Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an icon

Posted on 17 September, 2015 by María López Linares

I am pretty sure you all who frequently read our vintage blog know that Audrey Hepburn is one of our most beloved muses. Among our most admired jewelry is the reproduction of the pearl necklace she wore while filming Breakfast at Tiffany’s. And it seems it also is you favorite piece, not only ours.

That is why today we’ve decided to write about this beautiful exhibition in London that will be opened until Octobre 18^th… Hurry up! Still have time to plan a visit to this impressive city and pay it a visit!

The National Portrait Gallery hosts this time over 70 portraits all about Audrey’s life, starting from the very beginning, when she was part of the choir at the West End Theater in London, up to the last days she dedicated to charity, including her trips to Sudan.

Many front pages of the most glamorous magazines from the 50’s and unpublished cinematographic scenes are some of the nice surprises you can find in this exhibition, besides the never published pictures made by the most acclaimed photographers in the time like Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, Terry O’Neill, Norman Parkinson o Irving Penn.

It’s especially curious how The Gallery is using social networks to offer its visitors details about this show. In order to do that, they have the specialist Helen Trompeter frequently tweeting about the exhibition, including a very especial tour about Hepburn’s history through images and the explanations of this expert (visit her profile here)

This last August, the show got the award to the Best Exhibition of the Month.

10The National Portrait Gallery was founded back in 1856 in order to pick and show the most famous and international collections of British portraits. This exhibition about Audrey Hepburn is the private show displayed only until October 18^th. However, if you decide to pay it a visit, don’t hesitate to also visit the rest of the gallery. The permanent collection has over 200000 portraits from the 16^th century up to date.

For further information, please, visit the National Portrait Gallery website

Anita Delgado: The Spanish princess of Kapurthala

Posted on 9 June, 2015 by María López Linares

Back in the beginning of the 20th century, a powerful member of the royalty met a really beautiful – but modest origins- lady. He fell in love with her almost inmediately. Without much hesitation, he asked her to marry him. So far, this looks like the typical story through the years, but in this case, to Anita Delgado (born in Malaga in 1890) was not fiction, but the summary of her life.

When she still was young, she left her job as a singer in Madrid to get married to the maharajah of Capurthala. Anita was a “cupletista” for a living (kind of traditional singer in Spain). She used to work with her sister. Both were the duet “Camelias Sisters”. Back then she was only 16, but her life radically changed soon enough.

During the King Alfonso the 13th got married, she was hired as a singer. The rajah saw her on his way to the Royal Palace. To him it was a first sight love. According to Elisa Vázquez, princess of Kapurthala’s biographer, the maharajah arrived in an impressive carriage, wearing plenty of jewelry and a turban. But he couldn’t look apart from Anita. After just a few days, one of his assistants came with a petition of marriage. He asked her to go to Paris together with her family to plan the wedding.

She said yes. The scenerio, the French capital became this way into part of this amazing story. It was there where they got married before they moved to Bombay, the trip of her life. The fact that the maharajah already had others wives and sons didn’t matter to Anita.

After the wedding, she oficially was titled the first wife. The couple – that used to frequently travel to Europe – was always followed and admired by photographers of the time.

Anita had a boy, Ajit, and she was living a life of royal parties, receptions, trips and a very strict protocol. The many pictures of the time show a very elegant woman with a remarkable look.

Over those years, the Spanish princess wrote a diary that finally was published: The impressions of my trips to India. Her sister’s death (she still was very close to her) and many health issues – including a miscarriage and a long convalescence far from her husband – ruined what seemed to be a perfect life.

Anita ended up separating from the maharajah and came back to Europe. Over there, she had a very hectic social life, always in touch with intelectuals and celebrities until the II World War.

Anita spent the rest of her days with Gines Rodriguez, who she met many years before when she still lived in Malaga. She always wanted to write her memories, but death came in 1962 and she couldn’t make it.

The legacy of her memos, photos, missives and other documents went to her niece Victoria, who trust Elisa Vazquez to be the oficial biographer of Anita’s life. Her fascinating life has also inpired the writer Javier Moro, author of Indian Passion.

A brilliant wedding dress for a practical woman from half of the 19th century

Posted on 2 June, 2015 by María López Linares

Abigail Holmes chose for her wedding silk in golden color, which makes her different from the rest of the gown samples we’ve seen in this section “Iconic Wedding Dresses”.

Abigail was married with Clark S. Potter in October 1839 in New York and she chose an open neckline design with a bell-shaped skirt and a very tight bodice. I love that kind of designs with pleated sleeves tight over the elbow and also to the wrist.

