Rio Carmo

Vespucci Prime Collection

The Rio Carmo is the inaugural artwork created by Curtis Thompson as the centerpiece defining the the style of art that will be included in the Vespucci Prime collection. Every fine art piece will only have 1 copy and we will auction one piece at the end of each month.

the Rio Carmo is a blend of the old world and the new, weaving the Guanabara Bay between the pillars of The Convent of Our Lady of Mount Carmo (Igreja Do Carmo). This work of art bridges the Atlantic Ocean, connecting Lisbon Portugal located on the tip of the Iberian peninsula and Rio de Janeiro Brazil central to the southwestern shores of south America.

The auction winner will be given access to the high-resolution image files via Google Drive: PNG, JPG, TIFF, PSD

Auction Status

Image Asset Details

Art Designed by Curtis Thompson

Image Capture Dates

Carmo Convent: Sept 11, 2017

Guanabara Bay: Sept 18, 2020

Arizona Sunshine: Jan 2, 2022


About the Rio Carmo
This piece of art contains assets that spans 5 years between the capture dates of each of the images been embedded in the artwork. The two primary images are from the cities of Lisbon, Portugal in September of 2017 and Rio De Janeiro Brazil in September of 2020. The photo taken in Lisbon was during my wife and I’s honeymoon. I choose to integrate these two countries in this image as a symbol of the closeness between two nations that were once a singular nation. Additionally, these two nations contain such natural and architectural beauty, I felt as though they fit well together by integrating the natural beauty of Rio De Janeiro with the Architectural beauty and strength of Lisbon.

In this artwork I created the sky trough a mixture of the Arizona Sun, pieces of sky and clouds from Lisbon and the crystal blue skyline of Rio De Janeiro. The gargantuan size of the Carmo Convent was intentional so I could use the Guanabara Bay as the base floor of the convent given the natural disaster that occurred in Lisbon. This disaster caused ruinous damage but for some bewildering reason not able to bring down this spectacular masterpiece of architecture. The flocks of White Doves are an expansion of the birds that were initially captured in the original picture of the Guanabara Bay that contributed to this piece of fine art.

About the Carmo Convent
My wife and I enjoyed our honeymoon in Lisbon and the exploration that came with it, and three years later we were blessed to enjoy our three-year anniversary in Rio De Janeiro. During our honeymoon, we took a city tour and one of the stops was at an interesting building named The Convent of Our Lady of Mount Carmo (Igreja Do Carmo). As my wife and I walked into the convent, we noticed something that was non-traditional about this building, it had no ceiling.  However, we would learn from the tour guide that this medieval convent is preserved in its current state as one of the few buildings that survived the 1755 Lisbon earthquake that was also ensued by a tsunami. Although it is in a ruinous state the building is holding up well and served multiple uses throughout the centuries before it was officially commissioned as a museum.

About Guanabara Bay
The second picture of the blue bay that is weaved between the pillars of the Carmo Convent is of the Guanabara Bay and the Botafogo Beach (Praia Do Botafogo) in Rio De Janeiro. Both natural beauties are positioned on the opposite side of the Sugarloaf mountain, which borders the world famous Copacabana beach. This picture was taken atop the Sugarloaf Mountain looking down at the Guanabara Bay, and in the distance from this view the Cristo Redento is partially visible. This picture was taken during our wedding anniversary trip to Rio De Janiero. When Portuguese explorers first ventured into this bay in they thought it was a river by based on the sheer size, which is why the city is name Rio (River) De Janiero. The depth of the Guanabara Bay makes it the deepest natural bay in the world.