Fra Angelico, Christ Glorified in the Court of Heaven, about 1423-24. The National Gallery, London. I have just returned from my first visit to the glorious exhibition Fra Angelico in Florence. Spread across two venues – Palazzo Strozzi and San Marco – it is the most comprehensive collection of works by this Dominican master thatContinue reading “257 – Unite the Kingdom (of Heaven)”
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Bringing ‘The Resurrection’ back to life
Donatello, The Resurrection, c. 1460-65. San Lorenzo, Florence. On Monday 20 January at 6pm I am going to try and answer the question What is Mannerism?. I hope this will put Parmigianino’s masterpiece, which I discussed earlier in the week, into a broader artistic context. However, it’s been one of those weeks, and as thereContinue reading “Bringing ‘The Resurrection’ back to life”
Easter!
Andrea Bonaiuti, The Resurrection, 1365-8. The Spanish Chapel, Santa Maria Novella, Florence. Happy Easter! Yesterday I referred to last year’s blog on The Devils in Andrea Bonaiuti’s Harrowing of Hell – and then I thought I ought to read it through, just in case there were any embarrassing typos. I’m glad to say that thereContinue reading “Easter!”
109 – Death and Resurrection
Giotto, The Lamentation over the Dead Christ and The Resurrection, c. 1305, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua. I know – the whole idea of ‘Scrovegni Saturday’ was blown apart weeks back when I first failed to hit the deadline, but never before have I been early. So welcome to the first, and presumably only, ‘Scrovegni Friday’. I’mContinue reading “109 – Death and Resurrection”
Day 50 – St George
Paolo Uccello, St George and the Dragon, about 1470, National Gallery, London. It is now two weeks since St George’s Day, and I did say I was going to tell you the full story – at least, the full story as I know it. In the full story St George gets killed several times, and at one point, IContinue reading “Day 50 – St George”
Day 30 – The Supper at Emmaus
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, The Supper at Emmaus, 1601, National Gallery, London. People often ask me what would be the best book to read as an introduction to renaissance art, and my answer is almost invariably ‘the Bible’. And its value is not restricted to the Renaissance. Most ‘Old Master’ painting was produced in a profoundlyContinue reading “Day 30 – The Supper at Emmaus”
Day 25 – The Resurrection
Day 25 – Donatello, The Resurrection, c. 1460-65, San Lorenzo, Florence. Happy Easter! And to celebrate: my favourite image of ‘The Resurrection’. Why this one, of all the possible examples? Quite simply, because it’s not easy: this is a hard won victory. And because it breaks all the rules. Most versions of the Resurrection make itContinue reading “Day 25 – The Resurrection”
Day 24 – The Devils
Day 23 – Andrea Bonauiti, The Devils, from The Harrowing of Hell, 1365-68, The Spanish Chapel, Santa Maria Novella, Florence. It’s Easter Saturday – a day, it might seem, like any other, trapped between two extraordinary days – Good Friday, and Easter Sunday – and we wait, expectant and patient, while nothing happens. Or so itContinue reading “Day 24 – The Devils”
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