietá”, “The Saint Trinity”, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, by Charles Lutwidge Dogdson (Lewis Carroll), “Come to Marlboro Country” (The Horse of Marlboro myth). Of course, there are many ways of questioning and building the problems described. The change we pretend to build in painting is not a cure, but another way to tell the story that we (do not) know. The research will be focused on the denunciation of a systematic major, canonical point of view. D. Anghel
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“Beatriz” By D. Anghel oil on canvas, 109x73cm, Luanda, Angola, 2018
THE PHYLOSHOPHY BEHIND THE ART FOLD - WAYS TO (DIS)APPEAR STILL LIFE BECOMING SCULPTURES v. THE PAINTING AS BODY / OUT-OF-FASHION MEAT
STILL LIFE BECOMING SCULPTURE (Dis)Equilibrium, Intensity, Heat, Movement We start from a balanced pictorial genre: almost radical through its “canonization” throughout art history, almost static in the glorifying approach. We revisit classical compositions of Frans Snyders, Georg Flegel, Pieter Claesz, Edward Ladell, Henry Fantin Latour, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Henry Matisse. We have three classical parameters as organizing criteria : the light, the composition and the colour. Following the guidance of these operators, we dare to introduce a destabilizing element inside the original structure, something that comes to disturb the limits imposed by the artist's style/era. The new element has the strength of the untimely (in Nietzsche's acceptance) – it perturbs, it violates, it fragments, it reorganizes, it transforms and introduces, in a new series, something that seemed unmovable, stopped inside the canon: a still life. The change that we propose to operate adventures itself, on one hand, to extract the strength component of the initial painting, its dominating function, its safe haven. The extraction/mutation rewrites the work, not in a different canon, but in an experimentation line that grants it, not strength, but a power, a (dis)equilibrium function, a movement, something that characterizes the bodies – the heat, something that characterizes machines – the intensity, something that characterizes life itself – the germination, the meat, the movement. I.“Persistence” in the LIGHT- «how to design an immanence plane??», II. Composition: «c(ha)osmos», III Chromatic: «meaning crisis», IV. Movement: «the body factory»
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“Strawberries” By D. Anghel oil on canvas with gold foil, 70x70cm, Luanda, Angola, 2018
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Objectives The objectives of this work arise from the imperative of the necessity, in which we acknowledge three main functions: 1. polemic function, 2. repairing function, 3. creative function. The polemic function starts as an awakening of the consciousness of a void in the present artistic production: the role of the still life is devalued and deposited in a corner of the art history. The closest expression that we have been encountering throughout the XX century are the experiences of the ready-made and some installations. On the other hand, the practice of discontinuation between artistic expression and reflection, lead us into moments of blindness and conceptual ambiguity. For this reason, we challenge ourselves – and this would be the repairing function – to test, in various territories and from multiple perspectives, that movement through which the still life will be exposed to speculation, not only to have a glimpse of its moving architecture, but also to shake the reflection itself. The still life does not serve to name the world, it does not serve to reproduce what is already made – through a common language – but to name a species of double of the world, able to gather its violence and its excess, with the goal of relaunching life forces and to become creation and invention through its power. The still life belongs to that movement of becoming of the world and therefore it cannot continue to belong to a closed time. Against the reproductive imitation of life, we promote a production of the new. Under this vital signal, we keep rehearsing the creative function. I. “Persistence” in the LIGHT - «how to design an immanence plane?» We know that any object becomes visible as it receives light and shade, at the same time that the object itself is capable of inventing its own light. The light modulates the dark, touches the shade and turns the space sensitive itself. We can use the example of the painting “Holy Spirit made in China”. We insist in the light and in its modelling ability to construct a new body, starting from a still life classical composition, shaping it and giving it a robust three-dimensional quality. We open passages through which the light can cross the planes of that “new body” of the Still Life and touches the objects painted a priori. In those moments, the object is outside and inside at the same time. So, the “new” Still Life, or better yet, the “derivative”, “adulterated” Still Life, possesses objects with double function, in regard to the intrusive movement of the light at the border that is created between figuration regimes. In this way, an object of the original still life gains movement power from inside to outside and also at the same time from the outside to inside. There is also another plane: the one of the general light of the main composition: this “global” light cannot cross through the planes of the “new body”, since this body maintains an obvious autonomy before the simultaneous composition that develops in its interior.
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“Govaert Flinck, Portrait of an Old Man” By D. Anghel, acrylic on panel, 34x40cm Lisbon, Portugal, 2010
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Besides introducing this border movement (“outside/inside”) of the objects from the original structure, we also create bodies with the purpose of resurfacing figuration with self-light and self-shadow, though without establishing a relationship with the objects/other figures previously painted. Even though there is a coincidence place, they inhabit different planes; they juxtapose only in a coincidence limit or a cutout to favour autonomy. The volume or speciality of this “new body”, that we see in the end, is the result of the action of the light (shadow). The “global” light creates one in its folds, an interior that, nevertheless, resists. That interior becomes, at the same time, spacial through the modelling force of the light, becomes tangible. The light sources the “inside” objects receive, can coincide or not with the outside light sources (“global light”). Even when they coincide, it is maintained at a distance, a species of abstraction, since they inhabit different immanent planes. In essence, they are micro-cosmoses that inhabit the same c(ha)osmos. In the Still Life we confer a different body to the objects, with own light and shadow that distinguish themselves in the darkness of the background. The folds of the original colours in the new body will not stop reminding us of the impressive cut the bodies create on the dark background. Pieter Claesz's Still Life has enchanted for centuries with its rigorous composition regime, through its simplicity and discreet palette. How to create a mutation within that perfection and at the same time make it become more, through less? We know that the idea of perfection has been profoundly rooted in the consciousness of the artists until the XIX century. The method of representation of the primitive Still Life necessarily implied a selection of objects from nature, starting from a predetermined mental idea (originated from God or the artist), that is starting from an idea originated from the observation of nature, within the representation regime. The attention given to substances and textures of the represented objects has always had a prominent place in Flemish and Dutch Baroque painting. Today, we find ourselves obliged to learn from these masters, in order to be in a position of inventing them. Without losing the art of describing Claesz, we propose a rereading exercise. Through the intervention, the objects lose their original position and enter into an inside-outside oscillating movement. In the “Still Life with Terms and a Bust of Ceres” (oil on canvas, 171x241cm, circa 1630, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia) of Frans Snyders we find ourselves in front of a classical painting, static, with a wreath of fruit, vegetable and grains, that surrounds the bust of Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, fertility and summer. This wreath stands out from the almost monochromatic background and is suspended by two terms, one male and one female, statues of Terminus, the god of borders. Among the creatures included by Snyders are a crested woodpecker, a monkey and a squirrel. This painting may have been designed as a screen to cover a fireplace during the summer months. In the middle, the bust of Ceres belongs to the same plane as the symmetrical figures of the exterior sides, helping in the distancing from the central form with fruit and vegetables.