Right those years fashion about sleeves was changing to a less bulky around the shoulders. That way that part of the body was better highlighted. Years after, sleeves started getting narrower and many women adapted their dresses to the new trend.

This dress seems to be more a daily piece rather than a wedding dress. It’s not presumptuous or ostentatious which is the opposite to the rest of the dresses we’ve seen here over the past few months. As decorations there are just a few simple wrinkles and a garland strategically set. Although this is not the only gown in color we’ve seen, if you remember the Mary Waters’ made almost a century before.

The selection of such a dark color was totally unusual for brides back in the time. Take into account the white silk was more expensive than silk in color and besides the cleaning was harder in a clear dress.

Abigail was probably the most realistic woman we’ve known so far, since she opted for a dress she perfectly could use after the ceremony for other uses. Her decision was also based on the fact that the couple was going to make a cruise right after the wedding. A golden-colored dress is more practical to travel. Actually the young bride also ordered a cape in the same fabric.

I couldn’t find much more info about the Holmes family. Although they were not rich, Mr. And Mrs. Potter prospered over the years. In the Federal Census of United States (1860) they were written to be living with their 8 sons in Albion. Clark Potter was a Rental Office employee.

A brilliant wedding dress for a practical woman from half of the 19th century.

Bibliography:

Wedding Perfection- Two Centuries of wedding Gowns- Cynthia Amnèus.

Fabergé Revealed: The fall of the Russian imperial family through his jewelry

Posted on 5 May, 2015 by María López Linares

If Vegas already is one of the most visited destinations worldwide, it’s lately becoming into one of the cultural preferences as well, due to the many exhibitions and cultural activities the city is displaying at the many luxurious hotels across the Strip.

This time we want to recommend a beautiful show that will be open until May 25^th, so if you happen to be around Vegas, don’t hesitate to go a pay it a visit. We are talking about Fabergé Revealed. This exhibition shows almost 240 artifacts from the time, which means this is the biggest Fabergé collection shown outside Russia. The history behind these pieces tells us a lot about the Russian imperial family over the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

The House of Fabergé designed and manufactured about 150,000 objects of art, jewels and articles made in silver. Most of them were unique and very rare, made exclusively for a distinguished client. The most famous series he did were the Easter Eggs, about which we’ve talked already in our Vintage Dictionary.

The luxury of his jewels and the refine craftsmanship he applied took him to the service of the Russian imperial family by the end of the 19^th century. In this show, among other wonders, you’ll see 200 pieces this celebrated jeweller realized for the Russian Czars Alexander III and his son and successor, Nicholas II, including four Imperial Easter Eggs, unique in the world.

Tarissa Tiberti, the gallery’s executive director – the show is displayed in one of the most luxurious hotels in Vegas, the Bellagio Hotel – said, as quoted in LA Time “these treasured objects encompass the beauty of art while also telling one of the most powerful stories in history: the fall of the Russian imperial family”.

The exhibition, whose pieces are a loan from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, will remain open in the Bellagio Hotel until May 25^th. If you are planning a visit, don’t miss it!

Find tickets and more info here: http://newsroom.bellagio.com/

The history of the Spanish portraits

Posted on 9 April, 2015 by María López Linares

The exhibition goes across the whole history of the portraits in Spain, from Juan of Flandes to Antonio Lopez and offers an overall about the paintings in the court, from the 15th century to the 21st.

It’s a great itinerary to enjoy the master works in painting, with the best samples in the National Patrimony. The tour, through 12 halls in the ground floor of the Royal Palace in Madrid, is completed with a visit to the castle. It’ll take you no more than a morning to finish the visit and it’s really worth it.

The show is organized in two big sections: The House of Austria and the House of Borbon, and a tour in a chronological order that helps us better understand the history of Spain through its Royal families.
The exhibit opens with the Hapsburg dynasty, with the main portrait of Isabel the Catholic, drom the House of Trastamara. A painting by Juan de Flandes.

It’s also remarkable in this section the portraits of Carlos V (by Jakob Seisenegger) and Felipe II (by Antonio Moro), and also you’ll find here one of the jewels of the show: a tiny miniature of the Conde-Duque de Olivares (by Diego Velazquez).

In the second section dedicated to the House of Borbon from the 18th century up to these days, you’ll find the best samples out of the National Patrimony: Felipe V, Carlos III or the wonderful Goya’s painting with Maria Luisa de Parma as a model. There are also works by Vicente Lopez, Federico de Madrazo or Franz Xaver Witherhalter, among others.

