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Two works by the Portuguese painter Paula Rego were recently hung in one of the rooms of the official residence of the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, in Downing Street, London, used to receive international leaders.
The two screens featured prominently in photos of the meetings. of Starmer with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday in London.
property of British Government Art CollectionThe paintings “Study for the Crivelli Garden” and “Study for the Crivelli Garden (The Visitation)” were made between 1990 and 1991, during an artistic residency by Paula Rego at the National Gallery museum.
Both are part of a series of studies for the 10-meter-wide mural “Crivelli’s Garden,” commissioned for a wall of the restaurant in the institution’s modern wing.
The mural was inspired by the altarpiece “La Madonna della Rondine”, created in the 15th century by Carlo Crivelli.
According to the British newspaper Daily Telegraph, the two works replaced the portraits of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) and the explorer Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618).
“The change of artworks was planned a long time ago, before the election, and was timed to commemorate 125 years of the Government Art Collection,” a spokesman for the prime minister said.
The British Government Art Collection has more than 15,000 works of art from the 16th century to the present day, which are used to “promote British art, history and culture around the world.”
Three other engravings by Paula Rego are part of the collection: “Young Predators” is located in the residence and office of the Minister of Finance, Rachel Reeves; “Raven [Corvus Corone]”, at the HMRC Tax Authority premises; and “The Guardian”, at the Consulate General of the United Kingdom in Chicago, United States.
Recently, Keir Starmer was criticized for removing portraits of former prime ministers William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898) and Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013) from his office.
“I use the office to read silently most afternoons (…). It has nothing to do with Margaret Thatcher. I don’t like images and photographs of people looking at me.. I have always felt that way in my life,” he explained in statements to the BBC.
Born in Lisbon, Paula Rego (1935-2022) began drawing as a child and, at the age of 17, on the advice of her father, she went to study at the Slade School of Fine Arts, in London, the city where she would settle. go down and meet her future husband, the English artist Victor Willing.
In 2010, the artist, who also had British nationality, was ordained an Official Dame of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.
Paula Rego was distinguished by the uniqueness of her work, inspired by literature and personal experiences, and marked, over decades, by the defense of women’s rights, particularly in the series dedicated to abortion and others on female oppression and repression.
Source: Observadora
