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Eva Jana Siroka

art historian • artist • author

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Jorge Pinto Books Inc.
158 pages
$14.95
ISBN: 978-1934978627

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Recent Posts

  • Naked or Nude or JUST ART for Sale?
  • Another Tribute to Old Masters
  • Across Two Continents and Four Hundred Years
  • Vivid Images That Aren’t Old Masters — but Look Just Like Them
  • Rudolf II and Strange Taste: Art Fit for an Emperor

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  • Cara & Lisa Rooney on Serendipity

Archives

Berti was a fine draftsman

November 20, 2015 by Eva Siroka Leave a Comment

No wonder not only his paintings, but also his drawings were exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. After seeing them, I decided to also illustrate my book with some of his drawings.

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“But first, I will tell you about the women in my life—my wife, my mistresses, and Rudolf’s women. I captured many of them for my master in tales of gods fit for emperors and mortals alike. We were often together, the Emperor and I, when we were young and my studio was in the castle. Then, even his Majesty sometimes picked up a brush on a whim, when we lived a life where nothing was real except for the paints and brushes that created an illusionary world around us. Rudolf didn’t care whether Venus or Minerva grew under my brush. He was God, the Lord of the Habsburg Empire over which, in his mind, the sun never set.

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I found my parents and …?

November 13, 2015 by Eva Siroka Leave a Comment

Drama and suspense color the plot of My Life with Berti Spranger :

2015-10-27X14.25.47“I didn’t hear her opening the lid of my mother’s piano, but as I approached and watched her from afar, an endearing melody rose in the air, wrapping around me and trapping me inside an image that grew clearer by the minute. Delicate tones with a melancholy edge captured the sensitive spirit of the composer and the performer.

Was it Chopin?

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Dutch Society at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts

November 12, 2015 by Eva Siroka Leave a Comment

As I walked through four large galleries of a recent, and most amazing, exhibition at the Boston MFA, “Class Distinctions: Dutch Painting in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer,” I couldn’t stop thinking about Pieter, the narrator of my new book. Much drama is caught in the 75 works by Dutch masters, reflecting the life in the prosperous, newly-coined independent Dutch society. Pieter, an affluent Dutch-born art dealer, lives in the heart of Old Amsterdam. When Karo visits him there, she practically inhales the food, anxious to see the house.

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Filed Under: Blog

Serendipity

October 12, 2015 by Eva Siroka 1 Comment

3One never knows what may happen around the corner. We all know about book signings in book stores, libraries, and other places having to do with books. Mine was a lovely event at Girltauk, a laid-back, hip boutique in the heart of Southampton, with an avant-garde, yet classic touch to the store’s everyday fashion. The store’s carefully designed pieces make every woman look and feel like one of the Hampton’s A-list celebrities.

It was so much fun chatting with the customers, finding out a bit about their interests and enjoying a celebratory glass of wine with lifelong friends! The pie came after a thinly sliced prosciutto on heavenly fresh bread with mozzarella slices on the side.

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Pieter Was not Expecting Anything…

October 1, 2015 by Eva Siroka Leave a Comment

That day, even the possibility of surprise was not on Pieter’s list! Yet, what he found changed his life. FOREVER.

Floriani Street was empty, void even of cars. It was damn hot. Stores were shut tight, with the chain shutters pulled low during noon break. I wasn’t sure if I was in the same place, not recognizing any of the storefront signs. Stacks of garbage stood piled high in beer boxes in front of one of them. The window looked familiar, as I entered through the half-open door.

Geschlossen! The writing was clear on the sheet of paper taped to the door.

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Not All Is As It Seems

August 15, 2015 by Eva Siroka Leave a Comment

Most of the images, drawn by me for my book, were based on authentic works, drawings and engravings by the artist, or known graphic works which preserved his work in engravings by other artists. G. de Boulonois’s engraving, which greets me every time I enter and leave the house, finally prompted me to illustrated My Life with Berti Spranger.

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Arcimboldo Flora Vienna Kunstmuseum, BARTHOLOMAEUS SPRANGER, Bartholomeus Spranger Splendor and Eroticism in Imperial Prague, Drawings, Egidius Sadeler, Engravings, Graphic Art, Hans von Aachen, Memoir, MY LIFE WITH BERTI SPRANGER

How do Pieter and Karo look? Am I Getting Closer?

August 14, 2015 by Eva Siroka Leave a Comment

So, I had another round trying to figure out how Pieter and Karo look. The first watercolor sketch was ok, just to get the general look captured on paper. But, the head/face proportions were not correct, Karo’s face too long, and Pieter too young… Um… I then tried an oil sketch. I found the first background a too boring, so I gave it a blast of brighter green. Now, it’s done. I do think the emerald-green background works better. What do you think?

Karo's face is too long and Pieter looks too young!

Karo’s face is too long and Pieter looks too young!

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Amsterdam Koncertgebouw, Arcimboldo Flora Vienna Kunstmuseum, BARTHOLOMAEUS SPRANGER, Bartholomeus Spranger Splendor and Eroticism in Imperial Prague

Walk with Pieter in the First Chapter

August 10, 2015 by Eva Siroka Leave a Comment

Vienna is enchanting, full of interesting architecture and lovely parks. It still remains the city of my dreams, even though I have visited and lived in many European cities. This photo captures the path Pieter Van de Graeff takes after leaving the Art Museum and meeting Karolina for the first time in front of Arcimboldo’s Flora.

ViennaCourtHouse He passes at the street level, from left to right, in front of the Palace of Justice, then cuts through the park in front of the City Hall, the building with tall Gothic Spires. Passing it and crossing a major street, he reaches Floriani Street where he discovers Spranger’s memoir in his grandfather’s friend’s antique shop that is about to close.

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: BARTHOLOMAEUS SPRANGER, Bartholomeus Spranger Splendor and Eroticism in Imperial Prague, My L, MY LIFE WITH BERTI SPRANGER

Nudes in Art: FASHION OR PASSION?

August 9, 2015 by Eva Siroka Leave a Comment

Joachim Wtewael (1566-1638), the subject of the current singular exhibition at the National Gallery in Washington, Pleasure and Piety (June 28-October 24, 2015), is likely Spranger’s most devoted follower, having never abandoned his mannerist roots like some of their younger contemporaries.

WtewaelA far more accomplished draftsman and painter, some of his miniature paintings on copper would have fit in the palm of a patron, while others would have covered a large wall of a palazzo. Spranger’s Wedding of Cupid and Psyche, engraved by Goltzius, a huge composition with more than one hundred nude gods perched on sausage-like clouds was one of the subjects I identified during my generals at Princeton.

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Bartholomeus Spranger: Splendor and Eroticism in Imperial Prague

August 1, 2015 by Eva Siroka Leave a Comment

How did I get to write a book about Bartholomaeus (my spelling of Berti’s name) Spranger? This interesting artist has been in my blood for decades. In fact, ten years ago, when I published Maddalena, Berti was the main character. So, late last fall, when I found out about the first-ever major exhibition about this interesting Flemish-born artist who established a new, mannered style in Prague in late sixteenth century, it was a big GO!

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Having discovered Spranger’s lost memoir, Pieter couldn’t wait to visit the exhibit. Did her succeed in getting Karo to come along?

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Bartholomeus Spranger Splendor and Eroticism in Imperial Prague

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