Mar 17, 2013
Fabiola, a Project by Francis Alÿs
Francis Alÿs, well known Belgian artist, living and working in Mexico City, is an avid collector of copies of Saint Fabiola’s portrait (the original, now lost, was made by Jean-Jacques Henner in 1885). Since 20 years he acquires and expose a growing number (more than 300 as of today) of copies upon copies of a lost original made out of the most diverse materials, techniques and quality. Mostly the work of amateurs, they come out of thrift shops, flea markets and antiques stores all over the world, to end in the most prestigious art galleries and museums of the world, such as the Schaulager, the Whitehouse, the National Portrait Gallery.