Ginevra de' Benci

In The Truth about Lola, the book that accompanied my 2008-09 retrospective, Bartholomew Bland, curator of the exhibition, wrote the following about this painting:

Eliza with Saigon Martini

2000, oil on linen, 6 1/4" x 5"

Private collection, New York

Eliza with Saigon Martini is a classic pose of the world–weary woman [ ... ]. With her décolletage and slightly sullen demeanor, Eliza perhaps most closely resembles the figure in Leonardo da Vinci's Ginevra de Benci, with a cocktail and a cigarette.

I was extremely pleased by the reference because the Leonardo is one of my favorite paintings in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and I always make an effort to see it whenever I'm there.

Ginevra de' Benci
Leonardo da Vinci
1474/1478, oil on panel , 15" x 15"
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

The painting was acquired by the National Gallery in  February 1967 for around 5 million dollars (or ca. 38 million in today's dollars). I believe that was a record price at the time for the purchase of any painting, though it seems quite a bargain by today's standards. Sold to the museum by the House of Liechtenstein, the painting traveled across the Atlantic in a specially-modified suitcase nestled in its own first-class seat on a Swissair flight.

I remember standing in a considerable crowd to see it for the first time. When I finally had a few moments to look closely I was amazed by the subtlety of the tones, the exquisiteness of the details, the beauty of the ringlets of hair and the pattern of the juniper behind her. 

The psychological aspect of the Leonardo's painting was also intriguing. Ginevra  was 18 or 20 at the time the portrait was made and a few years before had married Luigi Niccolini, a respected Florentine from a moderately wealthy family. Her melancholy in the portrait has been attributed to different reasons, depending on the source. One, that her health was poor. Another - more romantic - was that she was pining for her lover, Bernardo Bembo, the Venetian ambassador to Florence who had been recalled home.

Years later in graduate school, I wrote a paper about the painting for a required art history course. I compared it to a painting by Lorenzo di Credi (1456/59-1536) in the Metropolitan Museum in New York - Portrait of a Young Woman - who is similarly backed by juniper and a receding landscape. The woman's grief - a recent widow - is represented by the iconography of the ring and the black dress. The point of my paper was that Leonardo's portrait presented the sitter's emotional state without the use of symbolic clues. The paper is long lost, but it was rather grandly titled Ginevra de' Benci: The First Psychological Portrait. My professor liked it, though I'm far from expert enough to know if my conclusion was actually true.

Portrait of a Young Woman
Lorenzo di Credi
1490/1500 oil on panel , 23" x 16"
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

I painted Eliza again nine years later, a little older and with a more sophisticated drink:

Woman Smoking: Eliza

2009, oil on line,  7 1/2" x 6"

Private collection, Maine

Haley Smoking

New painting:

Haley Smoking

7 1/2" x 6", oil on linen, 2018

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Upcoming solo exhibition in Boston:

Contemplating Figures

Andrew Stevovich

May 4th through June 24th, 2018

opening reception

Friday, May 4^th, 6 – 8 pm

Adelson Galleries Boston

520 Harrison Avenue

Boston, MA 02118

617.832.0633

www.adelsongalleriesboston.com

Nadine with a Cigarette

A new painting of Nadine ...around the twelfth time she's made an appearance in my work since 1974; usually she's alone, though in four paintings she's with other figures. Since I'm counting, this is also the ninth painting I've done of a single individual smoking.

Nadine with a Cigarette

9 1/2" x 7", oil on linen, 2018

Three earlier paintings of Nadine:

Nadine with Espresso

24" x 17", oil on linen, 1998

Private Collection, New York

Nadine's New Dress

6" x 4", oil on linen, 2009

Nadine with Two Demons

7 1/2" x 4 1/2", oil on linen, 1998

Private Collection, England

And here's one time when - by way of three posters on a wall - she was transformed into a chanteuse:

The French Singer

28" x 36", oil on linen, 1998

Private Collection, New York

Young Man Smoking

Young Man Smoking

6 1/4"  x 5 1/2"     oil on linen     2016

My son, Alexander, smokes, and this composition comes from a quick sketch I drew in June. He was wearing a Boston Red Sox cap and a dark grey jacket, but my vision was to go with a red palette against a warm background. The white and black notes work to energize the reds.

initial sketch

4" x 3"     drawing on light-yellow lined paper     2016

Smokers have been a recurring theme in my work for many years. For one, I smoked when I was young and can identify with the movements and rituals involved. I also very much like being able to use the interesting hand gestures made when smoking. While the gesture serves the narrative, it's also an important part of the abstract design of the painting, helping to keep the eye moving.

Woman Smoking: Eliza

7 1/2" x 6"     oil on linen     2009

Private Collection, Maine

Smoke Ring

9" x 9"     oil on linen     2009

Private Collection, New York

After the initial sketch of Alexander, it took three more drawings to fully develop the idea:

drawing #2

4 1/4" x 3 3/4"     pencil on graph paper     2016

drawing #3

6 1/2" x 5 3/4"     pencil on graph paper     2016

drawing #4

6 1/4" x 5 1/2"     pencil on paper with pastel tone on reverse     2016

The "B" on the cap was lost when the cap was painted. I felt that it was too much of a distraction, grabbing too much attention.

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Marko

Marko

6 1/4" x 4 1/2"     oil on linen     2013

Over the years, I've done six or seven paintings and many drawings composed around the image of a single person smoking.  I like the theme, and the variations of gesture allow for interesting abstract possibilities. The compositions usually come to me either as a free thought while drawing or from direct experience. This painting, however, was inspired by a recent work by my friend, Marcus Reichert:  Mada Head Blue.

My title, Marko,  reflects the homage, though it's not intended to be an accurate portrait of Marcus.

Mada Head Blue
Marcus Reichert
size and medium unknown
Courtesy of Adelson Galleries Boston

Here are some of my other smokers:

Woman Smoking: Eliza

7 1/2" x 6"    oil on linen     2009

Private Collection, Maine

Eliza with Saigon Martini

6 1/4" x 5"     oil on linen     2000

Private Collection, New York

Lola Smoking

4 1/2" x 4 1/2"     oil on linen     1990

Private Collection, New York

Louie Smoking

4 1/2" x 4 1/2"     oil on linen     1990

Private Collection, New York

Annie Smoking

4 1/2" x 4 1/2"     oil on linen    1989

Private Collection, California

Paintings from 2009

Smoke Ring
9" x 9"     oil on linen     2009
Private Collection, New York

Cherie Likes Yellow
4 1/2" x 3"     oil on linen     2009
Private Collection, Florida

Loretta Likes Tofu
6" x 7 1/2"     oil on linen     2009
Private Collection, Massachusetts

Subway Loops
40" x 50"    oil on linen      2009

Woman Smoking: Eliza

7 1/2" x 6"     oil on linen     2009
Private Collection, Maine

Demon with Drink

4" x 3 1/2"     oil on linen     2009

Donut Take-Out Window
6" x 7 1/2"     oil on linen     2009

Private Collection, New York