Scholarly Assessments
Dr. Benjamin Marxhausen, Ph.D.
Art Historian/Artist
Chairman, Art Department (ret)
Concordia University
As an art conservator my work has taken me all over the United States and Europe, and I had the privilege to teach and train conservators around the world. I have also studied and seen the works of many of the great renaissance masters, always with the thought in mind of how wonderful it would be if someone could capture the majesty and the pigmentation quality of the old masters, and then add a new dimension to this work.
It has been my privilege, over the past forty five years to work on literally hundreds of art pieces of the old masters of Europe as well as many of the contemporary masters in the United States and Europe, always looking for that special art form which would recapture the rare old renaissance look of the old masters. I thought perhaps it was a lost art, never again to be seen, and then a miracle happened. I was led in a providential way, to meet the master painter, Bellini.
As we visited at my studio he unveiled the miracle of his work. As I looked at these masterpieces, I felt I was taken back in time, that I was surrounded by the old Renaissance Masters, Ruben, Michelangelo, Raphael, DaVinci, and many others all combined into one, but in a new modern dimension, a fourth dimension.
I knew my journey of over forty years for a modern Renaissance Master finally was at an end. As I viewed some of these master art pieces, I was captured, even drawn into the subject by some inner power, an illuminating power, which allowed me to view a new dimension of depth and perspective, an art form which compelled me to walk into this masterpiece and feel an inner peace, comfort and recognition that is rare. God has taken Bellini's hand to the canvass and has created a new commandment in the world of art, a modern Renaissance art form.
As a conservator, I had hoped to find an art form that would never deteriorate like the old masterpieces have. Indeed I have found that art form in the masterpieces of Bellini. Due to thousands of glazing layers applied by the hands of this master painter, which takes 4 to 5 years to complete each piece of work, they are preserved forever.
I am convinced that never again will this miraculous art form ever be created by anyone else, because there is no one who would have the patience, the commitment, and allow them to be guided by the spirit of God as this man has. His work will stand forever through all generations of time as the epitome of all art form. Bellini is, in the most profound sense, truly a modern Renaissance Master.
Lee Saunders, Ph.D.
Master Conservator & Fine Art Appraiser
The Art of Bellini
BEYOND THE LIMITS OF PAINTING AND POETRY
Over the years I had a number of meetings with Bellini in conversations over faith and art, joint prayers, and the glance over his works in painting.
Being steeped in art history, practice of art restoration, and as a collector, I have been exposed to life in the middle setting and the super compressed confines of the modern industrial society.
For twelve years I had my suite of offices in Rome (Italy) at the Palazzo Massimo Alle Colone, a masterpiece of the mid-sixteenth century Renaissance, built by Petruzzi, a close friend of Raphael.
The owner of the palace was my friend and sponsor: Prince Don Leone Massimo, the head of the Vatican’s diplomatic corps, whose family goes back to Fabius Cunctator, one of the early kings of Rome.
I had the privilege of frequent visits to the institutions of the Vatican and the viewing of European art collections.
On the modern side, I have spent more than twenty-five years on the top level of U.S. corporations, both public and private. With this background, I wanted to comment on the art of the Master Bellini.
It is an inspiration of heavenly forces emanating from the unwavering faith of an artist in the spiritual omnipotence of the Lord and the Father that have penetrated the vision and strength of Renaldo.
The limitless gift of heaven helped in developing his artistic progression, aided by the benefit of internal peace and unending patience while maintaining the perspective of validity for his enduring work in a modern society.
In his work Bellini captures the character and inner spiritual structure of his subjects, filtered through the judgment of the artist in terms of ethical values, in lines with things that may be eternal.
The perfections of Bellini make the people and objects of his paintings reflect their internal values and a spiritual aura. The prevalence of allegoric concepts and symbolic objects in Bellini’s work enhance the explanation of such auras.
The technique of the sculptural liveliness radiates like in the work of great Old Masters. The third dimensionality is further increased by the refractivity of the glazes that strengthen the colors and the separation of the multitude of shadings, which also fortifies the dynamism of the paintings, lending them the quality of “eternal life”. The spirituality of each object or person in Renaldo’s works renders the impression of a fourth dimensionality.
The structure and darkness of the shadings in these paintings reflect the soberness of Bellini like in the works of Michelangelo, reflecting the concept that the essence of purity in the spirit is shadowed by the drive of contemporary societies’ gifted members for instant gratification and accumulation of worldly goods that will hide the emptiness and abandonment present in their souls.