The show ends with two emblematic works by Salvador Dali and Antonio Lopez, both about the Juan Carlos I’s Royal family.

A great selection of work-arts worth visiting if you happen to be in Madrid this days. You only have until the 19th of April!
Here’s the link to the web in case you decide to pay a visit:

Bibliography and images:
National Patrimony

Sarah Bernhardt: The French golden voice

Posted on 7 April, 2015 by María López Linares

Sarah Bernhardt: The French golden voice

Considered as one of the best actress ever, Sarah Bernhardt’s artistic curiosities included plastic arts and Literature. Sara (Paris, 1844 – 1923), known as the queen of the postures and princess of the expression, was the daughter of a Jewish family from Holland and her true name was Henriette-Rosine Bernard. Her beauty and deep dark eyes together with her great bearing made her bright over the stage. Bernhardt studied Interpretation in the prestigious Conservatory of Pais, but before that she had passed most of her childhood in a convent. It was around 1870 when she started achieving a big success.

She was extremely gifted and her expertise was perfectly understand the psicology of the characters. Very soon, she was known as “the golden voice”. The audience admired her because of her spontaneity, her high knowledge and also, her eccentricities… She loved travelling by hot-air balloon and the coffin she always had with her to sleep in sometimes… In her trips she also used to take with her a lot of pets (cats, birds and turtles, among others).

London was her first hit out of France. She had an enormous success also there. One year later, Sarah Bernhardt launched her own Company, she became an entrepreneur and started the first of her many tours in the US. She was an international star soon enough.

Her career was long and she had the chance to play any kind of role, far away from her own character and personality. Some of her hits were Rey Lear (as Cordelia) or La Dame aux Camelias (by Dumas). Rumours say that the last scene in this stage play was so realistic that a few women among the public fainted.

When she was 70, she created Hamlet. One of her many virtues was modernize Shakespeare’s work. Instead of recite, she spoke the “to be or not to be” just whispering, which was an innovation.

After she suffered from the amputation of her right leg after an accident, she started donating funds for soldiers injured during the first world wide war. From that momento onwards, she only could accept roles where she could be sat in a chair.

Life was so good to her that she had even time to write her memories and publish a novel. However, death came to pick her up in 1923 when she was getting ready her new work. Her beauty, her talent and her personality made her be admired by men like Sigmund Freud and Oscar Wilde, and remembered as one of the best actresses in Europe.

Texto @ Esther Ginés
Fotografias Wikipedia y @ María Vintage Photography

Martis, belli et fertilitatem deum

Posted on 29 March, 2015 by María López Linares

I always love to end the month with something special, and this year, my golden brooch is my project “Baroque Still Evens”, a project that takes me back to the great masters of the Baroque painting in whom I find all my inspiration.

March is the month of Martirius, Mars. In March the Spring just arrived and the first sprouts start showing up… The flowers come back from their lethargy and the fields smells different. But March is also the month of wars and fertility.

This month, the basis of my work are the red and golden colors. The red color because it brings war images but also is the color of the birth, the new life. A color that makes me feel special the same way the smell of a narcissus does, the flower of March.

Mars is also the god who protects fields and cattle. That’s why I’m choosing the golden color, a tone that reminds me the wheat, those huge cultivated fields and the smell of bread.

Each photography is unique, and as you can see, it takes a very careful and precise work from the study of the elements to the planning and developing. I don’t want to add any random detail to my work.

This month has been specially difficult to focus on the theme and find what I was looking for, but what took me longer was to find narcissus in Madrid! Finally, I found them in a small garden center in the downtown.

After a whole morning playing with lights and shadows, this “Martis deus belli. Fertilitas” was born. I hope you like it…

Ges Rules

Posted on 23 February, 2015 by María López Linares

Her name is Esther, but her alias is Ges Rules. She is my emerging photographer for February. When she was born back in 1970, she opened her eyes very widely, like trying not to miss anything from around her… Or at least, that was what her mother and grandmother told her.

When she was 8 years old, she was given a Polaroid 1000 as a birthday gift. However, it wasn’t until she started her career as a graphic designer when she realized her true dream was being a photographer, observing and capturing life around her.

I met Esther by chance in a while I was attending a course from David Sagasta. Esther let us use her house to take pictures and I inmediately fell in love with her delicateness. I remember I took her a little basket with fresh fruit in order to thank her for letting us use her house. However, the moment I gave it to her I thought that what I should have brought is in fact a little daisy bouquet… More like her personality.

I started following her work since that day onwards. I’ve seen her grow as an artist over the last two years… Grow a lot. Esther specially does street photo and portraits, two of the disciplines with the same core idea: elegance and tenderness.

