Gradimir Smudja

Gradimir Smudja was born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, in July 1954. He emigrated to Switzerland in the early 1980s. There, he honed his skills working for a gallery owner, reproducing paintings by the great masters of Impressionism. A true jack-of-all-trades, he made copies, works on canvas and wood, and caricatures before securing a position as a drawing teacher in the city of Lucca, Italy. Vincent and Van Gogh This is an old project that is particularly dear to him, and in it Smudja reveals the full extent of his talent, perfectly imitating some of the canvases that marked the life and immortalized the name of Van Gogh. But this copy of the Dutch genius's work is not a simple technical representation nor a mere exercise in style; it is, above all, a tribute to Vincent made by a painter. His very personal interpretation of Van Gogh's story, which assumes that the Dutch painter's genius is simply due to his cat, recounts the journey of this misunderstood genius with as much humor as talent. In 2004, it was published. The Brothel of the Muses (Delcourt). After Van Gogh, Smudja embarks on the work of another monument of painting: Toulouse-Lautrec.