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Un po' di pepe

~ …… (oon∙poh∙dee∙PEH∙peh) Cristina writes about interesting stuff /Cristina scrive di cose interessanti

Un po' di pepe

Category Archives: Art history

Madame Gautreau

18 Friday Mar 2016

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Art, Art history, Art projects

≈ 15 Comments

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Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, John Singer Sargent, Madame Gautreau Drinking a Toast, Madame X, Painting, Strapless

Madame Gautreau Drinking a Toast. After John Singer Sargent. Cristina Pepe 2016Finalmente!  An unfinished painting after John Singer Sargent’s ‘Madame Gautreau Drinking a Toast’ was propped up on my bookshelf for 4 years.  She is finally finished!  I started it as part of an assignment for a painting course involving taking a drawing and turning it into a painting.  I got as far as the background and basic shape of the figure and glass.  My images tend to be landscapes, architecture or food.  Figures, especially ones in colour and with faces aren’t really my thing.  This was the first time I painted skintone. Scary! My painting was actually starting to look kind of like a human….. then I was afraid to work on it any more.  So it sat untouched for a few years.

Recently, with some coaching from the amazing Val Nelson, I completed the painting!  Below are the various stages. I didn’t think to photograph them all in the same place at the same time of day, so the lighting is not consistent.  You might notice she had a nose job, facelift, forehead enhancement, and ear repositioning.Madame Gautreau Drinking a Toast, Cristina Pepe 2016 www.unpodipepe.ca

John Singer Sargent is one of my favourite artists.  He was born in Firenze to expat American parents.  They lived off his mother’s small inheritance and he had a very Bohemian upbringing.  Sargent is mostly known as a formal portrait painter.  I love his acquerelli, the watercolours he painted of friends and family while on vacation.  They are so fluid, spontaneous, and bathed in light.  He could do so much with each brushstroke.  This painting was an oil sketch but has same spontaneity as his acquerelli.  It was a study in preparation for ‘Madame X’.

Madame Gautreau is the same subject of ‘Madame X’, a very famous, or shall we say ‘di cattiva fama’, a notorious Sargent painting. The subject, Virginie Avegno Gautreau was an expat American socialite married to an older Parisian banker.  Sargent thought a painting of her unusual features would bring him increased portrait commissions.  Madame Gautreau thought being painted by Sargent would elevate her social status and add a dash of celebrity.  Perhaps she is related to the Kardashians?She posed for the portrait wearing a slinky black velvet dress with an impossibly fitted bodice, her skin powdered in lavender.  While posing, the jeweled right strap of her dress slipped from her shoulder, and Sargent painted it that way.

When the painting premiered at the Paris Salon of 1884, it caused an outright scandal.  We could call it ‘Strap-Gate’.  ‘Madame X’ was considered sexually provocative and in extremely bad taste.  A humiliated Madame Gautreau retreated to the country and she refused to buy the painting.  Sargent was critically panned by the Salon.  He moved to London soon after the controversy and poor critical reception.

Sargent in his studio with Madame X. Image www.metmuseum.org

Sargent in his studio with Madame X. Image http://www.metmuseum.org

Sargent eventually repainted the strap back on the shoulder, and ‘Madame X’ was kept in his studio for 30 years. After the death of Madame Gautreau, he sold it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan for a pittance.  There is also an unfinished version with a single strap at the Tate Gallery in London.  I was lucky enough to see this one in person in 2001 at the Seattle Art Museum.  Madame Gautreau finally did get the fame and attention she craved.

'Madame X' Metropolitan Museum of Art and 'Unfinished Madame X' Tate Gallery. Images Wikimedia Commons

‘Madame X’ Metropolitan Museum of Art and ‘Unfinished Madame X’ Tate Gallery. Images Wikimedia Commons and jssgallery.org.

‘Madame X’ has been the subject of several books including ‘Strapless’ by Deborah Davis and ‘I am Madame X’ by Gioia Diliberto.  Just last month the one act ballet ‘Strapless’ premiered in London.