I bouth her photography “Behind Yourself” through a beautiful project the photographer Carlos Cazurro is developing: “Pictures for Palestine”. This iniciative was launched by a group of photographers who signed over their rights of their images for a given time in order to collect money for Palestines. I encourage you to follow this project.

Ges Rules is nowadays a contributor with the magazine “Entre Camaras”, the Jorge Pozuelo’s school Fotoaula and has a few photos for sale in Getty and Art+Commerce.

Ges, from now on out you are part of my special photo gallery and also, of my life…

“Currently I think without photography nothing would make sense. Photography is what helps me live” (Ges Rules)

Images @Ges Rules

https://500px.com/gesrules

https://www.flickr.com/people/gesrules/

http://www.gesrules.com/

Shoes: centuries of Pleasure and Pain

Posted on 19 February, 2015 by María López Linares

The V&A Museum in London will show this year exciting exhibitions that we from Lopez-Linares Vintage Jewelry would love to recommend if you happen to live nearby. The one that specially caught our attention was Shoes: Pleasure and Pain, a must for fashion and accessories lovers both, vintage and from current times. The exhibition will be open from the 13^th June until 2016. Plenty of time to plan a visit!

Through over 250 pairs of shoes, the display will show the different styles over the centuries, from the Ancient Egypt up to nowadays. Dress our feet has always been a symbol of status, identity, taste and sexual preference. This expo will deeply study this obsession and how shoes have been a powerful indicator of the character and status of those who wore them, in each era.

However it won’t be a chronological show. “It’s not an encyclopaedia of shoe designer (…) It will look at how humans have encased their feet in elaborate and highly ornamental footwear usually with little consideration for comfort, functionality or suitability”, the organizers say.

The oldest shoe in the exhibition is this one in the image, dated from the Pharaonic Egypt (beginning of the Roman Empire). The insole is gilded with pure gold and shows signs of wear, apparently by someone with a very high social and economic status.

Shoes from the Medieval era are the second star of this fair. The one we’ve chosen to show you in this image have been made with punched kid leather over carved pine, dated around 1600.

From the 18^th and 19^th century are these bridal shoes. The first were created in gold and silver over Indian wood, and dated in the 1800’s. The second image you see are shoes in pale blue, made in silk satin with silver lace and braid, from the 1750 decade.

Shoes: Pleasure and Pain will be organized around these three pillars:

“Transformation”: Shoes considered legend thanks to the regional folklore of the time where they were worn, like the many versions of Cinderella’s shoe.
“Status”: In this part of the show the correlation between impracticability and lack of comfort and the need of wear them.
Seduction: The last of the aims of someone who decides to wear uncomfortable shoes is the sexual attraction. The exhibition will show here the shoes that over the centuries have been worn with the only purpose of courtship.

This is with no doubt an exposition you can’t miss, especially if you live around or are planning a visit to London from June 2015. Here is the link to the exhibition for further information you need:

Web: Victorian&Albert Museum – Shoes: Pleasure and Pain

D” for “Damascene”- Crafwork from Toledo

Posted on 17 February, 2015 by María López Linares

Toledo is a Spanish city known by the famous damascene craftwork. Paying a visit to Toledo will show you places where still today you’ll find the most jewelry businesses totally dedicated to create and market pieces made out of this ancient technique.

The Damascene, also known as “the Toledan gold” is a technique based on the art of insetting metals into one another, like gold or silver into iron or a darkly oxidized steel background. Many centuries ago, this technique was used not only to decorate jewelry but loads of other objetcts.

The process is slow and very arduous since masters have to make first the background piece in steel and then mark it with little lines and shapes, according to the desired design. After that, the hardest part will come: to inset a extremely thin thread of gold or silver with the help of a small punch.

The next step would be to put the piece to the fire, which will oxidize the main piece in order to give it that unique black tone. Still a few steps to go, though: to scrape, polish, burnish and finish the piece until it has the beauty of the lights reflecting on the metal and causing stunning shadows.

In jewelry we can find this technique in pendants, earrings, rings and necklaces.

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Tag Archives: Curiosities

Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an icon

Anita Delgado: The Spanish princess of Kapurthala

A brilliant wedding dress for a practical woman from half of the 19th century

Fabergé Revealed: The fall of the Russian imperial family through his jewelry

The history of the Spanish portraits

Sarah Bernhardt: The French golden voice

Martis, belli et fertilitatem deum

Ges Rules

Shoes: centuries of Pleasure and Pain

D” for “Damascene”- Crafwork from Toledo