It's been a while since my last post but the readership of my blog, now almost five years old, has been increasing in 2018 so thank you to all of those who follow it. It brings me great pleasure to know that people round the world are taking a look at what I write and I'm still fascinated to think that someone in Azerbijan is a regular reader - such is the power of the internet.
I've got in to the habit of choosing a painting for Christmas from Italian collections and this year I've chosen one from a gallery in Milan.
I haven't actually seen it in situ but it's by one of my favourite Italian artists - Piero della Francesca - whose work I've looked at many times in the National Gallery in London and in the wonderful Tuscan city of Arezzo where he painted the fresco cycle which many consider to be his masterpiece - "The Legend of the True Cross" in the church of San Francesco. As you might expect my chosen picture by him for this posting is a celebration of the birth of Christ - not a nativity this time, but a scene where the Virgin and child are surrounded by angels, saints and an intriguing character whose home I went to visit in Italy earlier in the year.
In my own country - the Christian meaning of Christmas seems to disappear ever more beneath the bloated consumerfest that is has become. I dislike this aspect of it increasingly as I approach my senior years and each time it comes round I swear I will give up TV from early November so I can avoid the ghastly waterfall of tasteless Christmas advertising that flows every night from the screen in the corner of the living room. So far I haven't been able to uphold this lofty aim, but I do find myself feeling for those with limited resources who are brainwashed in to the notion that the Christmas enjoyment factor is proportionally related to the amount of money spent on it. The more stuff that is acquired - the better Christmas will be is the underlying message. I hope you're not thinking by now that this outpouring of grumpiness is just me being "Bah Humbug" to coin that wonderful Dickension expression. I have to confess though that I feel better for getting all this off my chest.
I would also have to say, regarding my choice of Christmas painting, that I'm not a particularly religous person in the conventional sense, but I do have to admit that the Christian calendar and the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas - does bring back special memories from my earlier life. Playing the part of one of the three Kings in my primary school's version of the nativity, singing in the church choir at my local Parish Church and the seasonal bell-ringing I did with a team at the same church when I was in my late teenage years, all give me a warm feeling when I think of them. My associations with the church of England play on my love of and need for ritual - but what's wrong with that I ask? My partner Jon says my memory is far too graphic but I think it's good to be able to reflect on memories in one's later years and to think about the cyle of life generally too. What better way to do that than to think about the birth of a young child with a very special future before him at this special time of year.
We've spent several Christmases in Italy since my Mum passed away in 2011 and every time we go at that time of year I find myself being impressed with the way communities there still take it seriously. The presepe - Christmas nativities - some of them "live events" - are something to behold. As I write this post I'm thinking back now to the one we went to in Monteleone d' Orvieto in Umbria three years ago where the whole village seemed to take part and the latest new born baby starred in the role of the baby Jesus Christ. Well - sadly we won't be in Monteleone this time round as we have a trip to warmer climes coming up. I'm apprehensive about this as I'm not sure Christmas will seem the same down under - but never mind - I shall take pleasure in my special Christmas memories from times gone by and enjoy having another look at my chosen painting from Italy which I'm going to describe to you now.
Painted between 1472 and 1474 my picture is called the Brera Madonna or Brera Altarpiece. It can be seen in the Pinacoteca di Brera of Milan - the main public art gallery in the city. It was evidently placed there by Napoleon. It has been restored and cleaned in recent years and this has revealed, beneath the accumulated dirt and varnish, a host of detail.
The work is a "sacra conversazione" - a sacred conversation - with the Virgin enthroned with the sleeping baby Jesus on her lap set against the background of a Renaissance classical church. She is surrounded by a host of angels and saints. On the left are John the Baptist, Bernadino of Siena and Jerome and on the right Francis, Peter and Andrew.
The kneeling figure in armour bottom right is Federico III de Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, the commissioner of the painting. The duke is always depicted facing left as he lost an eye and part of his nose in a tournament. He is thought to have commissioned the picture to celebrate the birth of his son, Guidobaldo born in 1472. The presence of John the Baptist could relate to the fact he was patron saint of his wife Battista Sforza. Jerome was the protector of humanists so given Federico's renowned interests in this field his presence was an obvious choice for the patron. Francis was included as it's thought the painting was originally to be placed in the Franciscan church of San Donato degli Osservanti - where Federico would eventually be buried.