‘Madame Gautreau Drinking a Toast’ lives at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.  The Gardner Museum has a large Sargent Collection including many of his acquerelli di vacanze and the amazing gypsy dance ‘Il Jaleo’.

At the moment, I have no plans for a new career as una falsaria d’arte-an art forger.  Studying and reproducing a Master painting is a valuable learning experience. They don’t call them ‘i Maestri’ for nothing! I think I will tackle Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ next.  Or maybe my own scandalous full size version of Madame X? Che pensati?

©2016unpodipepe.ca

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Il Pantheon

08 Monday Feb 2016

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Architecture, Art history, Italia, Photography, Roma

≈ 13 Comments

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Ancient Roma, Pantheon, Piazza della Rotonda

Piazzadellarotonda500 years ago, Michelangelo entered the Pantheon and stated that it looked more like the work of angels than humans. The Pantheon is an architectural masterpiece and the most well-preserved building from Ancient Rome.  This is probably because it has been in continuous use since it was built.  The original use of the Pantheon is not known.  Many think it was a temple to all the gods, since ‘Pan-theos’ is Greek for ‘all gods’, although Ancient Roman temples were dedicated to single gods.  ‘Pan-theos’ might also refer to the heavens, the territory of the gods.  According to legend the site is where Romulus, the founder of Roma ascended to the heavens.  IlPantheonMarcus Agrippa, Augustus’ commander in chief built the original Pantheon on his own land, so it may have been a private building.  This building burned down in 80 AD and then was struck by lightning and burned again in 110 AD! The Pantheon standing today was completed around 126 AD by Emperor Hadrian.  He kept the original inscription under the pediment ‘M.Agrippa.L.F.Costertium.Fecit’ (Made by Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius in his third time as Consul) which caused confusion about the construction date.  The Pantheon was given to the Pope in 609, and it has been the Church of Santa Maria dei Martiri ever since, but it is usually still called the Pantheon.Pantheonfontana

From the outside, the Pantheon looks like a Greek temple. It is actually a round building (rotunda) with a portico of eight 12m (39 ft) high granite Corinthian columns up front and 8 more in behind. These columns are each a single 60 ton piece of stone quarried in Egypt.  Imagine the journey these huge stones made to get here….they were dragged through the desert, barged down the Nile to Alexandria, shipped across the Mediterranean to the port of Ostia, barged down the Tevere to Roma and then hauled overland to the site of the Pantheon!Pantheon oculus

Enter into the Pantheon and it is immediately clear what Michelangelo meant. Overhead is the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world-still after almost 2,000 years! The Romans invented concrete, using a mixture of volcanic ash and soil from Pozzuoli, lime and rocks, but they did not have rebar, so this is amazing! The 8 m wide hole in the roof is the oculus and the shaft of light coming in from the sun moves slowly throughout the day like a sun-dial.  When looking up, the dome feels like it could rotate. The oculus and front door are the Pantheon’s only sources of natural light.  Concrete walls 6m (20 ft) thick support the dome, which is 6m thick at its base but narrows to 1.2m (3.9 ft) around the oculus.  Lighter materials, such as tufa, pumice and even broken terra cotta pots were used towards the top to further lighten the load.  The oculus also lightens the load at the very top, acting as a compression ring where the roof would be its weakest. Rainwater coming in through the oculus is drained off through holes and a drainage system under the slanted marble floor.

Is it a mask for Carnevale? No, these are drainage holes in the floor right below the oculus!

Is it a mask for Carnevale? No, these are drainage holes in the floor right below the oculus!

The height of the oculus is 43.3m (150 Roman feet) and the diameter of the building is also 43.3m. A perfect 43.3m sphere would fit inside the building. For another visual, if the dome was flipped upside down, it would fit perfectly inside the rotunda.

