Exhibitions Vertus des Vices
16.09.16 to 16.10.16
Virtues of Vice is a series of eighty intricately detailed oil paintings of Renaissance Venetian cortigiana oneste, the ‘honest’ courtesans of 16th-century Venice. Each picture is encased in a glossy black frame suggestive of a small window into another world. Arranged on the gallery wall in the shape of a giant gondola, the paintings invite viewers to take an intriguing journey through this unique history of Venetian life.
The series was inspired by the artist’s residency at La Scuola Internazional di Grafica Venice in 2010. There, she discovered images of Veronica Franco, a poetess & famous Venetian courtesan, who, along with her contemporaries, sat for the famous painters Titian, Tiepolo and Bourdin. Unlike some courtesans of the time, the oneste were highly educated and achieved considerable literary and artistic accomplishments. They were radical figures with an unusual degree of creative, sexual and financial freedom.
Barmby explains, “These Venetian Courtesans were acknowledged as powerful celebrities of their world, and my work attempts to explore this in relation to contemporary ideas of the feminine, fame, performativity and status.”
Barmby’s reprisal of courtesans as sensuous, mysterious and glamourous women in command of their lives is sustained across this body of work. Each painting offers intimate details of a woman’s body, clothing, jewelry, hair, facial expression, or immediate environment. The courtesans pictured may be revived from a 15th century Venetian history but they deeply resonate with a modern female sensibility, characterized by a desire for freedom, intellect and joie de vivre.
New World 2016
Oil on board
20 x 20 cm
Donna Onesta 2016
Oil on board
13x10.5cm
Honorata con Mandalino 2016
Oil on board
20 x 13cm
La Fuina delle Fornase 2016
Oil on board
10.6 x 7.9cm
Fiorina El Felze 2016
oil on board
5.5 x 4.5 cm
Zanetta Buranella 2016
Oil on board
18 x 13cm
Veronica 2016
Oil on board
24 x 18cm
Rosetta el Felze 2016
Oil on board
15.5 x 12 cm
Punta della Notte 2016
Oil on board
15.5 x 11.8 cm
Petal 2016
Oil on board
18 x 13cm
Ottavianella 2016
Oil on board
15 x 12 cm
Night Rose 2016
Oil on board
20 x 13 cm
Marietta Vespa 2016
Oil on board
20 x 13 cm
La Festina en Gondole 2016
Oil on board
15 x 12.5cm
Laureta Picola 2016
Oil on board
13 x 10.3 cm
Ponte Gulie 2016
Oil on linen
29.5 x 20 cm
Madonna Honorate 2016
Oil on board
15.5x11cm
Donna Onesta 2016
Oil on board
13x10.5cm
Larva di Nobile 2016
Oil on board
15 x 10cm.jpg
La Castiglione bel Occhio 2016
Oil on linen
17.8 x 13.8cm
La Moretta 2016
Oil on board
22.5x12.8cm
Imperia L'Illuminata 2016
Oil on board
24x18cm
Cavallo Nobile 2016
Oil on board
15 x 10 cm.jpg
Diamante 2016
Oil on linen
9 x 6.5cm
Blue Moon 2016
Oil on board
18x13cm
Amicitia e Scudi 2016
Oil on board
25.4 x 20.3 cm
Carnivale Cat 2016
Oil on linen
9.5 x 7 cm
Chopines Poca Terra 2016
Oil on board
17 x 14.3 cm
Fiorina el Felze 2016
Oil on board
15 x 12.5cm
Giulia Gondola Rosa 2016
Oil on board
15.2 x 12 cm
Il Cielo Venexiano 2016
Oil on board
20 x 13 cm.jpg
La Castiglione (2) 2016
Oil on board
20 x 15.3cm
Lucietta de la Corte Nova 2016
Oil on board
24 x 18cm
Paolina la Principal 2016
Oil on board
30 x 20 cm
Betta Fachinetta e Sua Sorella 2016
Oil on linen on board
6.8 x 9.5cm
Samaratina 2016
Oil on board
14.5 x 17.5cm
Peggy’s Pet 2016
Oil on board
7.8 x 9.4 cm
Notte Venexiana 2016
Oil on board
14.2 x 18.5 cm
Lauretta la Luna 2016
Oil on board
10.6 x 12.8 cm
Elisabetta Contessa 2016
Oil on board
13.3 x 20 cm
Isabella Casa Vecchia 2016
Oil on board
11 x 15.5 cm
Marina Libera 2016
Oil on linen
17.5 x 23.7 cm
Madalena la Meretrice 2016
Oil on linen
7 x 9.5cm
Chopines di Tulia Balina 2016
Oil on board
12 x 15.5cm
Chiara Francese 2016
Oil on board
13.2 x 20 cm
Gatto Nobile 2016
Oil on board
10.5 x 12.8 cm
Blue Ebb 2016
Oil on board
10.3 x 18.1cm
E Viva! 2016
Oil on linen
8.3 x 10 cm
Larva e Tricorn 2016
Oil on board
15.5 x 25.4 cm.JPG
Violante di Rio de la Sensa 2016
Oil on board
18 x 16 cm
Bauta 2016
Oil on linen
7 x 7cm
Lugretia Favreta 2016
Oil on board
13.7 x 15 cm
Ciel en Rose 2016
Oil on linen
20 x 17.5cm
La Biondina 2016
Oil on board
15x17cm
Cavallo Galante 2016
Oil on board
20 x 20cm
Amabalia Veronese 2016
Oil on Board
7.5 x 18 cm
Elena da Canal 2016
Oil on Board
7.5 x 17.5 cm
Aquilina Veronese 2016
Oil on board
7.5 x 18 cm
Cornelietta 2016
Oil on Board
7.5 x 17.5 cm.JPG
Felicita 2016
Oil on Board
7.5 x 18 cm
Lucieta Bizara 2016
Oil on board
7.5 x 18 cm
Blue Poles 2016
Oil on board
27 x 14.4cm
In Cielo Venexiano 2016
Oil on linen
40.6 x 9.8 cm
Gentildonna 2016
Oil on board
24x18cm
Chiaretta di Ca D'oro 2016
Oil on board
20 x 15cm