Gabriele Reina SHA +click image(s) to enlarge
Gabriele Reina was born in Lugano, Switzerland, in 1969 to an old Lombard family with a double tradition: military and industrial. A painter of portraits of the old school, he was introduced to heraldry through his master (the Futurist Sibò, 1907-2000, whose artistic ancestors included Frederick Leighton) who made him refine his drawing by studying fabulous beasts carved in the fabric of ancient abbeys and castles when they studied together in Siena county.
He prefers to paint large heraldic coats of arms on canvases or panels of over one meter in height and has developed expertise in many different techniques including the use of watercolour, tempera, oil paint and majolica (he also made monumental ceramic stoves with heraldic motifs).
In recent years, he has dedicated himself to a series of nearly 60 large heraldic standards on thick canvas and damask, painted in oil or using an encaustic technique, depicting the coats of arms of great French, Spanish and Portuguese families (many of them extinct). His works are always based on accurate philological research.
He lives and works in Milan and Lake Maggiore. He is a member of Collegio Araldico Romano (Rome), Società Italiana di Studi Araldici (Turin) and the Robert Louis Stevenson Club (Edinburgh). He is a professional art historian and writer with two MA degrees in foreign languages and art history (Milan University) and a PhD in art history (Lausanne University). He was editor, writer and last editor in chief of the historical publishing company FMR/Franco Maria Ricci.
Website: www.gabrielereina.com
Instagram: @gabrielereinapainter
Email: gabriele_reina@yahoo.it