The perfect mathematical proportions of the Pantheon invoke harmony and symbolize the earth and the heavens. The Pantheon has provided inspiration to architects including Brunelleschi and Michelangelo for almost 2,000 years.  Public buildings throughout the world are modelled on the Pantheon’s ‘portico and dome’ design.Pantheonchapel

In the 17 the Century, the Barberini Pope Urbano VII removed the bronze ceiling from the portico and melted it down to make cannons for Castel Sant’Angelo. The outrage prompted the saying ‘Quello che non hanno fatto i barberi hanno fatto i Barberini’ (What the barbarians didn’t do, the Barberini did), implying that the Pantheon had survived numerous barbarian invasions, only to be looted by the Barberini family. In addition to functioning as a Classical Masterpiece and a Church, many notable Italiani are buried in the Pantheon.  Some of these include Vittorio Emanuele II, Umberto II and his wife Margherita di Savoia, Rafaelle Sanzio da Urbino (Raphael) and his fiancée Maria Bibbiena.

Il Pantheon from Il Vittoriano

Il Pantheon from Il Vittoriano

‘La Pioggia delle Rose al Pantheon’ (the rain of roses) is on my list of things to see. This takes place on Pentecost Sunday, 50 days after Easter.  At noon, right after Mass, Roma’s Vigili del Fuoco (fire fighters) climb to the top of the dome and drop thousands of rose petals through the oculus as choirs sing.  The rose petals symbolize the Holy Spirit coming down to earth.  Even Michelangelo would be impressed!

The dome and oculus, viewed from the roof of Grande Hotel de la Minerve

The dome and oculus, viewed from the roof of Grande Hotel de la Minerve

Il Pantheon from Piazza de la Minerva

Il Pantheon from Piazza de la Minerva

Il Pantheon is also featured in my post ‘Un Giorno a Roma’.

©2016 http://www.unpodipepe.ca

 

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Museo Diocesano, Orsara di Puglia

29 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Art history, Italia, Italian life, Orsara di Puglia, Photography, Puglia

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Italian history, Museo Diocesano Orsara di Puglia, Orsara di Puglia, Palazzo Varo, Puglia, Southern Italy

museodiocesanoorsaraThe last time I was in the Museo Diocesano di Orsara di Puglia was about 1980. It looks as if hardly anyone else has been there either! The Museo is right around the corner from my casa, and it is not usually open. To visit, you need to ask for the person who has the key.  Last week I was walking by and noticed it was open as there was a photo exhibit in one of the rooms. As I walked up the stone staircase it was like stepping through time.

My accidental selfie

My accidental selfie

The Museo occupies part of the upper floor of the Palazzo Varo, a 16th Century building that was part of the Abbazia dell’Angelo. The famiglia Varo sold the palazzo and it became a convent for the ‘Monache Bianche’ or white nuns. When the sisters moved in the 1960’s it became the Scuola Media until a new school was built. In the 1970’s, some of the rooms became a depository for archeological relics and museum items. The bottom floor was recently remodelled into a very nice meeting/conference area.  The upper floor has a separate entrance and is in an elegant state of decay, to match the artifacts it is housing.museodiocesanocollage2

The collection is actually really impressive and reflects the history of the area.   Most of the artifacts, except the sacred items formerly used in the parish, have been donated, collected and collated by volunteers. The Museo encompasses a time span from Neolithic to mid 20th Century. That’s a really long time! The bronze and selce (flint) tools and utensils, earthenware vessels, lamps, tomb decorations and even fragments of a 10th Century pavimento (mosaic pavement) were dug up by contadini (farmers/peasants) while plowing their fields.

Roman lucerne -oil lamps

Roman lucerne -oil lamps

Ascia e lancie in Bronzo (bronze hatchet and spears)

Ascia e lancie in Bronzo (bronze hatchet and spears)

There are also farm implements, tools, utensils and household items used by local contadini in daily life. The lack of formal organization and cataloguing of the items makes the place so much more interesting. The crumbling, aging plaster walls of the formerly grand Palazzo provide a beautiful, yet ironic backdrop for the crumbling rusted work and field implements used by contadini Orsarese.

Museodiocesanocollage3 copymuseodiocesanosellaThe Museo is definitely worth a visit-you need to ask at the Parish or Comune (Town Hall) for someone to let you in.  Let me know if you need more info on this, and read Benvenuti ad Orsara di Puglia!

