Who is this character?

=> In Domenico Veneziano's painting, all the characters are turned towards Jesus in Mary's arms, except one: the Page who has two dogs lying at his feet. This Page seems to be disinterested in the scene.

=> Philippe Dutilleul gives an interpretation when, the next moment, Mary has withdrawn into the stable and the whole caravan has resumed its journey...
What is the Page doing? He continues to dream, inspired by the landscape.
Magical moment!

=> In his own way, Philippe Dutilleul emphasizes the fight led by the great Masters of the Italian Renaissance (15th century) to insert real or imaginary landscapes into their works against the will of the patrons of the Catholic Church who, for their part, wanted to privilege religious scenes.

The Adoration of the Magi

Tempera on wood, 90 x 90 cm,
made around 1440, by the Italian painter Domenico Veneziano (1410-61),
kept at the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin (Germany)

The Page after The Adoration of the Magi by Domenico Veneziano
oil on oak panel,
61 x 61 cm, produced in 2021
by Philippe DUTILLEUL


A word from Philippe DUTILLEUL,
member of the Salon d'Automne

"It is important to preserve and transmit the techniques of the great Masters of classical painting.

Through an artistic and educational approach, by letting myself be inspired by such a Master or such a work, I seek to show how our European pictorial heritage can be interpreted today".


What visitors say...

Philippe DUTILLEUL's works are a good way to understand European painting, particularly that of the 15th to the 19th century, a period during which, in turn, each country in Western Europe took leadership over its neighbors in military, economic or cultural terms.

Indeed, through his recreations, Philippe DUTILLEUL concretely shows the influences that could have been exerted between the different great masters or European schools. For example, in the painting Le Page, the importance of the relationship between Flemish and Venetian painters concerning the spread of oil painting techniques.

The booklet From copy to creation

This booklet is available on Philippe DUTILLEUL's website.
It brings together about ten examples of recreations through which Philippe Dutilleul offers ancient works to reincarnate in a contemporary experience.

The Page is exhibited
at the National Art Center in Tokyo
from August 8 to 18 2024
as part of the exhibition
ART ACTUEL France-Japon
Gallery 3A/3B