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Gaudenzio Ferrari In 1903, Ethel Halsey published a small work entitled "The Works of Gaudenzio Ferrari". The preface of that work states the following: It is a curious fact that the works of an artist of such magnitude as Gaudenzio Ferrari should in these days of universal research be little known to students and practically to the world at large. The master of frescoes at Vercelli has been called the Michael Angelo of the Lombard school, as Luini has been called the Raphael, and those these names must be quoted with many reservations, Guadenzio was undoubtedly the most powerful and the most original artist that school ever produced. Today, over 100 years after Halseys small book, Ferrari is hardly known. I stumbled upon this artist and this work which is painted behind the alter at the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Varallo Sesia (VC), Italy on day in 2007 while searching the internet in these "days of universal research". While enjoying the religious art of the 1400's-1600's, I am principally a collector of snuff bottles. My thought was that these wonderful images would make great inside painting subjects. Certainly they are not the typical subject matter of Chinese Inside Painted Snuff Bottles. However, they do represent the same period of painting that attracted many modern painters to Western art as they began to integrate the techniques, styles and subject matter of these paintings into the 200 year-old Chinese art form of inside painted snuff bottles. Thinking further about this picture and knowing the versatility of Hengshui bottle carvers, I decided that it would be interesting to deviate from the traditional bottle and produce a replica of the original Ferrari painting. Thus this project began. Having many bottles meticulously and accurately painted by talented artist Shen Yi Wei, I requested that she produce this painting for me. Under the guidance of Li Shouxun who arranged for the carving of the bottles and the fabrication of the case, Ms. Shen set about the process of producing this painting which took about 4 long months of painting time. As you will see in the photographs of the bottles in the pages to follow, her talent and abilitiy is obvious. Like Gaudenzio Ferrari, the work of talented artist like Shen Yi Wei, and even this art form itself, is still little known "practically to the world at large". It is my desire to help change that fact with works such as this and with this web site and other publications. This work commands respect both for its difficulty and Shen Yi Wei's faithful reproduction of Ferarri's work in this most tedius medium. Certainly a noteworthy accomplishment for this 26 year old artist! |