“Four things greater than all things are . . .
Women and Horses
and Power and War . . .”
from: “The Ballad of the King’s Jest”
by Rudyard Kipling
“Women”
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| “Le Crazy Horse” Collection “Eva di Bratislava” |
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| Acrylic on Canvas | © SIMBARI |
Nicola has always loved the excitement and power of speed . . .
[ Horses . . . Cars . . . and Bicycles . . . ]
and Beautiful Women . . .
what Italian man doesn’t ? ! . . .
So, it was not surprising that Nicola accepted a ‘challenge’ by the owner of the famous Paris night-club “Le Crazy Horse” . . . after a conversation Alain Bernardin, and his beautiful wife ‘Lova Moor’, he set to work . . .!
What a “vernissage” - - - le ‘tous Paris’ was there - - -
AND
‘les girls’ . . they were gorgeous
Nicola was in his element!
“Horses”
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| “Into the Straight” |
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| Acrylic on Canvas | © SIMBARI |
Horse racing of every sort intrigued Nicola’s imagination and he often painted Trotting racing which took place near our house, in Rome . . . but his most exciting horses (for me) are those of the Circus which he so often depicted with daring acrobats on their backs . . .!
“Power”
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| “TAG in the Box”
Formula One Series |
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| Acrylic on Canvas | © SIMBARI |
Following the excitement and success of his ‘Crazy Horse’ Collection - - M. Mansour Ojjeh [the owner of the TAG team, at that time] asked Nicola to paint a small and unique collection of Formula One Car racing . . . This idea excited the “racer” in him, and his secret desire to drive one of those magnificent ‘machines’ . . . he set off immediately for Monza . . . and Monte Carlo . . .
then, there is the daring of The Rallye Car Racing . . .
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Commissioned by
Dr. Wolfgang Habbel,
(the Chairman of
AUDI AG)
to paint
The Rallye of ’85 . . . Nicola excelled himself . . AUDI - - No: 11 Rallye ‘85 Acrylic on Canvas © SIMBARI |
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Superb . . . thrilling! Where are they now ?
Yet, Nicola never ‘forgot’ the Inspiration of “Woman” . . . .
| Alluring - - Beautiful - - Magnificent . . . | ||
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“Roberta” – a favourite of mine . . ‘she’ is ageless . . . ‘she’ is timeless . . . and owned by a great Mexican collector . . . I miss her ! “Roberta” Acrylic on Canvas © SIMBARI |
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These are the hands that create such diverse, exciting, colourful work . . . and answer any artistic challenge with such remarkable imagination . . . |
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Bicycle Racing . . . a favourite Italian sport - -
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shown by his illustrations, in his award winning  Children’s
book - --made with humour, love and knowledge of life in ‘his’ Italy, of the
50s & 60s,andhis beloved Calabria . . . “Arriva dei Ciclisti” Gouache on paper - - detail From “Gennarino” © SIMBARI Published by J.B. Lippincott and Oxford University Press |
During Nicola’s Formula One Racing ‘experience’, our lives became centered on the excitement of The Circuit . . . we watched on T.V. . . . we learned the names of the leading drivers - - - and I became ‘hooked’ on car racing . . . I still am !
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Perhaps . . . just perhaps - - - I dream of driving a Ferrari around the Track . . . and winning!! “Renault” Formula One Series Acrylic on Canvas © SIMBARI |
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Somehow, I can understand how a truly beautiful woman might be compared with a horse of incredible speed and elegance, or ‘today’, a racing car . . . .
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or the thrill of theTheatre
. . . There is Mystery . . . Who
is she? . . .I have difficulty in choosing from my favourite “Women” paintings . . . they are sometimes dreamy . . . or flaunting . . . Danseuse en Repos” Acrylic on Canvas © SIMBARI |
. . . or, . simply charming . . .
they
have an air of grace . . .
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So many remind me of our travels and our holidays! A ‘diary’ of our life!! Of what is she Dreaming ? (il Sogno is ‘the Dream’’) “Il Sogno” Retablo in Silkscreen © SIMBARI |
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Whilst preparing his material for the AUDI collection of Rallye Cars, Nicola travelled to Africa. . . he was fascinated by what he saw (Audi No: 11) . . . . and so different from the scenery he encountered in northern Europe . . . (AUDI No:6) . . . . in all twelve works he shows us the daring and the skill of the drivers and the marvel of the surrounding countryside.
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| “AUDI - - No.6 “ | Rallye Cars Series | © SIMBARI |
Once again, Nicola underlines the spirit of the drivers . . .it is almost possible to hear the roar of the engines . . . feel the excitement of the spectators, in his Formula One Series
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Driving with Nicola across Europe, I felt as if he was in training for one race or another! “Zolder” Formula One Series © SIMBARI |
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Race horses . . . they are such magnificent animals . . . so
elegant!
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. . but Nicola also painted the horses of the Circus and the wild
horses on the prairie or in the Camargue . . .
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“Winning Post” Gouache on Paper © SIMBARI |
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. . .or the American Southwest . . . “Mustang” Southwest Collection © SIMBARI |
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Living in Nicola’s Diary was always exciting . . . very eventful , and often hectic ! I never knew WHAT would come next - - - or WHO we would meet!
Nicola built his own Studio . . . in the Alban Hills . . .just outside Rome. He designed it, and the pool . . . I worked on the “garden” . . . Nicola said: “You should ‘know’ how to do the garden, because you are English” !
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The views of Rome, and the surrounding countryside,
were spectacular . . .
In the summer, every Saturday and Sunday, friends from all over the
world would “drop by” for informal meals and a swim . . . Anita Ekberg,
John Gavin,
David Caradine . . . to name only a few . . . .
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Often the conversation was about Horses - - Cars - - Beautiful Women - - Everyone was an Expert!!! “Rainbow Interior” Acrylic on Canvas © SIMBARI |
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(discussing “Nino” gouache for his retablo in silkscreen) |
Nicola in his studio . . . how he enjoyed his hours, there . . . a world where he was the Creator and King - - - listening to the radio, singing to his favourite arias or Neapolitan songs - - - transferring his joy, his happiness, his freedom - - - into his works. |
The Inspiration that you give |
“Circeo” Retablo in Silkscreen ©SIMBARI a humble verse to Nicola Simbari. . . A great master artist . .
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PASSION . . .DRAMA
. . .COLOUR
. . .LIGHT
. . .INSPIRATION
. . . SIMBARI MAGIC ! AUDI. No..3 Rallye ‘85 Acrylic on Canvas © SIMBARI |
© Elfrida 2010
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