The Art of Heraldry
For catalogues of works of heraldry and select other exhibitions, please see bottom right corner of this page.
The depiction of heraldic coats of arms by the artist is due to his sincere deep passion for the Middle Ages, legends and animals, which arose from his childhood. These characteristics are thus concentrated in the graphic and aesthetic charm of ancient symbols from pure and dazzling colors, applied according to various painting techniques on parchment, wood, majolica, glass, marble, slate, alabaster, damask, canvas and brocades. Many of these coats of arms (more than one thousand) have been painted as a counterpart to portraits and landscapes.
"I believe that heraldry has an artistic dignity of its own. Often, it perfectly blends the graphic charm with aesthetic of great painting. I am convinced that if Picasso, Modigliani, de Lempicka had known this kind of art maybe too sophisticated and truly conceptual we would have perhaps seen the flowering of a new artistic movement, maybe called "emblemism" more than "heraldism".
--Gabriele Reina "Conversazioni d'arte all' “eremo di Brunate”, dipingendo acquerelli con i miei amici Honora Reardon e Giovanni Maurizio Litta-Modignani."
For catalogues of works of heraldry and select other exhibitions, please see bottom right corner of this page.
The depiction of heraldic coats of arms by the artist is due to his sincere deep passion for the Middle Ages, legends and animals, which arose from his childhood. These characteristics are thus concentrated in the graphic and aesthetic charm of ancient symbols from pure and dazzling colors, applied according to various painting techniques on parchment, wood, majolica, glass, marble, slate, alabaster, damask, canvas and brocades. Many of these coats of arms (more than one thousand) have been painted as a counterpart to portraits and landscapes.
"I believe that heraldry has an artistic dignity of its own. Often, it perfectly blends the graphic charm with aesthetic of great painting. I am convinced that if Picasso, Modigliani, de Lempicka had known this kind of art maybe too sophisticated and truly conceptual we would have perhaps seen the flowering of a new artistic movement, maybe called "emblemism" more than "heraldism".
--Gabriele Reina "Conversazioni d'arte all' “eremo di Brunate”, dipingendo acquerelli con i miei amici Honora Reardon e Giovanni Maurizio Litta-Modignani."
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Depicting the Coat of Arms of the historic Bertodano family of Piemonte, Italy; 30 x 21 cm. Oil on wood taken from the roughly 600 year-old beams of the Sanctuary of Oropa, in Piemonte. Founded in 9th century by papal bull, the Sanctuary passed to the House of Savoy in the 1370s.
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The Art of Authentic Heraldic Technique:
"The biggest problem was that you cannot paint directly with oil on the damask", states Gabriele Reina. "The 'silhouette' of the Wappen must be filled with a morbid, elastic mixture of glue and chalk, a very long and patient work that itself takes one day..." He continues: "The rarest and most precious creations are certainly the large heraldic oil paintings on damask fabric. They are technically unique, with an insurmountable gap compared to the classic small, coats of arms painted in acrylic or tempera on parchment, as typically done by most such artists. First of all, there is the question of their dimensions: these Standards are almost as large your house front door. In this regard, they are perfect for sets in living rooms, above fireplaces, even for film sets and interior design. "Then, the heraldic subject is painted in such a way as to let the damask's lustrous and shiny quality of the background stand out. However, you cannot paint directly with oil on damask: the sketched heraldic silhouette must be painted beforehand with a particular primer. Only thereafter the master paints in oil 'in' it, applying the rules of great painting to heraldry--with shadows, depth, three-dimensionality, and strictly hand-painted Gothic graphic characters. The final results are authentic giant-miniatures with intense, bright colours. "Finally, the drying and the achievement of perfect polymerization takes weeks, sometimes even months if you use poppy oil, which guarantees a unique shine painted on this very thick and durable tight weave, very strong and durable. Once framed, these paintings are worthy of royal palaces or Wunderkammern". To the left: Ancient meets modern meets ancient: "I'm not a desktop painter, but I really love touring and drawing towns, mountains, hills on foot or by bicycle. I am a lover of the history of the "Old Piedmont" and in 1996 I was at the Sanctuary of Oropa, the "Escurial of Alps" with a dear friend of mine, a local historian. They had restored the roof of the ancient chapel, removing the venerable, enormous beams, now worn or rotten. Knowing that I love to paint on local materials, they gave me this table, on which I painted the coat of arms of this historic family (counts of Tollegno) who sponsored the Sanctuary of Oropa, was faithful to the House of Savoy, gave to history some knights of Malta and jurists. The lion with the rose is the symbol of the city of Tortona."--GR
Below: sample Standards from the press communique of Villandry exhibition, April- July 2022. 