A piattaia, called a 'scudular' (scoo.doo.lahr) in Orsarese. I have one just like it, made by a friend of Papà's. My plates are quite a bit newer though!

A piattaia, called a ‘scudular’ (scoo.doo.lahr) in Orsarese. I have one just like it, made by a friend of Papà’s. My plates are quite a bit newer though!

museodiocesano3

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Centrale Montemartini

15 Sunday Feb 2015

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Architecture, Art, Art history, Culture, Italia, Photography, Roma

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Al Biondo Tevere, Art history, Art Nouveau, Basilica San Paolo Fuori le Mura, Capitoline Museum, Centrale Montemartini, Cleopatra, Industrial archeology, Italy travel tips, Roma, Stile Liberty, Temple of Apollo Sosiano, Via Ostiense

Centrale Montemartini is an amazingly awesome, undervisited museum and a stunning example of 20th Century industrial archeology.  Built in 1912 in Art Nouveau style (Stile Liberty), it was the first public electric plant in Roma, providing power for the surrounding area until it was abandoned in 1963.  Luckily the amazing architecture and historical importance saved it from demolition!

Amazon warrior in front of a diesel engine

Amazon warrior in front of a diesel engine

In 1997 during the Capitoline Museum renovation, Centrale Montemartini was used for a temporary exhibition ‘Le Macchine e gli Dei’ (The Machines and the Gods).  In 2005 it became a permanent space for part of the Capitoline collection, with all of the original thermoelectric equipment left in place.  Now you can visit a unique display of classical sculpture against an industrial  backdrop of steam boilers, diesel engines, catwalks twisting pipes and gauges.  It’s a blend of ‘vecchio e più vecchio’ (old and older), a stark contrast of ancient and industrial, art and science.  Antique white marble appears translucent against the blackness of the machinery.  The space is immense and silent, with high ceilings and tall windows providing natural light. The works of art are carefully chosen and placed so there is space to appreciate their beauty while you walk among them and contemplate the passage of time.Centrale Montemartini Sala Macchine3

The 400 pieces include ancient Roman sculptures, rare Greek originals brought to Roma, and Roman copies of Greek originals. They date from the 5th Century BC to the 4th Century AD and were found in the late 19th and early 20th Century. Most of the works are on the upper floor in 2 massive rooms.

Partial female head, discovered in the garden of Villa Rivaldi in 1933 during construction of Via dei Fori Imperiali

Partial female head, discovered in the garden of Villa Rivaldi in 1933 during construction of Via dei Fori Imperiali

In Sala Macchine (Machine Room or Hall of the Machines) 2 hulking diesel engines are surrounded by Roman replicas of Greek statues.  At one end, a reconstruction of the pediment of the Temple of Apollo Sosiano depicts a battle between Greeks and Amazons.  These pieces are Greek originals found in the 1930’s near the Theater of Marcellus.  Above this installation hangs the old ‘carroponte‘ (Gantry crane).

Centrale Montemartini, Sala Macchine

Centrale Montemartini, Sala Macchine

Centrale Montemartini Apollo Sosiano

Other ‘meraviglie’ (wonders) include a bust of Cleopatra and the giant head, right arm and feet of an 8m high statue of the Goddess Fortuna found near Largo Argentina.  Her feet look very modern with their ‘infraditi’-thong style sandals!piedidifortuna

Sala Macchine. Bust of Cleopatra (to the right of the large statue)

Sala Macchine. Bust of Cleopatra (to the right of the large statue)

cleopatraSala Caldaie (Boiler Room) is named for its 15m steam boiler and features a large mosaic of a hunting scene found near Santa Bibiana.  The mosaic is surrounded by sculptures once adorning lavish Roman homes.Centrale Montemartini Sala Caldaie

PolimniaI especially like the statue of Polimnia, muse of poetry and dance.  She has her elbows resting on a pillar and her shawl casually wrapped around her.  My other favourite in Sala Caldaie is the Sphinx Frieze, which seems to glow against the red brick wall.

