Rapid Painting Competition

The Embassy of Spain in collaboration with the Alliance Fran?aise and the French Embassy in Accra will on Saturday, December 11 2004 organise a painting competition for a number of Ghanaian artists.

The competition, which will be held at the premises of the Alliance Fran?aise, will involve a free style interpretation of an emblematic Spanish painting titled 'La Famila de Felipe" (alias Las Meninas) by the Spanish painter Don Diego de Silva Velazquez.

Born in 1959, Velazquez began his apprenticeship at the studio of the renowned painter, Francisco Pacheco at the age of eleven. In 1629, he travelled to Italy and subsequently underwent a second apprenticeship by studying the works of Tizano, Tintoretto, Miguel Angel, Rafael and Leonardo, Once described as the Theology of Painting, "Las Meninas" calls attention to the loose stroke, which predates the Impressionist Movement.

Painters and critics alike have considered it as one of the major paintings of the world.

There have been a number of reinterpretations of "Las Meninas" but one can vividly recall those by the world famous painter Picasso.

Indeed, he made a total of fifty-eight variations of the piece in 1957. Each of these variations conceals many secrets since they are meant to carry across the idea of an increase in accuracies.

A number of prizes will be awarded to deserving artists while an exhibition of their interpretations alongside those of Spanish artists will be mounted at the Alliance Fran?aise in Accra.