Ann Stillman
My project is a visual exploration of the erosion of religious faith, rendered through the reinterpretation of religious paintings and iconography. The contrasting scale of large and small paintings is not merely formal but conceptual; large pieces confront the viewer with the grandeur once associated with divine authority, while smaller paintings require closer viewing, inviting introspection.
Central to the visual language is the pixelation of the saints’ faces, a digital intervention that both anonymises and distances these once-venerated figures. My work is at once a lament and an inquiry, an attempt to articulate what remains when rituals lose meaning, when the once sacred becomes unfamiliar and when the divine goes silent.
In 2005 a painting appeared in the catalogue of a small auction house in New Orleans. The subject of the painting was the **Salvator Mundi** (Saviour of the World), a frontal portrait of Christ with right hand raised in blessing and left hand holding an orb. The catalogue labelled the painting ‘After Leonardo Da Vinci’. It was sold for $1,175. Twelve years later the same painting, which by this time had been attributed as an autograph work by Leonardo da Vinci, sold at Christie’s auction house in New York for a record-breaking $450 million.
This thesis explores questions that are raised by this case regarding restoration, the valuation of art and the workings of the art market in the contemporary world.
Through the lens of the **Salvator Mundi**, as well as some other high-profile examples, questions are asked such as how much restoration can or should be done while retaining the authenticity of the artwork, and how can artworks which have been heavily restored be valued, which leads to an exploration of non-invasive restoration of the heavily damaged Rothko **Harvard Murals**. Provenance and attribution of art in relation to value are explored as well as the art market during the economic boom years of the late 20th century and early 21st century.
Ann joined IADT as a mature student with a previous career as a piano tuner/technician. Her training in this area required an intense attention to detail, a feature which she brings to her art practice. Her interest in colour theory is also evident in her work, particularly through her exploration of colour’s emotive potential. Ann lives and works in County Wicklow, and has exhibited in **Mud Between the Toes**, Pallas Projects/Studios, Dublin (2025), **How We See**, DIVA Gallery, Dun Laoghaire (2023) and **The Place Project**, IMMA, Dublin (2022).