Sala Caldaie. Sphinx Frieze with Acanthus Spirals. This was part of the Gardens of Sallust and likely represents the victory over Antony and Cleopatra.

Sala Caldaie. Sphinx Frieze with Acanthus Spirals. This was part of the Gardens of Sallust and likely represents the victory over Antony and Cleopatra.

There were only 4 or 5 other people in the museum both times I visited.  One of the staff told me that from October to May they have a lot of school groups visiting through their educational program, but June to September is not very busy.  This is opposite to most other museums!  I definitely recommend this amazing place, especially if you want to get away from crowds and lineups and see something truly unique. Even people who don’t like museums will appreciate this one-or at least find it oddly fascinating!Centrale Montemartini WarriorTorso

Centrale Montemartini is in the Ostiense area on the left bank of the Tevere.  It is south of Roma’s historic center but very accessible by Metro B line Garbatella stop.  When leaving the metro stop, you will cross a pedestrian bridge and then reach Via Ostiense.  Bus 23 goes along Via Ostiense and Stazione Ostiense is also nearby.

The view on exiting Garbatella Metro Stop.  Via Ostiense is in front, where the yellow building is.  Il Gasometro is behind it.  Centrale Montemartini is just to the left.

The view on exiting Garbatella Metro Stop. Via Ostiense is in front, where the yellow building is. Il Gasometro is behind it. Centrale Montemartini is just to the left.

The Basilica of San Paolo Fuori le Mura is walking distance, one metro stop away.  In between the Basilica and Centrale Montemartini is one of the oldest restaurants in Roma, Al Biondo Tevere at Via Ostiense 178 www.albiondotevere.it  serving Roman cuisine overlooking the Tevere.

Centrale Montemartini

Centrale Montemartini

www.centralemontemartini.org  Via Ostiense 106, open Tues-Sun from 09-19.  Admission is € 7.50 for adults or €16 for the Capitolini Card (valid 7 days).  The Romapass can also be used.  Don’t forget your sketchbook!

Ciao, Cristina

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‘Ratto delle Sabine’

13 Tuesday Jan 2015

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Art, Art history, Culture, Firenze, Italia

≈ 3 Comments

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Art, Art history, Giambologna, Loggia dei Lanzi, Piazza della Signoria, Ratto delle Sabine, Renaissance art, Sculpture

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOne of my favourite works of art is moving!  After 432 years in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Piazza della Signoria Firenze, Giambologna’s ‘Ratto delle Sabine’  (Abduction of the Sabine Women) is being moved to the Galleria degli Uffizi.  In November 2014 the Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e turismo (Ministry of cultural works and tourism) announced that the sculpture would be moving once a reproduction is made for the Loggia and funds are secured for the move.  If needs to be moved indoors to protect it from damage caused by pollution, rain, wind and even snow.

The sculpture was carved from a single block of flawed marble.  Does that sound familiar?  Remember the ‘Il Gigante-Michelangelo’s David’ post?.  It features 3 figures intertwined in a ‘figura serpentina’- a serpentine composition.  A man is lifting a woman into the air while another man crouches, and what they are doing is not really clear.  There is no dominant viewpoint or ‘good side’ to this sculpture. It has multiple viewpoints and makes the viewer want to move around and observe it from every angle.  This was probably the first work of art with more than one point of view.

There are 2 interesting things to note about the sculpture’s misleading title.  First of all, it is usually incorrectly translated into English as ‘Rape of the Sabine Women’.  ‘Ratto’ comes from the latin ‘raptio’ meaning abduction.  The second thing is that the subject matter was entirely made up-it was not the artist who gave this work its title!  Giambologna had no subject in mind when he sculpted this piece.  This was very unusual, but he was trying to demonstrate his ability to create a perfect upward spiralling vortex.  He was the official sculptor of the Medici family and you could say he was showing off.  When the work was completed in 1583, Francesco I de’Medici decided to put it on public display at the Loggia dei Lanzi.  The Loggia is like a large covered porch in the Piazza della Signoria, with 2 walls and 2 open sides.  Some guy named Vincenzo Borghini suggested the title and apparently no one could come up with a better one.  Am I the only one who finds this annoying?