Della Francesca was a master geometrician and author of a learned text on the rules of mathematical persPective - techniques used by painters to create the reality of depth in a painting. Such expertise with scale and proportion used to create balance and harmony in his pictures makes them visually powerful. What also makes them additionally attractive is his use of colour massing against paler areas to achieve further unity in the composition. We can see all of those devices used here.
Evidently Della Francesca worked very slowly which is an issue he must have had to contend with when faced with painting frescos but with a panel painting, as we have here, this would not have been so much of a problem.
As in this example, Della Francesca's pictures are very detailed - something that would have appealed to the Duke. It was a reflection of his fascination with Flemish oil painting, a shared interest among the patrons of the period.
Some of the details worth looking at here are: the baby Jesus wearing a necklace of deep red coral beads, a colour signifying blood and a symbol of life and death. Secondly, notice in the apse semi-dome a very peculiar object suspended from a thread attched to the ceiling. It lies at the very centre of the composition. It is in fact an ostrich egg. The shell was a symbol of the new Venus (a reference to Mary over whose oval shaped head it is directly suspended) and eternal beauty. According to other thoughts - the egg is a reference to the miracle of the Virgin birth and the egg of course is a symbol of Creation - another clear reference to the birth of Jesus and to Guidobaldo's birth. The ostrich was also one of the heraldic symbols of the Montefeltro family.
So this is a picture well worth spending a bit of time on. It's beautiful to look at, symbolic and full of references to the patron and his interests. This Duke of Urbino was Lord of Urbino from 1444 (as Duke from 1474) until his death. His life and interests are best reflected in the Grand Ducal Palace in Urbino which I visited in May.
It was here that he created a splendid library, probably the largest in Italy outside the Vatican and his studiolo, which is wonderful, can still be seen there now. Situated to the east of the Appenines it's not on the the main tourist routes, but this in my opinion, improves the visitor experience. It's an absolutely "must see" experience for anyone interested in the history and arts of this period.
I've got in to the habit of choosing a painting for Christmas from Italian collections and this year I've chosen one from a gallery in Milan.
 |
| THE PINACOTECA DI BRERA OF MILAN Home of the Brera Madonna |
I haven't actually seen it in situ but it's by one of my favourite Italian artists - Piero della Francesca - whose work I've looked at many times in the National Gallery in London and in the wonderful Tuscan city of Arezzo where he painted the fresco cycle which many consider to be his masterpiece - "The Legend of the True Cross" in the church of San Francesco. As you might expect my chosen picture by him for this posting is a celebration of the birth of Christ - not a nativity this time, but a scene where the Virgin and child are surrounded by angels, saints and an intriguing character whose home I went to visit in Italy earlier in the year.
In my own country - the Christian meaning of Christmas seems to disappear ever more beneath the bloated consumerfest that is has become. I dislike this aspect of it increasingly as I approach my senior years and each time it comes round I swear I will give up TV from early November so I can avoid the ghastly waterfall of tasteless Christmas advertising that flows every night from the screen in the corner of the living room. So far I haven't been able to uphold this lofty aim, but I do find myself feeling for those with limited resources who are brainwashed in to the notion that the Christmas enjoyment factor is proportionally related to the amount of money spent on it. The more stuff that is acquired - the better Christmas will be is the underlying message. I hope you're not thinking by now that this outpouring of grumpiness is just me being "Bah Humbug" to coin that wonderful Dickension expression. I have to confess though that I feel better for getting all this off my chest.
I would also have to say, regarding my choice of Christmas painting, that I'm not a particularly religous person in the conventional sense, but I do have to admit that the Christian calendar and the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas - does bring back special memories from my earlier life. Playing the part of one of the three Kings in my primary school's version of the nativity, singing in the church choir at my local Parish Church and the seasonal bell-ringing I did with a team at the same church when I was in my late teenage years, all give me a warm feeling when I think of them. My associations with the church of England play on my love of and need for ritual - but what's wrong with that I ask? My partner Jon says my memory is far too graphic but I think it's good to be able to reflect on memories in one's later years and to think about the cyle of life generally too. What better way to do that than to think about the birth of a young child with a very special future before him at this special time of year.
