Tuesday, October 21, 2008

An Artist's Story






Hi ! Today's Post is also related with art and artists. But it is very special and interesting for those who collect " Indian theme on foreign stamps". The information about these beautiful stamps has been sent by our very distinguished member Ms. Leeza Padhi from Silver City -Cuttack (Orissa). The stamps are really exquisite and reveal the life of Gina Lollobrigida, dedicated to field of art. Gina Lollobrigida is a woman of great substance as she is a noted film actress, artist, sculptor, photo journalist and a writer. These stamps were issued by San Marino on 23 January 2007. Two of the stamps are related with India. One stamp depicts the photo of a potato seller of Banaras ( Famous ancient city of India also known as Varanasi) and the other one shows Mother Teresa & Gina Lollbrigida together. Thanks Liza ! for details about these beautiful stamps! The information about Indian theme on foreign stamps and postal stationery is most welcome by our members. It will be nice to publish here. Its great to receive lot of news from philatelists of Orissa where I myself spent a long time. I am really pleased to interact with those whom I unfortunately could not meet during my five year stay in Bhubaneshwar. In our regular series FDCs of se-tenant stamps from the collection of Mr. Shrikant Parikh. This is all for today !.....Till next Post....Have a Great Time....!

AN ARTIST’S STORY: GINA LOLLOBRIGIDA TELLS ABOUT HER LIFE
“I am sincerely moved because, with this philatelic issue, the Republic of San Marino recognises the value of the work made during my life dedicated to art”. This is how Gina Lollobrigida, film actress, photo reporter and sculptor, starts telling about her life, which has become the subject of a philatelic product consisting of four values issued by the Republic of San Marino. On the 0.65 euro stamp (shown above) , the artist presents herself with a sanguine self-portrait that she made in 1987 when she was attending the Academy of Art in Rome.



The 0.85 euro stamp shows the photographic work that Lollobrigida considers her best shot. “”Potato Seller” – Benares – 1973. “I would like to thank Indira Gandhi for putting some soldiers at my disposal to move around also during the night whilst I was at the New Delhi Film Festival I only slept two hours a day and then went around to take pictures. India is one of the countries I love most in the world and this picture is a piece of history of my life. This is why I was compared to Henri Cartier Bresson”.



The 1 euro stamp shows Esmeralda, a new bronze sculpture made in 2002, 5.5 meters high, where the elegance of dance and Lollobrigida’s beauty take shape in the class and expressive power of the protagonist of the film NOTRE-Dame de Paris (1956) by J. Delannoy with Anthony Quinn.“ I am really proud of this work for which I took 2 years”. The presence and commitment of Gina Lollobrigida in several charities, such as UNICEF, UNESCO and Doctors without Borders, led to her appointment as the first ambassador of FAO, the UN organisation dealing with the world hunger problem.



On the 3.2 euro stamp, the artist says: “I remember the meeting with Mother Teresa in Calcutta in March 1990 when preparing the book The Wonder of Innocence. She wanted to help me with the sleeve and the foreword of the book. Mother Teresa is always in my heart”.




A Journey through Indian Stamps- FDCs of Se-tenant Stamps

From Collection of Shrikant Parikh



Rural Indian Women - 15 October 1997

Scindia School, Gwalior - 20 October 1997

Indian Medicinal Plants - 28 October 1997

INDEPEX - 97 - Post Office Theme - 15 December 1997