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“Tea for Two with Braque” By D. Anghel oil on canvas with gold foil, 70x70cm, Luanda, Angola, 2018
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The modification possibilities of the relationships of estrangement and proximity between the elements of this Snyders' painting are multiple. The specific and tangible construction of new bodies through the new light (without losing sight of the original, in the case that the intention is to keep the original as referent), not only enables this possibility, but also generates unprecedented results. By placing the “outside light” as a necessary experience for the Still Life modification as pictorial genre, we can glimpse various purposes: • At a first reading, what matters is not that the objects' image appears before the general perception of the painting. This way, the objects will be put in remote positions, even though they continue to be visible. • Another case appears, if we relate disappearance of things in the image (under the action of the “outside light”) to the world of the objects painted in the shadow area. • On the other hand, the object can be highlighted as if it were to claim the position as image in detriment of the “new body”. • A different situation contemplates the complete disappearance of the objects: • in other words, an object that was part of the original Still Life appears in “my new body” in a new form to substitute it, i.e. the absence gains a shape through its modelling capacity of the light and of the shadow – the absence works as a presence; • the disappeared object cannot only inhabit an absence place, it also appears concealed in a different visible object that is in its place, with which it cannot have anything in common. The chiaroscuro quality that it possesses, nonetheless, can change the intensity of light or shadow of the “new body” of the Still Life; • in place of the absent object remains engraved an emptiness in itself. This total absence can be decisive for the balance of the light/shadow of the new space; • the body of the absent object is suggested by the fold of the “new body”, that enables us to imagine its presence because of the continuity of the original context: it is left behind, hidden in the fold, while the rest of the territory in which it existed remains visible (another alternative of the present/absent). The options that I describe can occur simultaneously, in the same Still Life. II. Composition: «c(ha)osmos» As an approach to reinventing the Still Life, we must consider the possibility of reinterpreting the paintings of this cubists' beloved genre. Multiple critics consider that the fragmentation and the deconstruction of the object in painting has reached its highest expression in the cubist Still Life. Could we take the cubist fragmentation of the Still Life even further? Could these painters imagine that the Still Life, painted and finished by them could suffer changes, through being cropped, assembled and disassembled again? Is it actually possible that a cubist fragmentation process does not end when it receives a frame in a museum? The cubist “synthesis” is a process of ideas, materials and image combination. The term “synthetic” implies something artificial and fabricated. The collage has been, in its primitive forms, a characteristic of the cubism. Materials such as the newspaper, the linoleum, the wallpaper or the metal appear frequently in the compositions, many times glued directly on the canvas. This “papier colle” together with the introduction of words complete the concept of synthesis.
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“Forbidden Territory - Madalenas” By D. Anghel oil on canvas with gold foil, 50x70cm, Luanda, Angola, 2018
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Starting from this perspective, we propose a “collage” simulation, as a first possible dislocation from the cubist Still Life. We will attribute to the traditional methods, so rejected by them (the materiality, the natural colour, the light/the shadow and the perspective), an opportunity to construct other bodies. In this “Still Life: Le Jour (1929)” (oil on canvas, 115x146,7cm, National Art Gallery Washington DC), Braque concentrates on surface textures and shows the highest interest in using the colours, while Picasso, who was a precursor in using real materials to represent textures on canvas, prefers a reduced chromatic. His Still Life presents itself as a plane surface, bi-dimensional, with object fragmentation, typical of synthetic cubism. While audacious green planes dominate the general impression of the composition, we can still identify some daily objects, for example the vase, the pipe, the guitar, the knife, two fruits and a table. The scenario has, as a background, a wall divided between a superior part, with decorative motifs and an inferior part, using a brown tone with black rectangles. The texture of the wood received an almost realistic treatment. These artists have simplified the natural objects, invented volumes, repeated certain forms and created overlapping planes. Why demolish such a perfect construction? Initially, we will try to agree with them and we will use overlapping, but, this time, with a practical purpose, exterior to the knowledge of the cubist painter. This way, starting from a Still Life of Braque we will re-simplify the natural objects, we will reinvent particular forms and we will multiply the planes of the overlapping objects. Finally, how is it possible to multiply the overlapping planes, from a practical point of view? The answer can be found in the very definition of “analytical” cubism. During the “analytical” period (1909 – 1912), Picasso and Braque (and other artists, like Fernand Leger and Juan Gris who formed the cubist movement) refined the observation method of painting systematically, proposing a “multiple perspective”, a view that goes over all the angles and all the planes of the objects. Generally, they positioned the object in the middle of the page/painting, in order to go around the object and paint all its sides. In fact, as the name of the analytical approach indicates, it is the method that determines this scientific process. The paintings, in a certain way, the method itself, determine this almost scientific method. The paintings of this phase guarantee that the multitude of perspectives of the same subject had been painted on canvas, and not only from one frontal and thus limiting angle. Adopting this principle of “analytic” cubism, we will produce the following dislocation: • constructing from “Still Life: Le Jour (1929)” a body through which the “global light” passes (the original Still Life will be inside, painted and subjected to the actions previously explained, for a new light to be originated); “Thirst, 221,5x312cm, 2016, oil on canvas, Luanda” • placing that same reinvented “body” in the middle of the painting; • imagining a journey through a simple glimpse: “Thirst (2016)”, “The Three Graces (2004, 2016, 2017), “Becoming Saint John the Baptist (2015)” • painting multitudes of perspectives of this “new body”, just as the cubists did. This way, we learn the lesson thoroughly, the typical painting of the “synthetic” cubism of Braque, “Still Life: Le Jour (1929)”, not only gains a “new” external “light” (contrary to the principle of any cubist painting, that has no light), but the original composition also suffers a mutation, in being submitted to the rules of “analytic” cubism (which accepts the method only as a dislocation from the theoretic experience – since from a practical point of view, we cannot ignore the differences). Could we think of this example as being a transformative exercise of a “synthetic” cubism Still Life in a work that could be designated as “analytical-realism-cubism”?
