Description
‘Queen of Prussia’ by Michele Melcher
Artist: Michele Melcher
Title: ‘Queen of Prussia’
Medium: Oil on Birch Wood
Dimensions: 10″ x 8″ (Oval)
Framing: Framed in Antique Wood Victorian Frame (Frame Size: 13″ x 11″)
Year of Creation: 2019
About the Artwork:
“Queen of Prussia is one in my Dead Masters series of paintings that are memento mori tributes to old master paintings. This piece is based off of the 1802 painting, Luise von Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of Prussia, by Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le brun (French b. 1755 d. 1842).” – Michele Melcher
About the Frame:
“I use antique frames for my work whenever possible because I believe it adds a classic feel and adds more to the story of each piece that you cannot find with a modern, store bought frame. Because of this, please note that there will be light, age related wear, patina or irregularities on the frames that makes each work one of a kind. See photos for details.” – Michele Melcher
About the Artist:
(Artist Bio)
Michele Melcher is an artist living in Carversville, a historic area of Southeastern Pennsylvania. She attended The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, receiving a BFA in Illustration in 1997. For the past 15 years she has worked as a freelance illustrator specializing in advertising, editorial and portraiture. All the while she has participated in gallery shows working in several different mediums including watercolor, pen and ink, graphite and most recently, oil.
Her latest paintings pay homage to the decadence of 18th and 19th century portrait masters as well as her interest in vanitas and memento mori art.
(Artist Statement)
The series,“Dead Masters”, pays homage to my interest in 18th and 19th century portraiture as well as vanitas and memento mori art. My background in illustration includes a lot of editorial work, a large percentage of that being portraiture. Much of that is straight to the point, representational digital portraiture and at times, dry. While transitioning mediums and teaching myself oils I was delighted by the pure decadence with which some of the aforementioned painters represented their subjects. I love the larger-than-life hairstyles, lavish accoutrements and attire. In regard to vanitas and memento mori art: it’s fascinating to learn about the images and symbolism of these two sometimes misunderstood genres as well as the pure scientific aspect of studying and drawing the workings of the human skeleton.