diptych size 120cm x 120cm with frame
From Heimler and Proc Chrysalis Series 2023
$16000
'Fruit in Your Hand' is one of six in the Chrysalis series by Heimler and Proc, based on the famous 1656 Spanish painting, 'Las Meninas' by Diego Velazquez. Derivatives of 'Las Meninas' work have been created by many artists including Picasso , Dali, Goya and John Singer Sargent. It has become one of the most widely analysed works in Western painting for the way its complex composition raises questions about reality and illusion, and for the uncertain relationship it creates between the viewer and the figures. The painting is believed to depict a room in the Royal Alcazar of Madrid during the reign of King Philip IV of Spain, and presents several figures, most identifiable from the Spanish court, captured in a particular moment as if in a snapshot. Some of the figures look out of the canvas towards the viewer, while others interact among themselves. The five-year-old Infanta Margaret Theresa is surrounded by her entourage of maids of honour, chaperone, bodyguard, two dwarfs and a dog. Just behind them, Velázquez portrays himself working at a large canvas. In the background there is a mirror that reflects the upper bodies of the king and queen. (Description of 'Las Meninas' provided by Wikipedia)
'Fruit in your Hand' is the last in Heimler and Proc's New Zealand Chrysalis series. A new series of five have been painted for exhibition in Paris in December 2023.
Heimler and Proc's interpretation takes from 'Las Meninas' the complex interplay of characters but revolves around the young girl as the central figure. She is older than the infanta in 'Las Meninas' and with the uncertainties of maturity ahead of her. A faint tear is visible on her face, a sign of the loss of childhood ahead. The symbolism in 'Fruit in your Hand' is distinctly New Zealand. The painting's message is less uncertain than 'Las Meninas' but the scene is still enegmatic and open to the viewer's interpretation.