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“Wanted” By D. Anghel oil on canvas with gold foil, 50x40cm, Luanda, Angola, 2018
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To be able to “open” (the use of the term is intentional, since we consider them “closed”) new spaces for the objects (fragments) of a Still Life and construct new ways of existence through the mutation of the composition, it is necessary, before everything, to explain which are the changes that an object (part of, fragment) can suffer, since we intend to cross the “border”, the limits imposed by the style. Our object/fragment, already invented, stops being the same the moment it surpasses the limit that maintains it “inside”, according to the coordinates of the original painting. The exit is in itself an act of reinvention and redefinition. The cut operated in the composition will provide our object a multiplicity of movements that follow a logic of passage: inside/outside. The variations of these infinite states put us in the impossibility of analysing all the options that a new space can originate.The migration of the object to a new painting can cause alterations that only affect the object itself, in regard to light/shadow, colour, drawing, form, texture, sense – even though they do not happen all at the same time – according to the new pictorial space in which it is installed. Once painted, the very object can trigger transformations in other territories/objects that surround it. The new composition can create an exteriority relationship with other compositions/the original painting, since it works as an echo. This way, we will have the following criteria as a starting point of the analysis: a. Transformation of the objects/fragments: • The object is dislocated to an outside space from the original one, and in this way receives a new inside, the same way that the inside can inhabit the exterior places in the new composition. • This type of change is not rare for an object that appears in the Dutch paintings of the XIV and XV centuries. A lot could be said even about this, taking into account the existence of the schools where the apprentice showed his abilities through the capacity to copy and multiply. A prime example is the painter Edward Ladell, who multiplied the appearance of a duck in his paintings. As we can see, Ladell's duck changes multiple times the place, the position, the light, the colour. This is a self-taught painter that paints with an impressive level of realism, typical for an old Dutch master, specialized in Still Life, composed by fruit, birds and a variety of objects. His works can be easily identified due to the frequent use of the same objects. Starting from this premise, we invent a new place for Ladell's duck. The Still Life “Banquet” is an adoptive territory for this travelling duck. As in Ladell's works, it gains new neighbours that remember, in terms of the composition, its paintings. It is not identical in any of them, it is simulated, just. By the duck, there is a ceramics vase, but it loses its shape and its original colour and even the perspective is slightly changed. The duck is painted in the extremity of the lower right side. The duck did not just lose its central place, but also stopped being the same: it lost the space it had in the Ladell original, it lost its interior. But, why attribute the duck painted in “Still Life with bird” (oil on canvas, 42,2 x 64,8cm) to Ladell and not to another, since this duck species is one of the most painted by the Still Life painters? Because the vase that is painted next to it is the approximation that determines the connection with the outside. Removing the vase would make the duck not to be Ladell's one any more. This way, we have another example of the second criteria (b) of the analysis, in which the context changes through the object. • Another example of the mutation happens in the representations of the duck in the superior side of the Still Life “Banquet” (250x300cm, acrylic on canvas, Brasilia, 2012). This duck shows its similarities in terms of colour and light (multiple artworks painted by Edward Ladell). The fresh colour of the feathers, the clear white, the intense emerald-green with dark modulations, or the dark brown
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“Temptation” By D. Anghel oil on canvas with gold foil, 50x50cm, Luanda, Angola, 2018
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collar that stands out in the limit of the white, make us think of the representation of the painter Ladell. But, there is no Ladell painting in that the duck is hanging from the wall. b. Context transformations in regard to the objects. To draft a map for this movement, we will explore some paintings in which the object appears hanging on the wall. The first artist that hung an object on the wall and conferred it a real feeling was Jacopo de Barbari (c. 1440- before 1516), Italian painter and engraver. “The Still Life with partridge and iron gloves” (1504), marks the beginning of the independent Still Life in “trompe l'oeil”. The paintings of the Flemish artists of the XV, XVI and XVII centuries are full of representations of vegetables, birds, animals and suspended objects. Pieter Aertsen (1508-1575), Beuckelaer Joachim (aprox. 1535- 1574), Adriaen van Utrecht ( 1599-1652) y Frans Snyders (, 1579-1657), are some of the most important painters of monumental Still Life of the baroque. A habit of these painters is having in a secondary register a narrative scene, in the background of the Still Life. This style inclination privileges the Still Life and opens a multiplicity of continuous variations of the genre. To draft an approach of the journey of the suspended duck in the tradition of the primitive Still Life, we invoke some artworks: “Prawns, a Mallard, a Lemon, an Apple, Grapes and a Stoneware Jug” (oil on canvas, 35,6 x 30,5 cm), ”Still Life with duck” (oil on canvas), Edward Ladell. The “Still Life with Hare and Birds” ( oil on canvas, 86 x 117 cm, c. 1646) painted by Adriaen van Utrecht is a classical example of the hunting scene of the era. The birds, the animals, the fruit and the vegetables, gain an obvious highlight over the dark background of the composition. The suspended birds are situated in the superior part, where the duck occupies a central position, which attracts the attention. We will try an approach starting from that duck, constructing a different body, a folded paper that imitates the gesture of the bird from the Still Life of Adriaen Van Utrecht. The folded paper duck from “Banquet” (acrylic on canvas, 250 x 300cm, 2012) is the closest it can be to the