Portraits & Commissioned Works
Portraits and Commissioned Works brings the Renaissance workshop tradition into the present. Each work is a unique piece, conceived in dialogue with the client and executed using the Pictographic technique on fresco, panel, or canvas, with natural pigments, historical binders, and layered painting that ensure material truth, chromatic depth, and vivid pictorial presence.The creative process is collaborative: understanding the client’s intentions, iconographic study, compositional proposals, sketches, and color sampling, leading to the definition of subject, format, and support. The execution follows in successive layers, with manual glazing, highlighting, and patina work calibrated to light and environment.
Consultation and Project Definition
We begin with a briefing to identify purpose, style, environment, palette, and dimensions. We provide sketches and compositional proposals, defining together the emotional and narrative impact of the work, as well as the level of finish and manual intervention required.
Style and Language
We can work in classical registers (Renaissance balance, built light, formal harmony) or in contemporary idioms (simplified form, calibrated tones, minimal composition), always maintaining coherence and unity. The goal is to reveal identity and likeness as the result of a respectful, living interpretation.
Materials and Techniques
We use only natural pigments on professionally prepared supports. The techniques — Retouch, Picta, Pura — vary according to the degree of brushwork and intended use. Layered construction provides depth, transparency, and light consistent with the Renaissance tradition.
Portraits from Life and from Documentation
We work either from life (sittings) or from documentation (high-quality photography, archival materials), ensuring anatomical consistency, realism of the skin, gaze, and posture. In family portraits, we define visual hierarchies and relationships for balanced and meaningful compositions.
Privacy and Image Rights
We operate with maximum respect for privacy and image rights, providing release forms and specifying permitted uses of visual materials. Upon request, we apply confidentiality measures such as anonymized working files, secure archiving, and restricted disclosure.
Frames, Presentation, and Conservation
All frames are handcrafted and gilded in gold or 24kt gold leaf according to traditional techniques. We offer consultancy on profiles, patinas, and finishes to harmonize the frame with its environment. We also provide guidance on lighting, maintenance, and preventive conservation to ensure durability and stability over time.
Timing, Delivery, and Certification
We schedule each stage with intermediate reviews (sketch approvals, color tests). Upon delivery, we provide full technical documentation and certificates (materials used, technique, dating, and authenticity). Upon request, we can also handle transport, installation, and post-delivery assistance.
With Portraits and Commissioned Works, Bottega Tifernate guides each client through a personal and rigorous journey, where the artwork becomes memory, presence, and identity within space.
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