“It helped me a lot, in more ways than one, to portray Roger Federer as a person - an amicable man in his early thirties, instead of the well-documented tennis god,” Zurich-based Dutch artist Pascal Möhlmann told ATPWorldTour.com.
The artwork is currently up for auction, with proceeds to benefit the Roger Federer Foundation, and also graces the cover of Swiss lifestyle magazine, ‘annabelle’. Möhlmann, who does half his portraits through live sittings and half based on photos taken himself, spent time with Federer during his interview session with the magazine and came away with the highest regard for the five-time year-end World No. 1.
“His relaxed and uncomplicated way left an impression,” he said. “Sitting at the table with him, he himself was just very much fun to talk with and listen to. I remember certain teenage memories were talked about and he didn’t seem to be in a hurry at all.
“When I got to take my many photos, he started posing in a way too professional fashion for my taste as a portrait painter. So I suggested to him to make a few stupid faces to loosen up the facial muscles and start fresh and to my surprise he did this without any hesitation or embarrassment.”
Möhlmann crafted the piece from his Zurich studio over the course of a month, and remarked that Federer’s strong features, including his dark eyebrows, deep eye-positioning and masculine chin, made him an interesting subject.
“It was very fulfilling painting Roger Federer,” he said. “His appearance, his face in particular, is so inviting for a portraitist to be made-again in oil on canvas.”
The pre-bid phase for the portrait runs online through 17 May, when it will be live auctioned at the Auktionshaus Ineichen Zürich.
Link: View Auction
Date: 15th May 2014, Source: ATP
0 comments:
Post a Comment