original duck – since it is the gesture that gives it the movement – and the furthest, since it is a second grade representation. Any body that “does” what the duck “does” (even if dead) in Adriaen Van Utrech's works can become a duck: a fragment that imitates the gesture of the duck becomes duck. It is not just the appearance, but also the function, the movement that unites them. c. Transmutation with double meaning, “outside/inside” By reconfiguring the objects/fragments, that belong to various original spaces, in the same plane, in the immanence plane that end up opening a new reality, an exterior one, we set in motion a series of dislocations. One of the objectives of this project is reorganizing in monumental formats kitchen/ hunting scenes, playing with the original format of the Still Life and thus creating movements that initiate a crisis in the proportion relationship between the represented objects. Could Chardin's Still Life duck ”A Green Neck Duck with a Seville Orange” (oil on canvas, 80,5 x 64,5cm, c.1730, Musée de Chase et de Nature, Paris) be an «exterior» of the duck of Adriaen van Utrecht? Could we consider the duck in the «Banquet» as an exterior of Ladell's ducks or Andrian Van Utrecht's duck or Chardin's duck? Up to what point does any suspended animal stop being Ladell's duck? Up to what 91
“Hunting Still Life with Out-of-fashion meat” By D. Anghel oil on canvas, 73x109cm Luanda, Angola, 2018
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point could we consider that any naked body, devoid of any referent, is not an exterior form of the duck? Jean Baptiste-Siméon Chardin became well known because of his Still Life, kitchen scenes or domestic scenes – he knew how to use it in order to continue the Dutch painting of the XV century. By creating a monumental place for some of the objects of Chardin's Still Life, or painting in Chardin's manner, it was opened an experimental line, an escape. The abundance favours the birth of many new “bodies” that can keep this appearance of Still Life, thus being seen as highly populated masses. d. Populating a classical composition with objects never before used in the initial type composition. Our proposal to follow this principle of reinterpretation, is mutating the “Still Life with Hare and Birds” by Adriaen van Utrecht, “Still Life with a Basket of Fruit” and 'Still Life with Terms and a Bust of Ceres” painted by Frans Snyders. We have seen that painters have, at times, the habit of placing a narrative scene in the background of the highlighted Still Life. In these cases, we observe that the human figures decorate the kitchen or hunting scenes, appearing only in a secondary register. To destabilize this hierarchy, we dare to introduce some minimal differences. On one hand, we try to distribute the human figures and the objects of the Still Life in a horizontal manner. This movement not only erases the power contrast between the different registers – human, animal, vegetal – but also transforms humans in goods. The human figure can, all of a sudden, hold the place of a hunting animal lying down on the table, next to chickens and vegetables. On the other hand, we only change the place in hierarchy. This way, the scene that had been in secondary plane becomes the main event of the composition, while the Still Life serves as a decoration. This exercise of changing the hierarchy inside the painting can be taken to the point of meaning contrast, so that, a bloody war scene can appear accompanied by a serene Still Life, with a suave chromatic. While the bodies of the primary plane revolt in mud and violence, the aristocratic decoration and peace of the Still Life breath the clear air of a lavish breakfast.
III. Chromatics: «meaning crisis» The chromatic changes are difficult to predict, since the very creative work has its unexpected functioning ways. Nonetheless, we propose, each time that the set allows (light, composition), to nurture through chromatic a meaning-crisis. On one side, the chromatic crisis, can be trans-historical: that is, we will use, for example a Braque chromatic with a typical Snyders' composition. On the other hand, the meaning contrast, at a chromatic level, can be internal to the composition. This way, a gentle Still Life, presented in a white-tones variation can accompany a violent scene. Inside the same Still Life, the gentle chromatic can be in a meaning-crisis with the represented objects (e.g. bones). Another variation could be the contrast that can be created between the size of an object and its colour. Nicolas de Largilliere was not well-know for his Still Life paintings, but for his rich and fresh chromatic, that overflows its numerous portraits. The Still Life “Banquet” (2006, 170x180cm, acrylic on canvas, Lisbon) intends to update this chromatic within its folds. In other words, a chromatic exterior for a Still Life in Nicolas de Largilliere's style. Isn't this an example of a chromatic range that can make appear its exterior bodies without keeping the painting style?! 93
“Folded Last Supper 1” Engraving By D. Anghel, Prova de artista, agua forte, agua tinta, maneira negra, Lisbon, Portugal, 2003
“Folded Last Supper 2” Engraving By D. Anghel, Prova de artista, agua forte, agua tinta, 94 maneira negra, Lisbon, Portugal, 2003
IV. Movement: «the body factory» We said at the beginning that the Still Life appears, since the beginning of the XX century until contemporaneity, in a corner of art history. With the democratization of art, the closest expressions that we can find are some ready-made and objectual corporeity installations. Outside of that bi-dimensional experimentation of the painting, we propose to open a three-dimensional experimentation field, so that some of the represented objects could gain an exterior volume, a body glued to the canvas as a cancer, a superfluous organ. Various installations will have their place for the experimentation. Another field that we find possible for the contemporaneous extension of the Still Life goes through that invention of the market economy: the showcase. THE PAINTING AS BODY / OUT-OF-FASHION MEAT Indispensable for the leap that permits us a final interpretation and creation of a painting are the folds alternately open and closed, generators of expectations that play with “the ending”. This game with “the ending” will have the objective of producing a dialectic and ironic image; so, through its burying, it allows the emergence of other image(s). In this folding process, that is self-destructing, self-changing, alienating until they vanish, the images not only look at each other and interpret each other, taking advantage of