We've spent several Christmases in Italy since my Mum passed away in 2011 and every time we go at that time of year I find myself being impressed with the way communities there still take it seriously. The presepe - Christmas nativities - some of them "live events" - are something to behold. As I write this post I'm thinking back now to the one we went to in Monteleone d' Orvieto in Umbria three years ago where the whole village seemed to take part and the latest new born baby starred in the role of the baby Jesus Christ. Well - sadly we won't be in Monteleone this time round as we have a trip to warmer climes coming up. I'm apprehensive about this as I'm not sure Christmas will seem the same down under - but never mind - I shall take pleasure in my special Christmas memories from times gone by and enjoy having another look at my chosen painting from Italy which I'm going to describe to you now.
 |
| THE BRERA MADONNA c1472 |
Painted between 1472 and 1474 my picture is called the Brera Madonna or Brera Altarpiece. It can be seen in the Pinacoteca di Brera of Milan - the main public art gallery in the city. It was evidently placed there by Napoleon. It has been restored and cleaned in recent years and this has revealed, beneath the accumulated dirt and varnish, a host of detail.
The work is a "sacra conversazione" - a sacred conversation - with the Virgin enthroned with the sleeping baby Jesus on her lap set against the background of a Renaissance classical church. She is surrounded by a host of angels and saints. On the left are John the Baptist, Bernadino of Siena and Jerome and on the right Francis, Peter and Andrew.
The kneeling figure in armour bottom right is Federico III de Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, the commissioner of the painting. The duke is always depicted facing left as he lost an eye and part of his nose in a tournament. He is thought to have commissioned the picture to celebrate the birth of his son, Guidobaldo born in 1472. The presence of John the Baptist could relate to the fact he was patron saint of his wife Battista Sforza. Jerome was the protector of humanists so given Federico's renowned interests in this field his presence was an obvious choice for the patron. Francis was included as it's thought the painting was originally to be placed in the Franciscan church of San Donato degli Osservanti - where Federico would eventually be buried.
Della Francesca was a master geometrician and author of a learned text on the rules of mathematical persPective - techniques used by painters to create the reality of depth in a painting. Such expertise with scale and proportion used to create balance and harmony in his pictures makes them visually powerful. What also makes them additionally attractive is his use of colour massing against paler areas to achieve further unity in the composition. We can see all of those devices used here.
Evidently Della Francesca worked very slowly which is an issue he must have had to contend with when faced with painting frescos but with a panel painting, as we have here, this would not have been so much of a problem.
As in this example, Della Francesca's pictures are very detailed - something that would have appealed to the Duke. It was a reflection of his fascination with Flemish oil painting, a shared interest among the patrons of the period.
Some of the details worth looking at here are: the baby Jesus wearing a necklace of deep red coral beads, a colour signifying blood and a symbol of life and death. Secondly, notice in the apse semi-dome a very peculiar object suspended from a thread attched to the ceiling. It lies at the very centre of the composition. It is in fact an ostrich egg. The shell was a symbol of the new Venus (a reference to Mary over whose oval shaped head it is directly suspended) and eternal beauty. According to other thoughts - the egg is a reference to the miracle of the Virgin birth and the egg of course is a symbol of Creation - another clear reference to the birth of Jesus and to Guidobaldo's birth. The ostrich was also one of the heraldic symbols of the Montefeltro family.
 |
| FEDERICO DE MONTEFELTRO, DUKE OF URBINO & HIS WIFE BATTISTA SFORZA |
So this is a picture well worth spending a bit of time on. It's beautiful to look at, symbolic and full of references to the patron and his interests. This Duke of Urbino was Lord of Urbino from 1444 (as Duke from 1474) until his death. His life and interests are best reflected in the Grand Ducal Palace in Urbino which I visited in May.
 |
| THE GRAND DUCAL PALACE IN URBINO HOME OF FEDERICO DA MONTEFELTRO - DUKE OF URBINO |
It was here that he created a splendid library, probably the largest in Italy outside the Vatican and his studiolo, which is wonderful, can still be seen there now. Situated to the east of the Appenines it's not on the the main tourist routes, but this in my opinion, improves the visitor experience. It's an absolutely "must see" experience for anyone interested in the history and arts of this period.
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