Miniature masterpieces
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NEW ULM -- Minnesota's Smallest Museum is the temporary home of the smallest art gallery.
The display is called the "Mini Gallery of Masterpieces."
In the display, 20 famous paintings were created in mini form by Mexican-born artist Montserrate Alejandra Ulloa Romero, currently living in New Ulm. The canvases used for each painting are only a few inches wide.
In the top left corner, a little version of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" sits above a tiny version of Johannes Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring." A compact version of Salvador Dali's "The Persistence of Memory" is the right of a scaled-down version of Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam."
Each mini canvas was painted in painstaking detail by Romero. In recreating the famous images she wanted to explore the idea of art. Romero said asking "What is art?" is a broad and complex question. She feels many people do not take into account the small details that surround us.
"We don't take time to look around," Romero said. With this mini gallery, she hoped to translate the little details. By making them small she is emphasizing the small touches.
Romero recommended the mini-canvas project for new artists trying to master new abilities. Romero said the "Girl with a Pearl Earring" was the most challenging work to recreate because of the facial details. She had the same struggle with her self-portrait located in the bottom right corner of the exhibit.
Romero said it took a month to create all the mini masterpieces. Her method of creating the paintings was to create the backgrounds first, then use a simple pencil to draw in the finer details. Due to the size of the canvases, she used the thinnest brush available.
For her version of Leonardo da Vinci's "Skull Anatomy," she used coffee to stain the canvas instead of paint.
The exhibit also includes a small crochet doll of Vicent Van Gogh standing next to his "Starry Night." The doll was created by Romero. She also included small sculptures of a melted clock similar to the clocks in Dali's painting.
Romero's "Mini Gallery of Masterpieces" will remain on display in the Smallest Museum June 9, located outside the Grand Center for Arts and Culture.