the limit to create tension/a scream, but they also create open structures that give us the possibility to identify multiple vision exercises. This way, a body that «withdraws» itself as form, it «throws» itself at us as content (ex: see the bodies that simulate and compose the flowers garland in the painting “Thirst” (2016). So, a painting demands an infinite transformative way, forever creating a double distance of estrangement and proximity constructed through the fold; each body-part would be able to question and modify another by modifying itself. So, we have in front of us a “wall” that moves its body, creating an exterior and an interior, as a place to go beyond and as a place that doesn't allow passing through. This way, the painting becomes a folding and unfolding of images that once had an “ending” in order to create the existence of this body procession, with singular space and time plots, able to manage a disorientation (an experience in which we do not know for sure what is in front of us – what we see – and what is not). The observing experience that we want to identify in the paintings “Cherry Trees out of Blossom I, II, III”, maintains a dissimulation power. We have dialectically entangled bodies: • in "Cherry Trees out of Blossom III", on one hand, we have folded bodies of Japanese women, with the image of Fidel Castro in the middle, overlapping a landscape with cherry trees without flowers; • on the other hand, we have parts of Guernica cast into the gold. The disquieting strangeness of these contrasting bodies cast into a closed world of Pre-renaissance or late Gothic puts us in a “disorientation” realm. We are in front of invading bodies, capable of repeating themselves by modifying the form/body in order to dialectically change the other already “formed” forms/bodies. Picasso's Guernica is considered by art historians as the maximum expression of violence and destruction, caused by the bombardment of the Nazi Germany planes, allied to Francisco Franco, of a small Basque village near Bilbao, precisely on the 26th of April, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War. The whole painting is the portrait of an apocalyptic horror, that would be lived a few years after the WWII. But, more than that, is the constant suffering cry of a defenceless population. 95
“Manuscript� Engraving By D. Anghel, Prova de artista, agua forte, agua tinta, maneira, negra Lisbon/Portugal, 2003 96
Would it be even permitted to image that the Guernica could suffer another experience of violence and destruction? Could a Guernica, dislocated in a composition that adopts the Pre-renaissance grammar or the late Gothic a founding hypothesis of an authentic synthesis? Could this fold mounting – a demonstrative attempt that shows through contrasting universes “dislocations” – agitate and transform a closed and primitive world? Guernica, through the re-problematizing of its own dynamics, presents itself as an “organized deformation” ( in order to participate in an act of violence against itself, being broken into pieces, folded and reorganized), but also as an invading body that destroys the specificity not only of cubism (seen as the maximum possible deconstruction), and also of the Pre-renaissance, late Gothic painting and the Renaissance of Jan Brueghel, Pieter Brueghel and Abraham Brueghel (see the painting “Damascus Roses”, 2017 and “Thirst”, 2016). Duccio di Buoninsegna, Konrad Witz, Simone Martini, Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia or Jacopo di Cione are some of the authors that permit us to change the rules of tradition: those images of the past interact with the present (through the folds of the Japanese women, Fidel and the Guernica) in such a way that that specific organization of the late Gothic is comprised in that present. In other words, can we assess this occurrence as a possible “awakening” in the Gothic or Renaissance to understand the present? The paintings “Thirst (2016)”, “Cherry Trees out of Blossom III (2017)”, “Damascus Roses (2017)”, “The Three Graces (2016)” and “Becoming Saint John the Baptist (2015)” are some examples that show images of memory and criticism at the same time, images of radical novelty that reinvent the original, transform and agitate the surrounding spaces; these are typical cases of work where the painting is conceived as an assembly of folded bodies that favour the birth of disturbing analogies. Following the principles of contamination (through form of an original context or allow a form to become contaminated by context) and by finding the paintings of Braque, Picasso, Rogier van der Weiden and Tizian “out-of-fashion paintings” (paintings that had their “ending” and that through their historic importance and own easily recognizable specificity can deform and fold since they are already formed), I propose a painting in which the “dislocation economy” comes to re-problematize its own dynamic of the “critical present” - not as repairing answers, but as a “disquieting return”, as something that comes out of the shadow and its appearance troubles and disquiets us. This way, the “Young Ladies of Avignon” become Graces in “The Three Graces” (2004, 2016, 2017), join John the Baptist in a religious illusion struggle in “Becoming Saint John the Baptist” (2015), or take a seat at Pieter Claesz's table in “Still Life with Young Lady of Avignon” (2005); Braque's works simulate roses in a flower garland in the painting “Thirst” (2016); The Guernica fights for a place in the late Gothic as the rest of authentic paintings, capable of reinventing itself in “Cherry Threes out of Blossom III” (2017) or stops being Guernica and becomes a rose in “Damascus Roses” (2017). Believing the idea that a religious art is necessary in this time of age – not to continue to promote a faith practice, but to recollect biblical times according to present needs – I favour the creation of singular experiences that reclaim problems of the present day society. Could we rethink the byzantine art or the Catholic sacred art of the Baroque and transform it in critical 97
“Private Rose Garden” by D. Anghel, oil on canvas with gold foil, 70x70cm, Luanda, Angola, 2018
