"Billy Budd" – with Port labels

[StuartDG]

The attached image is by my late friend Valentino Monticello, who was the sommelier at Harry's Bar for many years.

A talented artist and passionate lover of opera, a 1986 commission to create a mural prompted Valentino to experiment with collages comprised of wine labels. Cutting out and arranging the figures in incredible detail, his signature method was established.

Said Valentino: “All of my pictures are composed of shapes carefully cut from wine labels: the people, the flowers, even the lines, are carefully cut from different wine labels. There is no drawing or painting involved at all.”

He would soak the labels off bottles, sometimes allowing several weeks for this to happen.

Among the Port labels in this image, which illustrates a scene from Britten's opera "Billy Budd", are Cockburn's 1955; Dow's 1963; Fonseca (Guimaraens) 1957, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, and 1974; Dalva 1985; and Croft 1963.

[JacobH]

That’s excellent! (Although I am not quite sure the state rooms on an 18th Century warship had quite as much headroom as is depicted!).

For those unfamiliar with the opera, the best* summary is provided by Book a Minute Classics.

[* In terms of density of summation.]

[Alex Bridgeman]

That is a wonderful picture. Stuart - is there any chance you could post a link to a better quality copy of the picture? I'd love to have a really good look at it.

[StuartDG]

A high-res version can be viewed at https://ardenfinewines.com/wp-content/u ... icello.png

Enjoy!

[slateshalehead]

This is a very high-res version from the artist's website: http://theartofvalentino.com/full/images/11_gallery.jpg

[Doggett]

This is a very high-res version from the artist's website: http://theartofvalentino.com/full/images/11_gallery.jpg

There was a quite extraordinary Fonseca Guimaraens vertical to get the labels for the bottom row. Rare ports these days...