News this week that the OXO gallery in Barga Vecchia will be shutting their doors in Piazza Salvo Salvi and relocating just a few steps away in Via del Mezzo with a Hotel-galleria d’arte vivente, has left some people wondering just what the effect of the gallery closing will have on the Piazza Salvi.
They should not wonder any more, as a new gallery is just about to open and with a new man at the helm – André Romijn
The Portrait Painting Gallery will be the Studio – & Art Gallery of André Romijn with portrait and figurative art from the 17th Century onwards. But it will be more than the average gallery, as there will be music, literature, lectures, workshops and other activities to create a multi-cultural meeting point for the like-minded – source
Passionate about art history, André Romijn is a self-taught portrait painter. Spending most of his career successfully in veterinary publishing and online-education, he has dedicated himself to a life of paint and brushes. Since 2020 he works full time on painting portraits, mostly in oils.
André is from The Netherlands where he was born in 1960. He has lived many years in the United Kingdom but as a result of BREXIT he moved to Barga. His gallery on line can be seen here
His artistic focus is the female portrait. “I love creating aesthetic art. Beautiful art, which is a joy to look at, to create a feeling of happiness. That is what female portraiture does for me and by sharing my works, I do hope it will give the same pleasure to the viewer.” – André Romijn
Inspired by many classic painters, André blends traditional painting techniques with a contemporary twist.
André is also the creator and author of historical novels and biographies like ‘Hidden Harmonies: The secret life of Antonio Vivaldi’ and ‘Vive Madame La Dauphine’.
He featured recently on an article on barganews (here) as he opened an exhibition of his work inside the restaurant ALFONSO in Barga Vecchia.