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or political manifestos? Could it be possible to conceive a mutation within the style without altering the techniques and the way of thinking of each era? Within this area of interest, I find necessary to mention two large research projects that have been developing since 1994 in my painting: 1. Contemplation of Byzantium, a redefinition of icon becoming a fold. 2. Contemplation of Catholic sacred art in the Baroque. ARTWORKS EXPLANATION “Business Opportunities” , 92x130cm, oil on canvas with gold foil, Luanda, 2017 The Byzantine iconography regards all the religious artistic expression of the Byzantine Empire. It appeared as a recognition of Christianity as a religion. The “Holy Trinity” or “The Tree Angels Icon” by Andrei Rublev is one of the most famous icon in the history of all Byzantine iconographic art; it is also known as “The Hospitality of Abraham”. Since the first centuries of Christianity, the biblical narration of the three visitors of Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 18, 1-22) was presented as a manifestation of the Holy Trinity. Approximately in the IVth century, the church historian Eusebius of Caesarea wrote that since ancient times there was a painting of the Holy Trinity, in the form of three angels, where three visitors appeared to Abraham. The Holy Fathers understood this event as a demonstration, even if indirect, of the Trinity or of the Son of God, accompanied by two angels. The place of the respective scene is called Mamre, a passage close to Canaan, that was located a few kilometres south of Jerusalem. Rublev's painting evokes the mystery of the Holy Trinity, as well as the embodiment of the Son of God and the Redemption. Being a common access theme in different countries of the Orthodox world, it inspired many icon painters throughout the times. As all of Rublev's works, this icon maintains the same peace and serenity feeling. According to the opinion of the theologian Paul Evdokimov, that is based on proof, the angel from the right is the Holy Spirit and He is called Puiltos; the angel from the left is called Py and means the Son; the angel from the middle is called Ai and represents God the Father. Each one of the angels carries a staff, which represents the One power, pointing to the symbol it represents. The Dogma states: “three people in one nature or only one substance, three similar hypostasis in substantiality, in perfect unity and perfect separation; they are united, not to merge, but to self-support and interconnect one to the other. Each Person is identified with the others through having a detachable relationship from the other and containing the One substance and welcoming the other Persons in a relationship and contemplation among each other.” (EVDOKIMOV, Paul. L’art de l’icône: Théologie de la beauté, Desclée de Brouwer Paris, 1972.). “The Holy Trinity” icon contains three «faces» because in involve three «people». Rublev created three faces to define three divine people, even if one of them appears in a corporeal sense. Today, we are diluted in a world where the icons represent the market; moreover the marketing and publicity with images becomes merchandise. We cannot ignore the strategy of the marketing area, that traded the idea of icons or of the political ideologies with the consumerism icons. Within its “abstraction”, the sacred art, Catholic or Byzantine, loses its cultural status, the efficiency of faith is lost. Could it be possible to conceive a rupture and destroy the corporeal unity of Rublev's Trinity, in order to adapt the non-destructible divine nature to fit in the individualistic contemporary “tastes” that fantasize with an artificial world around its own business? 99
“Dog Food” By D. Anghel oil on canvas with gold foil, 50x70cm, Luanda, Angola, 2018
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Could we submit the images of the Byzantine icons to the economic conditions that can favour the individual well-being? In the painting “Business Opportunities we find Rublev's “Holy Trinity” exploding, blowing up in gold as an invading body. This way, we will have in front of us, not an icon, – as an “out-of-fashion” image, static, distant, that only contains theological meaning – but bodies/sculptures, dynamic, multipliable, participatory, that generates a controversy. The divinity, that was concentrated in one substance and at the same time distinguishable among the People (as the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost) “alters/ perturbs” its famous formula. Could this clash of a vestigial fragment with a current reality be a stimulus for a future image theology? Could this be a reflection of a blow against a religious idol or a blow of a religious idol?! “Holy Spirit Made in China”, acrylic on canvas, 200x300cm, Brasilia, 2012 “Reserved Land”, oil on canvas, 160x180cm, 2016, Luanda In the last decades, one of the most well-known problematics, that dominate our society of the world economic market, is the economic power of China in the world. Starting from this context, I took the liberty to dislocate myself in the “out-of-fashion” classic painting scenarios, to provoke a senses crisis. The turbulence can be located in the middle of a painting representing the Holy Spirit in the Baroque, or in the African reality, in this specific case, in Angola. "Thirst”, oil on canvas, 221,5x312cm, Luanda, 2016 The flower garland in painting was invented by Jan Brueghel in collaboration with Federico Borromeo in Milan. Among the first versions created together with Rubens in Munich (Alte Pinakotek, Munich), show the Virgin Mary with baby Jesus, surrounded by a garland of flowers. These first examples were interpreted as images against the reform and were later destroyed by iconoclasts in 1566. Throughout the century the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus, opened way to pagan themes and the centre transformed in cultural niches. Starting from this model, a new concept of garland is born in the painting “Thirst”. What we see, even the smallest element, is a dialectic image: holding a latency and an energy. The composition, despite its formal “specificity”, reorganizes and demands its own posture and a new movement, like a game that presumes or engenders a specific power of places, figures and objects. Brueghel's flowers are transformed, and these places, figures and objects become Brueghel's flowers. The images and the bodies have a reciprocal relationship. We see folded bodies while we contemplate images. The pagan centre, the little children, waiting for water trucks to arrive, become sacred and take the place of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ, that leave the centre and become a margin. Everything respects a volumetric norm that goes beyond the images, in the same rhythmic oscillation of the flowers, where senses dislocations throw out contrasts and call upon the eye to touch the visible. “Damascus Roses”, oil on canvas, 250x300cm, Luanda, 2017 The composition of flower garland gains, yet again, another dimension in the painting “Damascus Roses”.
