view additional image 1
View in a Room ArtworkView in a Room Background
Detail of the dancing Cranes
Detail of Crane
Painting just finished and still on the traditional Tibetan painting frame
Another detail of the Cranes whilst still on the traditional Tibetan style frame
Painting finished and taken off the frame

81 Views

3

View In My Room

Dancing Cranes 2 Painting

Nicola Mountney

Italy

Painting, Gouache on Canvas

Size: 19.3 W x 26 H x 0.8 D in

Ships in a Box

SOLD
Originally listed for $2,630

81 Views

3

Artist Recognition
link - Artist featured in a collection

Artist featured in a collection

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Inspired by the 18th Century Italian painter Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining), who became a court painter to the Emperor of China and brought the Western style of perspective to Chinese painting. The Crane is the most popular bird in Chinese history and is the symbol of longevity and auspiciousness.  In ancient China the crane was regarded a having a long life span.  It also represents a lasting spirit of health and happiness. Greek and Roman myths often portrayed the mating dance of Cranes as a love of joy and a celebration of life. This painting is mounted on a neutral mount board with a black core. The glass is museum quality non-reflective and the frame is custom made solid wood boxy style. p.s. quick mention that what may look like a minor fault on the top left of the frame is just a lighting issue and the painting and frame are in perfect condition.

DETAILS AND DIMENSIONS
Painting:

Gouache on Canvas

Original:

One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:

19.3 W x 26 H x 0.8 D in

SHIPPING AND RETURNS
Delivery Time:

Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.

Biography Nicola Mountney was born in London, England, where she lived and worked for many years. She has always worked in the creative arts in their many forms. After her early years spent pursuing a career in classical dance, she worked for a major London costume company, specializing in historical costume for film and television. Here she was responsible for creating and mounting many costume exhibitions in museums and historic houses throughout Europe and the USA, before  moving to Tuscany, Italy in 2006.   Having spent 10 years studying and instructing Tibetan Buddhist iconographic painting and teachings under a Western Thangka Master, Nicola has developed her own style of painting with a strong emphasis on precision, colour and detail, but moving away from the firm guidelines she had learned. Her frequent travels in India and Nepal whilst living in a very occidental world has led her in the direction of creating a fusion of East and West, forming the basis of her most recent work.   In the course of her training as a thangka painter she became interested in the often highly complex landscapes in ancient, sometimes 2000 years old thangka paintings. Taking tiny fragments of these landscapes she used them as a basis to create her own paintings whilst developing them further.  She has a special fondness for Bhutanese thangkas, which are both beautifully painted and highly refined.  At the Royal Academy exhibition in London in 2005 called The Three Emperors, she was to discover the Milanese artist Guiseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining), who travelled to China as a Jesuit Missionary.  Castiglione went on to become a court painter to the Emperors, incorporating Western-style painting into Chinese art and in doing so became one of the greatest court painters in China during the early to middle 18th Century.  His work has become her main inspiration.    Nicola's medium is gouache as well as egg tempera, as it lends itself well to painting fine detail.  She uses the specific technique of blending colours on the canvas, rather than in a mixing palette and uses extremely fine paintbrushes like those used in traditional thangka painting.  It is interesting to note how combining these styles of painting can bring a contemporary and fresh look to the paintings particulary in the rendering of water.   She  lives and works in Pistoia, Tuscany surrounded by the mountains and water which inspire and inform her work.

Artist Recognition
Artist featured in a collection

Artist featured by Saatchi Art in a collection

Thousands of 5-Star Reviews

We deliver world-class customer service to all of our art buyers.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Our 14-day satisfaction guarantee allows you to buy with confidence.

Global Selection of Emerging Art

Explore an unparalleled artwork selection by artists from around the world.

Support An Artist With Every Purchase

We pay our artists more on every sale than other galleries.