Heath Rosselli - Portrait Painter

'Evelyn' - A word from the artist. The-Louvre

 

This painting was on show in The Louvre at the International Breast Cancer Conference 2009, on 31st January - 2nd February, and held up well against its fellow paintings by Raphael, Rubens and Rembrandt, which portrayed images of breast cancer through the centuries.

 

Evelyn and I both felt so privileged to be a part of this Symposium, and were fascinated listening to the speakers and all they had to say. We learned so much about the whole subject and the great steps forward that have been made in research and development of cancer drugs and surgery, as well as the history.

 

This is particularly good for me, as often I get asked a bit about these things. People assume I know a lot more about the subject than I do, simply because of the painting! Since the painting has received so much publicity, it seems Evelyn herself has become an icon in the movement against breast cancer, something she could never have imagined happening when we first set out to create this painting. The faculty organising the conference said the painting served as a reminder to all 1000 oncologists present, from 61 countries around the world, that it is the patients that are the reason why anyone should ever "do" breast oncology; the most important part of the whole equation. Many attendees came to stand next to the painting to have their picture taken, and Evelyn and I were assured that its presence and ours were inspirational to the conference. Evelyn has undoubtedly become the positive image of breast cancer treatment in the 20th/21st century.