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Below: Detailed close-ups of Standards. These works are done on damask and Panama canvas
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Below: Stendards of five by five feet in dimension
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As an example:
"With this delicate little coat of arms (which I painted in oil on panel, 30x30 cm) of the glorious Marquis of Saluzzo, I concluded my series of works dedicated to this chivalrous Alpine Lordship which protected the arts and the troubadours of Provence. Their power has long since dissolved in the sands of Time, but masterpieces that recall them still survive, such as the frescoed room in Manta Castle, mentioned in every fashion history book."--Gabriele Reina
Excerpt from "Conversazioni d'arte all' “eremo di Brunate”, dipingendo acquerelli con i miei amici Honora Reardon e Giovanni Maurizio Litta-Modignani":
"Even my futurist master was passionate about the subject and he believed that sketching some dragons, griffins and lions from their original shields of the gothic palaces of Tuscany it was great to enhance the use of the line drawing, also because heraldry is intertwined with the discipline of ornamentation. Over time, drawing more and more these symbols, I learned to distinguish them, to bring them back to this or that family. I understood, then, that the patrons of the arts were at the end a narrow circle of noble families and merchants and by knowing their symbols I could connect them to their ancient portraits, seals, bookplates, entire collections."
"With this delicate little coat of arms (which I painted in oil on panel, 30x30 cm) of the glorious Marquis of Saluzzo, I concluded my series of works dedicated to this chivalrous Alpine Lordship which protected the arts and the troubadours of Provence. Their power has long since dissolved in the sands of Time, but masterpieces that recall them still survive, such as the frescoed room in Manta Castle, mentioned in every fashion history book."--Gabriele Reina
Excerpt from "Conversazioni d'arte all' “eremo di Brunate”, dipingendo acquerelli con i miei amici Honora Reardon e Giovanni Maurizio Litta-Modignani":
"Even my futurist master was passionate about the subject and he believed that sketching some dragons, griffins and lions from their original shields of the gothic palaces of Tuscany it was great to enhance the use of the line drawing, also because heraldry is intertwined with the discipline of ornamentation. Over time, drawing more and more these symbols, I learned to distinguish them, to bring them back to this or that family. I understood, then, that the patrons of the arts were at the end a narrow circle of noble families and merchants and by knowing their symbols I could connect them to their ancient portraits, seals, bookplates, entire collections."
The Myth & Meaning of Venetian Lions
Large framed Venetian lions measure on average 3 meters by 2.5 meters.
Large framed Venetian lions measure on average 3 meters by 2.5 meters.
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"For years, I was also delighted to wander the ancient domains of the Serenissima Republic of Venice: Polesine, Istria, Dalmatia, etc. And everywhere I found lions of Saint Mark painted or sculpted. The winged feline is a symbolism that has always been fascinating me: the posture, the snout of the lion, the shape of the wings are pure drawing and design lessons; I have been painting about sixty lions of Saint Mark in fifteen years"
--Gabriele Reina Below: Press coverage of exhibition "The Flight of the Lions: The Lions of San Marco (Venice)". Headquarters of Generali Insurance, Trieste, January 2015. 
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PDFs of Catalogues of Works
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