I’ve had the opportunity to view this masterpiece many times and have even sketched it from different viewpoints.  I’m sure a lot of people don’t realize this is still the original sculpture and not a copy! I can totally understand that it needs to be protected from the elements, but once it is moved, you will have to book tickets online, wait in lineups……and you won’t be able to admire it for free on a midnight walk in the Piazza. If you have not seen ‘Ratto delle Sabine’ in the Loggia dei Lanzi yet, there is still time to get to Firenze before ‘il trasloco’-moving day!

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Nel Blu Dipinto di Azzurro-A History of the Colour Blue

23 Sunday Nov 2014

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Art, Art history

≈ 4 Comments

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Art history, Art materials, Azurite, Botticelli, Cennini, Giotto, Lapis lazuli, Marco Polo, Painting, Ultramarine blue, Vermeer

PoggipoggiazzurroThis post is not about Domenico Modugno’s 1958 hit song or the Azzurri, the Italian national team.  It is about the long and fascinating history of blue pigment.  Although the colour blue is all around us-in the sky, the sea and the mountains, blue pigment is rare in nature.  Unlike earth colours, which could be made by going outside and mixing dirt with oil or sap, blue pigment was made with ground minerals which were not easily obtained. This made blue a rare and valuable colour.

The Ancient Egyptians made a pigment called blue frit from blue glass ground into powder, but the complicated process of how to make it was lost. Historically, the most prized blue was ultramarine, a warm blue with a brilliant tone, leaning towards violet on the colour wheel.  Genuine ultramarine blue was made from ground lapis lazuli stone which has tiny specs of iron pyrite in it that make it glitter like gold.  Lapis lazuli comes mainly from one set of mines in the remote Badakhshan area of Northern Afghanistan (formerly Persia).  The Sar-i-Sang (Place of the Stones) mines have been in operation continuously for over 6,000 years!  Marco Polo explored the area in the 13th Century and wrote ‘there is a mountain in that region where the finest azure (lapis lazuli) in the world is found.  It appears in veins like silver streaks’.  The name ultramarine does not refer to the colour of the sea. ‘Azzurro oltre mare’ or ‘azzurro oltremarino’ means ‘blue from across the seas’.  No one knew exactly where it came from or how it was made, giving it an exotic and mysterious aura.

Lapis lazuli from the Sar-i-Sang mines in Afghanistan, courtesy of Mountain Gems, Burnaby BC.

Lapis lazuli from the Sar-i-Sang mines in Afghanistan, courtesy of Mountain Gems, Burnaby BC.

Lapis lazuli was exported to all parts of the ancient world and used for jewellery and adornment.  It is mentioned in one of the oldest known works of literature, the Mesopotamian poem ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’ (17-18 C BC).  The irises on the Louvre’s 2400 BC alabaster statue of Ebih-II from ancient Mari (modern Syria) are made of lapis lazuli as are the eyebrows of the funeral mask of King Tutankhamun (1341-1323 BC).  Cleopatra may have even used very finely powdered lapis lazuli for eyeshadow.  Try finding that at Sephora!

The process for making a permanent, non-toxic pigment by extracting colour from the lapis lazuli stone was developed in 12th century Persia.  Trade of ultramarine to Europe via Venezia started soon after Marco Polo’s time.  It was used for manuscript illuminations and painting.  In his early 15th century bestseller, ‘Il Libro dell’Arte’ Cennino Cennini writes about how to make the pigment.  Powdered lapis lazuli stone was sifted and mixed with pine resin, gum mastic and wax or linseed oil.  It was wrapped in cloth, soaked and kneaded with a dilute lye solution until the blue colour was extracted.  Cennini wrote ‘ultramarine blue is a color illustrious, beautiful, the most perfect, beyond all other colours; one could not say anything about it, or do anything with it, that its quality would not still surpass’.