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We certainly live in an uncertainty world around words/screams like “terror”, “attacks”, “migrants”, “Syria”, “refugees”, “Mediterranean”, “wall”, “boarders”. The physical and psychological aggression that humanity experiences today covers equally the two territories, Islam and Christianity. Throughout history the confrontation between religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc.) for very different reasons, aroused the interest of artists, painters, sculptors, writers and film-makers. Through changes of meaning and construction, “Damascus Roses” is an original installation made by “bodies” - as an alternative of the revealing symptoms of reality. Mentally distancing ourselves, by crossing the boarder of the biological representation of the rose, could we reinvent the Damascus rose? Are these folded images a proof that the roses can be a new concept of dramatically altered body? Could we be ready to understand, confront, judge, fight the “roses that kill”, “migrating roses”, “roses that become flesh” or are we really “roses that kill”, “migrating roses” and “roses that become flesh”? "Becoming Saint John the Baptist”, oil on canvas, 221,5x312cm, Luanda, 2015 Saint John the Baptist was a Jewish preacher that lived in the beginning of the I century and is mentioned in four Gospels of the Bible. According to Luke, John the Baptist, forerunner prophet of Jesus Christ, was the son of Zechariah and Elisabeth (a relative of the Virgin Mary). He was named “The Baptist” because he preached the baptism and the Jewish conversion rituals that were later adopted by Christianity. Among many of the Jews that he baptized, there was also Jesus Christ, who was baptized in the river Jordan. He has been represented in paintings by numerous artists, in various scenarios, with his staff, the sheep (lamb) lost and found, a red cloth symbolizing the sacrifice, wearing animal skins (sheep or leopard), holding a cross and preaching to a crowd, praying in the desert or baptizing. Searching for an authentic portrait (a problem of the primitive history of image in Christianity) of Saint John the Baptist, I suggest a deviation of what has been considered as a sacred image in art history. John the Baptist, the central figure that holds the national flag of Angola, substituting the old image of reality. Considering that there is no “final judgement” nor an entity capable of separating true from false, and knowing that all images simulate in the sacred art in order to give a body to the idol (idol as image of worship) and allowing the faith practice, I present John the Baptist that can abolish the limits “created” by art history until today, through his singleness of being black. The African crowd is a possible physical construction of a religious illusion. In this context, could we rethink sacred art and perturb its normal path, by “awakening” it in the African context? “Diana, the goddess of the hunt”, oil on canvas, 250x300cm, Luanda, 2015 In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt and the moon. Throughout history, the artists have recreated Diana's figure in various contexts, specially in mountains and forests, portrayed as a beautiful young lady, surrounded by animals and her nymphs, many times wearing a short tunic and hunting boots; she usually carries a quiver on her shoulder and holds a bow in her hand or a hunting weapon. Among multiple examples we recall some famous paintings as Jan Brueghel I – Diana painting created by the Fontainbleau School – and Diana by Peter Paul Rubens. With the Diana painting, distancing myself from the old typology of gods, I try to recreate mythological times and overcome the limitations imposed, to open pathways for a new physiognomy and a new face as African (Angola)“original”; in other words, a face and a physiognomy of a place that differentiates it from the others. It is clearly an “authentic image”, the banana forest from Lubango, with Angolan women resting (nymphs) and the woman that holds the gun in the pathway – that “lives” in Diana's body. 103
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Without any corporeal traces of the face of the goddess Diana, through mutation, I take the ambitious initiative to conceive a congruence between the mythological idea and the reality of the Angolan woman (as a new species of goddess). The African Diana allows the experimentation of the analogy resulting between the normal human body and the ideal one, created throughout history, thus admitting the compatibility of the incompatible. So, we have in front of us an image of Diana that is limited and reinforced: limited because she is a visible body and reinforced because she possesses an invisible reference (the myth). “The Three Graces”, oil on canvas, 247x205cm, Luanda, 2016 One of the most famous artistic compositions of ancient Greece, “The Three Graces”, found numerous ways to live through creation, until present days. The three graces are three goddesses that, in Greek mythology were daughters of Zeus and Eurynome. They were: Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thalia and symbolize beauty, charm and abundance. Seneca wrote that they were the three sides of generosity: give, receive and retribute. The Three Graces usually appear in works of art as three naked young ladies, standing and with the hands on each others' shoulders. It is not known for sure who created the first sculpture of The Three Graces composition, nor the place or for whom it was made, but we know he lived in the late Hellenistic period. It is a know fact that they inspired many painters, sculptors and photographers, and without a doubt they created their own impression without losing the model. This way, we can contemplate the versions of Pieter Paul Rubens, Rafael Sanzio, Lucas Cranach the Old and Pablo Picasso. The reconstruction of the composition I present has a simple and effective functioning logic: the bodies can be substituted by others without necessarily having a style connection. This way, we have in front of us three bodies that show: a body with a fragment image of a Picasso painting (“The Young Ladies of Avignon”); a body with the image of an Angolan lady; a body of one of the muses of Rogier Van der Weyden. The perception of the image is changed through the fold and conceded the “The Three Graces” composition an authentic presence. ”Qatar Airways”, oil on canvas, 250x300cm, Luanda, 2014 Following the example of the painters from the Barbizon School, namely Constant Troyon, Jules Dupre and Camille Roqueplan, I create a turning point in the history of animal image to give a place to the African peoples, who have as tradition and central subsistence form, the cattle. “Qatar Airways” lends in a present purport an aura of the micro/macro journey, to achieve the nomad character of the peoples. ”Dyrup Paint”, oil on canvas, 250x200cm, Luanda, 2013 The Mucubais peoples, localized in the north of the Namibe desert, were able to maintain a cultural identity and were considered by historians as the masters of Africa. Without destroying the nature of the original model, I share a breeze of reality. ”Desert Ship”, oil on canvas, 200x250cm, Luanda, 2014 The Orientalist painters of the XIX century, Charles Bargue, Jean Leon Gérôme, Eugene Fromentin and many others, have been showing in painting a unique perception of the exotic, that the exterior of the West provided. Contaminated by the fascination of the Oriental world, that these painters had, I find a way to extend the interest to the Black Africa and not only to the Northern Africa, Crimea and Turkey as they did. Within this idea, we invent a human “architecture” - static, almost motionless, that occupies the desert, to introduce it in a body that floats, supposedly on a boat.