May the blessing of heaven prevail in the great gifts produced by Bellini.
Dr. Ernest Csendes
Historian & Conservator
Benjamin Marxhausen, Ph.D.
Art Educator/Historian, Appraiser
Lee Saunders, Ph.D.
Master Conservator, Art Appraiser
Ernest Csendes, Ph.D.
Conservator, Historian
Eric Finzi
Art Conservator, Appraiser
Thomas Kelly, Ph.D.
Art Historian
Antoni Dolinski, Ph.D.
Scientist
Jim Hayes
Scientist
Dr. Richard Eby
Collector, Historian
“All painters are looking for new ways to express themselves. Renaldo has developed a style that is new, but based on the old techniques of master artists. That is what makes this very exciting. We have something new, that is probably very old”
Thomas Kelly
Dean, College of Fine Arts (ret)
Loyola Marymount University
“The mastery of the works of Renaldo are beyond earthly expression other than the hand of God displaying every brush stroke for his glory"
Demos Shakarian
Technical & Scientific
“As a photographer of Fine Art at such institutions as the Norton Simon Museum and the National Gallery of Art, The Smithsonian Institute, I have never seen any contemporary oil painter demonstrating techniques which even surpass that of the old masters. Layered glazes bring out an astonishing depth of color which photography can only hope to approach. Mr. Bellini’s art should be viewed and studied as a blend of Old Masters excellence and contemporary technique”
Dr. Antoni Dolinski
Scientist
THE ART OF BELLINI – THE RE'NASCE™
Many masterpieces of the Renaissance were created through the mixture of oil paint, linseed oil, and turpentine. While embracing this knowledge Bellini pioneered the precess to a new dimension where by the glazing method within his work, can require as much as 5 years to complete for a single canvas.
Not only his works are exquisitely detailed, but the classical technique of applying thousands of layers of glaze, allows them a dimension and realism that wondrously changes with the shifting of light, whereby breathing life into the depths, through millions of colors.
Though in order to achieve this visual wonder, thin layers of color and hue’s throughout the work have been as well, separated by thin layers of varnish, which, with time have been allowed to dry. The result, is a stunning four-dimensional image that not only challenged our intellect, but as well defies our senses.
While elated to have at last achieved this remarkable and personal challenge, now…how does one translate this new found treasure, where every color is able to reflect the other in a perpetual vertigo of hue’s and colors, to the printing medium: and as well, to be separated by thin layers of varnish?
For it was at this point, I remember Renaldo contacting us for some assistance in UV protective topcoats. He impressed upon me that he had some very unique abilities and images he wanted to share with the world, but was frustrated that the technology did not seem available for him to do so in an archival and permanent manner. Renaldo had worked out a remarkable process of painting, which was based on many, many (hundreds) of layers of pure color, each separated by a layer of glaze. This allowed for light to do what pigments cannot, with colors working in an additive manner, as opposed to subtractive. The result is an increased luminosity and brilliance, which simple bending of color on the canvas would never achieve.
One of Renaldo’s next missions was to determine how to extend this extraordinary painting process into a one of a kind creation...........
We took the various print samples Renaldo sent us, with various treatments of the varnish, and conducted a series of tests at our lab to evaluate lightfastness and archival nature. The tests simulating sun light filtered through window glass, and irradiating the panes for 1200 hours, which has been correlated to be equivalent to 100 years of museum light conditions which ultimately allowed Renaldo after 20 years the birth of the RE'NASCE™ which is the art of recreating an original from the original masterpainting, pigment by pigment separated by endless glazes as well as canvas and varnish; but not before- the countless hours of test through xray and the full comprehension of Renaldo’s glazing formulation and the supposed hundreds of layers of pure color that was separated by a layer of glaze- were in reality- over 3 ½ million color combinations, needless to say, as a scientist in and of itself was and is an Astonishing Revelation.
When all was said and done I felt excitement when I submitted the final test results to Renaldo, for I knew once he had them in hand he would be pleased…no…elated for I could feel his grin and sense of relief, that one more leg of his journey had been successfully navigated, and the ultimate goal was now closer to reality. For which I am most grateful, to have played a part in this Historical break through.
Most sincerely,
Jim Hayes
Technical Director/Scientist