photo: © Júlia Fazakas
Some works of art never stop fascinating us. We call them masterpieces. Their originality is special, they capture the imagination, survive the test of time and change the way artists depict the world.
Turning oneself into a masterpiece has been so compelling these days as it is stimulating the imagination and help us rediscover art and ourselves.
"IP Why Not" campaign challenged you to show your support for copyright through a fun challenge - to recreate a famous, favorite artwork with everyday objects, interpreting the plot as you feel it.
We have received more than 30 masterpieces’ recreations from different parts of the world, inspired by our digital library with links to famous museums that provide free access to their art works.
Today we have the pleasure to announce the winners in the IP Masterpiece Challenge, and they are…
The grand prize (wireless headphones Urbanista) is awarded to Júlia Fazakas for the interpretation of the painting "Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia von Harden" (1926) by the German artist Otto Dix.
The famous picture is painted on wood with a mixed technique (oil and tempera), in the manner of the old masters; The image is exaggerated, so to represent a stereotype. Otto represents her in a way that the viewer will perceive her not only as an individual but also a symbol of a wider reality. Otto Dix met Sylvia in the street by chance and was inspired by her looks. He exclaimed:
I must paint you! I simply must!... You are a representative of an entire epoch!
So, you want to paint my lacklustre eyes, my ornate ears, my long nose, my thin lips; you want to paint my long hands, my short legs, my big feet—things which can only scare people off and delight no-one?’, the journalist replied.
Аll that will lead to a portrait representative of an epoch concerned not with the outward beauty of a woman but rather with her psychological condition.
Von Harden then agreed to pose and sat for the artist during several sessions in the following weeks. The portrait is recreated in the opening and closing scenes of the film Cabaret (1972) by Bob Fosse, set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic.
The painting was bought from the artist in 1961 by the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris.
The second prize is awarded to Sebastian Felzmann for his interpretation of the "Portrait of Dante Alighieri" from the collection of Ambras Castle, Austria.
Dante Alighieri is described as the "father" of the Italian language, and in Italy he is often referred to as the “Supreme Poet". His poetry is representative for the Trecento, which is known as a time of heightened literary activity. The Divine Comedy is widely considered one of the most important poems of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language.
This particular portrait of Dante, although the artist remains unknown, is an example of the style of the Italian school in the 15th and the 16th Century. As usual, Dante is depicted wearing a laurel wreath, as that was the way the poets were represented.
The laurel became the symbol of poetry and wisdom from the myth of Apollo and Daphne and that's why, in Italy, the person who graduates from the University is holding a laurel wreath as a sign of prestige and knowledge.
Dante is also famous for establishing the use of the vernacular in literature at a time when most poetry was accessible only to the most educated as it was written in Latin. His use of Florentine dialect for works The New Life and Divine Comedy helped establish the modern-day standardized Italian languages.
The third prize is awarded to Dia Mantova, for her interpretation of "Portrait of a Young Girl" by Amedeo Modigliani.
After a contested vote on the campaign's Facebook page, the Audience's Award (Maxell wireless headphones) has been awarded to Ethel Bustamante for her interpretation of Portrait of Priscilla Johnston (1966), by the American visual artist Alice Neal, known for her portraits depicting friends, family, lovers, poets, artists and strangers. The portrait is a full length oil on canvas painting of an ordinary young woman - known to the artist and is located at the Speed Art Museum, Kentucky, USA.
Her paintings are typical with the expressionistic use of line and color, psychological insight and emotional intensity.
Our team will contact the winners shortly!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS!
Be a Masterpiece Challenge is part of the "IP Why Not" Campaign - an initiative in support of the the intellectual property of the Strategma Agency, financed by the Ideas Powered program of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).