Extracting colour from lapis lazuli with lye can be compared to pressing olive oil. The process is done 3 times.  The first ‘press’, like extra virgin olive oil produces the highest quality colour.  The second press, although still good, is a lower quality colour, and the final press would be the equivalent of pomace olive oil.  In the 2009 Australian/French documentary ‘Cracking the Colour Code’ Massimo Zecchi can be seen preparing genuine ultramarine pigment for the restoration of a Renaissance altarpiece.

During the Renaissance, ultramarine became associated with the divine and heavenly, giving works of art both a sense of spirituality and luxury.  Since it was worth more than the same weight in gold, it was used sparingly by Renaissance painters.  It was reserved for the most important parts of the painting-usually the robes of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus.  Artists would sign contracts with their patrons stating the quality and price to be paid for the pigment.  Zecchi Colori e Belle Arti in Firenze has been making artist pigments for over 300 years. On their website 100g of ‘Azzurro oltremarino di lapis lazuli Afgano’ sells for 510 Euro, 10g is €58  2nd quality is €290 for 100g or €38 for 10g.

Artists often economized for the underpainting by using blue made with azurite, a mineral mined in France.  Then they would add thin layers of ultramarine over top.  Azurite makes a paler, greenish blue.  It was used for painting skies but would turn dark over time.  In one of my favourite paintings, Sandro Botticelli’s 1470  ‘La Madonna dell’ Eucaristia’ (the Madonna of the Eucharist), the difference between the grayed greenish blue of the sky and the brilliant ultramarine of the Madonna’s robe is clearly visible. If you are in Boston, be sure to visit this masterpiece at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum because photographs do not do it justice.

La Madonna dell' Eucaristia (1470) by Sandro Botticelli

La Madonna dell’ Eucaristia (1470) by Sandro Botticelli

Ultramarine was not used in fresco painting, as the colour bleaches out in reaction to the acidic wet lime plaster.  This meant an enormous amount of the expensive pigment would be needed.  Azurite was used for fresco painting.  It had a course texture, making it hard to stick to the plaster.  Several layers of azurite were needed, giving the fresco a crusty or chalky look. Ultramarine pigment was mixed with a binder-usually egg yolk, and applied to the fresco ‘secco’, after the plaster had dried. This is how Giotto painted the magnificent Cappella degli Scrovegni in Padova in 1305.

A small section of Giotto's Cappella degli Scrovegni

A small section of Giotto’s Cappella degli Scrovegni

The turban of Johannes Vermeer’s mesmerizing 1665 ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ is painted with a mixture of ultramarine and lead white, with many thin glazes of pure ultramarine painstakingly painted over it. Vermeer went into debt buying the pigment!

Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665) by Johannes Vermeer

Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665) by Johannes Vermeer

In the 18th Century, oxides from cobalt were used to make a blue similar to the Ancient Egyptian blue frit. Several other blue pigments were also developed, but none could compare to ultramarine.  In 1826, the French government offered a prize to produce a synthetic version of ultramarine. Many attempts failed. The final product was named ‘french ultramarine’.  Large quantities could be produced at a much lower price. This is the ultramarine blue pigment we use today.  It is one of the most important colour discoveries in the history of artist pigments.   The next time you crack open a tube of ultramarine blue, squeeze it onto your palette and load it on your brush….you can recall the long and fascinating history that led to the manufacture of your paint!

The Italian word for blue is azzurro (ahz·ZOOR·roh), from the Persian word lazhward which morphed into lazulo then became azzurro.  The same word is the root of English azure, French azur, Polish lazur, Romanian azuriu, Spanish and Portuguese azul, and Hungarian azúr.  Lapis is Latin for stone, thus lapis lazuli means blue stone.

Forza Azzurri!

Forza Azzurri!