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“President Eduardo Dos Santos Portrait” By D. Anghel oil on canvas, 250x300 cm, Luanda, Angola, 2014 Private Collection
“Choi Man Hin and Wife Portrait” By D. Anghel acrylic on canvas, Lisbon, Portugal, Private Collection of Choi Man Hin
The President of Portugal Jorge Sampaio his portrait and Daniela Anghel
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The Patrons of Art From the Medici Family the great Renaissance Princes to modern mecenate Daniela Anghel is not only internationally recognised by art critics, curators and experts but is also highly regarded by modern influential benefactors and political leaders, who are essentially the contemporary equivalents of the great renaissance families such as the Strozzi Princes, the Borgia and the Fugger family. Anghel has received commissions from President Jorge Sampaio of Portugal, a great believer of her talent, and the President of Angola, Eduardo Dos Santos. Anghel’s work is also admired by the leaders of business and one of her portraits is exhibited in the home of Choi Man Hin, a pioneer in the business with ties between China and Portugal. Anghel takes us back to the golden age of art and history, her work rediscovers the ideas of the Renaissance and Baroque. She allows us to return to the past albeit, with her talent, she conceives an intriguing link with movements of the 19th Century with a complexity that enthuses and enriches the culture of the viewer. As confirmed by art curators of the highest calibre such as Peter Gagliardi, the intricate connections in Anghel’s work inspire a love for art that is reminiscent of times past. Ancient feelings, always rarer, are present, not only in Anghel’s work but also in her private life where her family is a fundamentally important aspect of her being and, consequently, of her art.
Daniela Anghel with Her Parents Left: Medici Crest | Right: Fugger Crest
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Peter Gagliardi with Daniela Anghel during the london art biennale
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Jose Van Roy Dali with Daniela Anghel
Daniela with Friar Dr. Vitor Melicias and the President of the Portuguese Union of Mercies
Photo of Daniela with Cristina Mills and Robert Mills during London Biennale
Daniela with parents in Quiรงama National Park
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List Of Works
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Title
Page
“Works Of Mercy Clothe The Naked” Acrylic on canvas
4-5
“The Three Graces” Oil on canvas
6
“Banquet at the monastery” Acrylic on canvas
8
“Leisure” Acrylic on canvas
9
“Banquet” Acrylic on canvas
10-15
“Damascus Roses” Oil on canvas
18-19
“Arab Beauty” Acrylic on canvas
20-21
“Raw Chocolate” Acrylic on wood
22
”Temptation” Acrylic on canvas
24
“Surrender” Acrylic on canvas
25
“Becoming Saint John The Baptist” Oil on canvas
26-27
“Social Realism” Acrylic on canvas
28-29
“Fisherman” Acrylic on canvas with gold foil
30-31
“Snowland” Acrylic on canvas
30-31
“Pink Rococo” Acrylic on canvas
33
“Holy Ghost the Father” Engraving
34
“Works of Mercy Visit the Sick” Acrylic on canvas
36-37
“Dutch Window” Acrylic on canvas
38
“Works Of Mercy Giving Drink to the Thirsty” Oil on canvas
40-41
“Renaissance” Acrylic on canvas
42
List Of Works “Contemplation Of Byzantium (Catholic Body)” Acrylic on canvas
44
“Odd Nerdrum” Acrylic on canvas
45
“Attributed To Leonardo Da Vinci” Acrylic on canvas
46-47
“Cherry Tree Out Of Blossom II” Acrylic on canvas
48
“Cherry Tree Out Of Blossom I” Acrylic on canvas
49
“Leningrad” Acrylic on canvas
50-51
“Huambo Market” Oil on canvas
52
“Reserved Land” Oil on canvas
53
“County Life” By Acrylic on canvas
54-55
“Paula Rego” Acrylic on canvas
56
“Amalia Rodrigues” Acrylic on canvas
58
“Final Judgement” Acrylic on canvas
59
“Qatar Airways” Oil on canvas
60
“Diana the Goddess of the Hunt” Oil on canvas
60
“Dyrup Paints” Oil on canvas
61
“Sophia De Melo Breyner Acrylic on canvas
62
“Lilies” Acrylic on canvas with gold foil
63
“Desert Ship” Oil on canvas
64-65
“Banquet” Acrylic on canvas
66-67
“Business Opportunities” Oil on canvas with gold foil
68
“Cherry Trees out of Blossom III” Oil on canvas with gold foil
69 113
List Of Works
114
“The Three Graces” Oil on canvas
70
“Works of Mercy visit the Imprisoned” Acrylic on canvas
71
“Holy Spirit Made in China” Acrylic on canvas
72-73
“Pheasant Soup“ Oil on canvas with gold foil
74
“Folding Blood” Engraving
76
“Beatriz” Oil on canvas
78
“Strawberries” Oil on canvas with gold foil
80
“Govaert Flinck, Portrait of an Old man” Acrylic on panel
82
“Tea for Two with Braque” Oil on canvas with gold foil
84
“Forbidden Territory” Oil on canvas with gold foil
86
“Wanted” Oil on canvas
88
“Temptation” Oil on canvas
90
“Hunting Still Life with Out-of-fashion meat” Oil on canvas
92
“Folded Last Supper 1” Engraving
94
“Folder Last Supper 2” Engraving
94
“Manuscript” Engraving
96
“Private Rose Garden” Oil on canvas with gold foil
98
“Dog Food” Oil on canvas with gold foil
100
“Thirst” Oil on canvas
106-107
ICAC
International Confederation of Art Critics
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International Confederation Art Critics www.international-confederation-art-critics.org