Artist's blog by contemporary portrait painter Peter D'Alessandri

21/07/202106/01/2024

The Judgement of Men – a recent painting

judgement of men oil painting, depicting prince andrew and jeffrey epstein passing judgement on three women on a beach — Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein in a contemporary version of The Judgement of Paris

The male gaze.

Prince Andrew naked, proffering a golden apple to some naked women. Jeffrey Epstein by his side, gesturing to the same women. What’s happening here?
“The Judgement of Men” is a reworking of the classic Judgement of Paris by Rubens. This new version is a painting about male menace, predatory behaviour and misogyny.
I must admit to having been, only on rare occasions, one of those men; sitting in a group, talking loudly and ogling women walking past. I do feel a little embarrassed, and feel also a sense of complicity. Perhaps that’s why the male gaze has become a recurring theme in my recent work; maybe I’m seeking redemption.

This painting is available to buy at Singulart Online Gallery

prince andrew naked with jeffrey epstein, in a recreation of the judgement of paris — Prince Andrew naked, with his friend Epstein, in a recreation of The Judgement of Paris

I was particularly interested in painting something based on The Judgement of Paris, because it really is such an anachronism in the present day, and seems to me an epitome of the male gaze. For the character of Paris, I painted a figure with more than a passing resemblance to Prince Andrew; looking somewhat disempowered in his nakedness. By his side, to replace Hermes (Mercury) in the original Rubens paintings, I painted someone resembling Jeffrey Epstein. Amongst other things, Mercury is the god of financial gain, eloquence, trickery, and thieves; he also serves as the guide of souls to the underworld.

The judgement of paris by peter paul rubens — The Judgement of Paris by Rubens

Above is the source of my inspiration – The Judgement of Paris painted by Peter Paul Rubens in 1636. It shows Rubens’ version of idealised feminine beauty, with the goddesses Aphrodite, Athena and Hera on one side and Paris accompanied by Hermes

Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

10/06/202110/10/2023

War and Peace 2021 – finished painting

War and Peace, Alleged Assault on Pax by Mars (after Rubens)

In 1630, the artist Peter Paul Rubens presented King Charles I with the painting “Minerva Protects Pax from Mars – Peace and War”. Rubens had been sent to England as the peace envoy of Philip IV of Spain (England and Spain had been at war for five years), and his painting depicted Minerva protecting Pax from an assault by Mars, allowing the other figures in the painting to enjoy the spoils of peace. There was a clear message – peace brings prosperity. A peace treaty was signed later that year.
My own interpretation is not quite so optimistic.

08/06/202120/02/2024

Four Years to Finish a Painting!

So, what could you do in four years?
I was showing my brother this painting, “Men in Suits”, explaining how it had taken four years to complete, from troubled start to tortuously slow end. And then I said “Well, what else would I have done?”
“Well, you could have completed a degree course in less time” he suggested, which got me thinking. Damn! Four years is actually quite a long time.
It took just a little longer to build the Hindenburg, but it only took two years to complete the Titanic. The First World War only lasted four years; time enough to kill 8.5 million soldiers. The Trump presidency survived four long years, and look what he managed to do.
Okay, so none of them had to contend with models cancelling at the last minute; or with four studio moves. And then there was Covid… Well, Trump dealt with Covid, sort of.
Now, I must add that I haven’t been working on this painting everyday for four whole years. Most of the time it has been turned towards the wall. But it has been painted and repainted on numerous occasions in that time. And well, yes, now I think about it, it is a long time.

17/03/202112/09/2023

In the studio – working methods

work in progress detail from Alleged Assault on Pax by Mars, with Trump and Biden in the background — detail from work in progress

I am always amazed with how a painting evolves from just a vague idea into something with a life of its own. I’ve been working on this particular painting for a few months. It has been constantly changing, but I think I may have arrived at the final layout.
The section above has seen the most changes. Originally it just had the settee with the two figures on it, but that left the composition unbalanced. So then I had the idea of adding the Three Graces; or a contemporary equivalent: three archetypal women. I already had an idea for a couple of the faces (Marilyn Monroe and Madonna), but I still had to find a model to pose. This provided me with the sketches at the top for my reference.
But still this little corner of the painting looked a bit empty. And then these two male figures in the background almost inserted themselves. As well as balancing the composition, they also tied up a few loose ends in the narrative – archetypal alpha males (Presidents Trump and Biden), either waving their arms about trying to get everyone’s attention, or invading some poor woman’s space (or rather nuzzling their neck and giving an unwelcome “shoulder-squeeze).

Below is a timelapse video of the painting at an earlier stage, with a since removed figure in the bottom right.

31/12/202021/10/2021

Goodbye to 2020

New Year’s Eve, 2020.
How will I look back on this year, I wonder?
It started in the spirit of hope, with a move to a new studio; “A fresh start” and all that. I was looking forward to working in a studio complex where artists actually used their studios, and said hello to their neighbours. Fast forward a few months, and we were all wearing face masks, awkwardly trying to keep our distance from each other.

Just days after I’d got myself set up in my new studio, with paints and easel where I wanted them, lockdown happened. Studios were closed down, and normal life ground to a halt. No longer welcome in the marina, where I had been living on my boat, I had to take refuge in my girlfriend’s flat in London. No paints, no canvases. Just some pencils and a pad of Strathmore toned paper.

Memory is a funny thing. I look back fondly to those lockdown months, where each day I would set myself a drawing challenge. In my fading memory, I imagine that I enjoyed searching my friend’s flat for suitable subjects. The truth was that I was desperately missing my studio.

But there is something special that happens when you spend long enough drawing a subject. After a time, it’s almost as if a veil has been lifted, and you start to see another level of detail in the subject, that somehow evaded you before. So, reluctant as I was, I am now thankful that I had the opportunity to spend those long hours drawing a raggedy teddy bear, kitchen utensils and all my empty wine bottles.

The past year has been a disaster for my art practice. Exhibitions have been cancelled – no sooner have I delivered my paintings to a gallery, another lockdown happens, and I’m asked to collect them before the show even opens. My commissioned work has been even more badly affected. Despite a healthy number of enquiries, potential clients are understandably nervous about posing for hours in a small studio, during these times of social distancing, and have delayed their commissions until next year.
A big thank you to the wonderful people who commissioned the above portrait for their friend. It felt so good to be drawing an actual real person, and not that raggedy teddy bear again.