©2014 http://www.unpodipepe.ca

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‘Il Gigante’- Michelangelo’s David

27 Sunday Apr 2014

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Art, Art history, Culture, Firenze, Italia

≈ 12 Comments

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Art, Art history, Culture, Firenze, Italia, Italian history, Michelangelo

Davide
The sculpture of David by Michelangelo Buonarroti is one of the most recognizable pieces of art in the world. David was in progress from 1501-1504, carved from a ginormous piece of ‘flawed’ Carrara marble. It weighed over 6,000 kilos! 2 other sculptors had previously attempted to use it, and there was a big gaping hole going right through it-between where the legs were going to go. It was nicknamed ‘Il Gigante’ and was sitting in the Opera del Duomo (the works yard of Santa Maria del Fiore) for over 30 years. Several other artists had been to see it, but it was considered useless; too tall and too thin on one side for a figure…and then there was that hole.

Michelangelo was already a bit of a minor celebrity, having just completed his first ‘capolavoro’ (masterpiece), La Pietá, in Roma at the age of 25. He convinced the Operai to let him have the marble. He decided to use it for the originally intended subject; David, the boy who killed the Philistine giant Goliath with his slingshot, 1 rock, and a lot of help from God.  Michelangelo strategically planned his figure in contrapposto, with most of the weight on the right leg, so that it would fit precisely around the large hole in the marble. He even had to leave some of the chisel marks on the chest area made by Simone da Fiesole, one of the previous sculptors because it was such a tight fit. David was supposed to go on one of the pedestals at the end of the buttresses on the roofline of Santa Maria del Fiore (often referred to simply as Il Duomo) with 12 other Old Testament sculptures.

David was originally planned for one of these pedestals on the buttresses of Santa Maria del Fiore

David was originally planned for one of these pedestals on the buttresses of Santa Maria del Fiore

When David was completed in 1504, he was so big-9 arms lengths or 3 times human size, it became apparent they were not going to be able to hoist him up to the roofline of Il Duomo! He was so magnificent that it was also thought to be a waste to put him so high up where no one could see him. According to the original art historian, Giorgio Vasari,  ‘To be sure, anyone who sees this statue need not be concerned with seeing any other piece of sculpture done in our times or in any period by any other artist’. Not everyone was a fan though-some said he didn’t look like a boy, he looked like a grown man, others thought he should be wearing armour-or at least something, and there was no head of Goliath at his feet. This David was captured in the moments before slaying Goliath. His right hand is starting to tense, and the contrapposto stance makes it seem like his body could twist to the left to be in line with his head.

A committee was formed to decide where David should live. Members included Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, and Filippino Lippi. They decided to place David on a pedestal outside the Palazzo Vecchio, the town hall of Firenze in the Piazza della Signoria. This was partly a political statement. David was the ‘little guy’ who defeated the giant. He became of symbol of the new Republic of Firenze, democratic ideals, and a warning to enemies. It was not an accident that his eyes faced Roma. Moving ‘Il Gigante’ took 40 men 4 days to move the distance of less than 1 km from the studio. David was suspended in a sling in a tall cart and rolled over 14 greased logs. The men would take the back log and move it to the front as the cart moved along.

In 1527, during an anti-Medici protest, David’s left arm was broken in 3 pieces by a bench thrown out the window of the Palazzo Vecchio to ward off the protesters. The pieces were picked up by 2 boys who braved the mob. I’ve read in a few places that one of these boys was Giorgio Vasari, who would have been 16 at the time. He doesn’t mention this in his 1560’s bestseller ‘The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects’, which makes me think this might just be Renaissance urban legend. The 3 pieces were eventually reattached with copper nails, and the 2 joint lines are visible. In 1873, David was moved to his present home in the Galleria dell’Accademia to prevent further environmental damage.

'Galleria dell'Accademia' 2004. My preferred view of David.

‘Galleria dell’Accademia’ 2004. My preferred view of David.

In 1910, ‘Falso Davide’, as I like to call the replica, was installed outside the Palazzo Vecchio where the original stood for 369 years.

'Falso Davide' as I like to call him, outside the Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza della Signoria

‘Falso Davide’ as I like to call him, outside the Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza della Signoria

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