Peter Churcher

A portrait in Barcelona

Filmed in Barcelona and London

We join PETER CHURCHER in Spain. In the studio there is a sense of stillness. In the narrow streets below, the shops, restaurants and markets of Barcelona are as busy as they have always been.

In A portrait in Barcelona PETER CHURCHER paints a portrait of ANDREA and PETER HYLANDS. What is it like to have your portrait painted and why do people commission these paintings? How is the portrait constructed and how does the artist capture a likeness? How does history influence the art of portraiture?

A leading exponent of figurative painting, PETER CHURCHER’s paintings deal primarily with the human subject in portraiture and group figure narrative subjects.

“I have been primarily concerned with the painting of the human figure in a narrative context and the depiction of the human presence – that is the Portrait”.

About making the film:

“A portrait in Barcelona was filmed during the early summer of 2011. These were days of golden sunlight, of food, of wine and of conversation. The only interruption to our tranquility, the spontaneous economic protests, from the balconies and streets of Barcelona. And we visit the National Portrait Gallery in London to find out more about the art of portraiture”.

PETER HYLANDS