A promise for you; for me is a debt...

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That's Grandma, posing with the portrait that the painter did to her. Her name was Elvira Albertina Bertolucci, but she called herself Lucia Montalvo. She was singer and actress. She invented that name, and I not know from where she got that name, nor why. She was gentle, rather than by name, she always called us Treasure.

The painter with his painting of Jeanette MacDonald. Hollywood, june, 1940.

In my mother's apartment,there's a picture hanging on the wall with a portrait of Grandma. I asked: Is this a photo or a painting? She told me it was a painting and gave me a small magazine with information about this painter. I hungrily read this magazine and I selected some information about him. He was born in Portugal, but has been around the world, lived three years in Brazil and was also in Buenos Aires.

He was also a great portraitist. One of the greatest art critics of his time, Rene Huyghe, compared him to Goya, Velázquez and Nuno Gonçalves, and said that Henrique Medina was one of the greatest painters of his era in portraiture, if not the greatest of all. But the painter countered and said: "I believe the Nude, in my art, as painting, the most interesting part of my career, perhaps superior to the portrait, which gave me more name".

Henrique Medina also said: "In my youth, I even had a tendency to impressionism, but I wanted to be more demanding, I chose other ways, more difficult. Impressionism is an easier thing. Difficult, is the portrait. Wanting only, is not sufficient to make portraits". And he added: "As everybody likes to make money, they had to make that the painting were not a difficult thing ..."

He was chosen by Metro Goldwyn Mayer to paint the portrait of Dorian Gray for use in the film based on the work of Oscar Wilde, and also that of Greer Garson for the movie Mrs.Parkington.

He said that when he was painting never let people see the picture before it was finished. And when people insisted to see, he quoted the words of a philosopher: "Even nature doesn't bring to life a child before it's ready to be viewed."

But he said that that didn't work with the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini (sick)! He was young when he was invited to go to Italy to make that portrait, and he spent five mornings in a large hall doing the work, when the Italian tyrant stood up and came peeking behind him, to see the picture, he was trembling. He also met and did a portrait of Albert Einstein in California, and of course that was a lot better.

Besides Einstein, he portrayed the religious leader Mac Pherson, actresses Mary Pickford, Linda Darnell, Jeanette MacDonald, Greer Garson, Jane de Amo, one of the beautiful twins Vanderbilt, who became the Viscountess Furness, singers Lily Pons, Galli Curci, writers, politicians, presidents, members of the royal family, scientists, etc ...

With a refined technique, he could give his version of the person portrayed, he was able to capture the essence of the person portrayed

At the end of his life, returned to his homeland, and there spent his last years removed from the world, and fame, despite still having a home in Hollywood, rented for a couple of Portuguese. This painter, who once portrayed celebrities, spent the days in a dialogue with the screen, painting from 8 in the morning until the sun go down, thus fulfilling his destiny . His models then were mostly humble people, old people and children, peasants and fishermen.

When she died, this note was published in a newspaper.

Henrique Medina

Elvira Albertina Bertolucci/ Lucia Montalvo

Elvira Bertolucci/Lucia Montalvo, Abuela. 

Among the grandchildren, I had perks with her. Perhaps for the art thing.
But she was a bit uncomprehended.

You know that in a moralistic society, being single, and having a daughter, without a man by your side, it's pretty objectionable.

But if there were less "normal" people and more people like that, even with the craziness of her, the world would be more civilized and less brute.
It's amazing that 2 days ago I didn't have that information.
 Thus I discovered this painter, a master of his art.