Natalia Tsarkova, a native Russian now living and working in Rome, Italy, has been chosen as the artist for this first important series of paintings. She has achieved many accolades, not the least of which was being one of the first woman ever to graduate from Moscow’s renowned Academy of the Fine Arts. She worked with several different genres until finally settling into her own style of figurative naturalism.

The first woman to be the official portrait painter for a Pope, 38-year-old Russian Orthodox Tsarkova is gifted with a unique expressive ability that has won her the praise of Europe’s royal and political elite. Her many portraits have been commissioned by European nobility and royalty, Cardinals, and museums. She has painted the only official portraits of Pope John Paul I and Pope John Paul II. On Dec. 13, 2007 she presented the completed official portrait of Pope Benedict XVI. The portraits of Pope John Paul I, Pope John Paul II, and Benedict XVI are on display in the Vatican Museums in Rome.

Tsarkova is not only known for her portraiture. Her adaptation of The Last Supper was internationally recognized when it was unveiled just beneath Leonardo da Vinci’s original masterpiece in Milan, Italy. Critics praised it as the only rendition of The Last Supper ever to rival Da Vinci’s. The Primavera Fine Art Foundation is honored to be working with such a well-respected and sought-after artist.

“They (the Bentley’s) had this idea like a ‘flash’ - to help renew Christianity through sacred art. I truly believe that these paintings are a very important project, and I’m so happy to have this opportunity. The artistic scope (of Our Lady of Light) is very interesting, and the composition is not at all simple . . . The Last Supper (a previous painting), compositionally, was very challenging, but this (Our Lady of Light) is perhaps even more difficult.” ~Natalia Tsarkova

“I do this work of spreading peace with my paintbrush.” ~Natalia Tsarkova ABC’s Peter Jennings, of World News Tonight, covered Natalia Tsarkova as Friday Night’s Featured Person Watch the video

Fr. John Bartunek, LC was instrumental in finding Natalia as the artist for the first commissions:

“One of the ways that you can tell the difference between a very good painter and a great painter, is if that person can actually come up with a brand new composition. Very good painters can do portraits and limited compositions, but to start from scratch and come up with a brilliant composition – multi-layered, unified and yet diverse – takes greatness.

Every generation has a few great artists. In our generation, one of these, one of the few, is Natalia Tsarkova. She is a prodigy.”

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