en garde et avant-garde

Judge me as, if I were yourself. through a new era #chill Komuna e Parisit

[madness-and-gods]

By Robin Isely

[vinegartoteeth]

Annunciation

- Marco Palmezzano

[mariareginapittemonteiro]

Charles Henri  Joseph  Leickert

[bluedollarbillzmusic]

[catonhottinroof-deactivated2023]

Richard Teschner (1879 - 1948)

Svatá noc/Heilige nacht, 1909

[this-old-stomping-ground]

[simena]

[historyarchaeologyartefacts]

The Moon-stone found at the entrance of Uda Viharaya of Ridhi Vihara Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura Period [ 800×600]

[ganymedesrocks]

Aurelius Antoninus Pius, Sculpted Marble Relief

Gregorio di Lorenzo (circa 1436 - 1504), is an Italian sculptor, born in Florence, who studied under  Desiderio da Settignano.  The present Relief is believed to have been completed between 1461 and 1486 to celebrate one of the important dates that marked the life of Antonin the Pious, who born in 86AD, reigned as an Emperor of Rome from 138 to 161AD.  Like Augustus before him, he was honored with a shield proclaiming his “pietas erga deos patriamque” (piety towards the gods and the homeland).  It is traditionally believed that the empire reached its peak during his reign, due to the absence of war or major revolts in the provinces.  He reinforced the Hadrian’s Wall in Britain by doubling it to make it impassable.  Yet, this defensive and attentive policy is said to have precipitated the financial and military difficulties of the Empire, the wealth of Rome having been based primarily on conquests and wars, even when only defensive

Italy, Lombard School, late 15th century

The Cleveland Museum of Art

[wanderthewood]

Ceremonial Cross of Countess Gertrude, 1038 or shortly after

Germany, Lower Saxony?, 11th century gold: worked in repoussé; cloisonné enamel, intaglio gems, pearls, wood core

This precious gold cross was commissioned by Countess Gertrude (died 1077) and given to the church of Saint Blaise following the death of her husband, Count Liudolf of Brunswick (died 1038). The cross was intended to be carried in liturgical processions or to be placed on a church altar. The inclusion of relics within the crosses endowed them with an additional role as devotional objects. At the center of the four cross arms, fine but much damaged cloisonné enamel plaques represent the symbols of the four Evangelists–an eagle for Saint John (above); a lion for Saint Mark (on the left); an ox for Saint Luke (on the right); and an angel for Saint Matthew (below). Pearls and precious and semiprecious stones are set within an intricate network of gold filigree while a large sapphire, inscribed in a circle and likewise surrounded by pearls and precious stones, is placed at the crossing.

Source: Cleveland Museum of Art

[wanderthewood]

Bell and Bell Shrine of St. Conall Cael

British Museum, London, England

Culture: Hibernian (Inishkeel, County Donegal, Ireland) Date: Bell: 7th–8th century; Mount: late 10th–11th century; Bell shrine: 15th century Material: Bell: Iron, copper alloy; Mount: copper alloy; Shrine: gold, bronze, silver, rock crystal

This bell contained within a later shrine casing was reputed to have belonged to St. Conall Cael, the abbot of Inishkeel, County Donegal, in the sixth century. The bell itself is very simple in its design and decoration. It is pyramidal with traces of bronze sheeting, and has a T-shaped bronze mount on the top. The mount is engraved with a large incised cross, and the sections are decorated with animals and ring-chains. The shrine covering the bell, decorated with silver plates incised with figures of God the Father, the Virgin and Child, the Archangel Michael, the crucified Christ, and various saints, was made during the fifteenth century and is far more elaborate than the object that it houses. Many Irish shrines were “redecorated” or reenshrined years after their creation: the Stow Missal Shrine and the Shrine of St. Patrick’s Tooth were both altered in the fourteenth century. The bell shrine was integral to the celebration of St. Conall’s feast day, when pilgrims gathered at his well on the island of Inishkeel. John O'Donovan, writing for the ordnance survey in 1835, describes this local ritual. “This chain O'Breslin threw around his neck, and from it the bell hung down his breast, exhibiting to the enthusiastic pilgrims the glittering gems and the symbol of the bloody sacrifice.” The O'Breslin family were the ancestral family of St. Conall and keepers of the shrine until the mid-1800s. There is no known reason why these bell shrines are a particularly Irish custom. The practice of enshrining objects associated with, or owned by holy figures, was encouraged heavily through royal patronage from the twelfth century and was not reserved for bells alone: croziers, clothes, and other items were also encased and venerated. Water, when drunk from a bell shrine, was believed to have healing properties.

[feuerschutz]

Cornelis Springer (1817–1891), a Dutch painter.

The images are not mine. All credits belong to their authors.

Die Bilder stammen nicht von mir. Alle Rechte liegen bei den jeweiligen Autoren.

[feuerschutz]

Carl Becker (1862–1934), a German painter and illustrator.

The images are not mine. All credits belong to their authors.

Die Bilder stammen nicht von mir. Alle Rechte liegen bei den jeweiligen Autoren.

[feuerschutz]

Architectural capriccios / Architektonische Capriccios.

The images are not mine. All credits belong to their authors.

Die Bilder stammen nicht von mir. Alle Rechte liegen bei den jeweiligen Autoren.

[italianartsociety]

By Matthew Whyte

Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, known as Masaccio, was born on 21 December in 1401. Regarded as the first great painter of the Quattrocento, Masaccio is responsible for building on the innovations of Giotto to develop a grounded sense of naturalism which would define Florentine art of the early Renaissance. His painting technique relied on earthy tones and monumental figures, using a single light source to create a tangible three-dimensionality through subtle gradations of light and shade.

In 1422 Masaccio joined the painters’ guild in Florence, though his painterly style owed much more to his contemporaries Brunelleschi and Donatello, whose innovations in mathematical proportions and classical forms he imbibed in his own art. Masaccio’s paintings, such as the Trinity in Santa Maria Novella, exhibit a convincing sense of space as his architectural features seemingly recede into space, anticipating Leon Battista Alberti’s notion of painting as reflecting a ‘window onto the world’.

Masaccio is probably best known for his decoration of the Brancacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence. Along with his contemporary Masolino, Masaccio decorated the walls with an ambitious fresco cycle depicting scenes from the life of St. Peter. Masaccio’s classicism is accentuated by the presence of Masolino’s more Gothic approach, especially evident in each artist’s rendition of Adam and Eve, which face each other at the entrance of the chapel. Masaccio incorporates the real window in the chapel to determine the source of light, which defines the muscular form of Adam. The emotions are strikingly real, with Eve’s mask-like face emitting the first audible wail in Renaissance painting.

The Tribute Money is the masterpiece of the Brancacci frescoes. Through intelligent glance, gesture, movement, and precise one-point perspective, Masaccio creates a world in which Christ and the apostles communicate both with each other and with their audience. Through careful study of the natural world, Masaccio is able to display with mastery the subtle anticipation and agitation of the apostles, who are aware that they are about to witness a significant event and wait with bated breath.

The circumstances surrounding Masaccio’s untimely death are uncertain, but he died in Rome in 1427 or 1428. Despite his very short career, Masaccio left a lasting impact on subsequent artists and his contribution to the Renaissance style cannot be overstated.

Reference: Diane Cole Ahl ed., The Cambridge Companion to Masaccio, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Trinity, c.1425, fresco, Santa Maria Novella, Florence.

View of the Brancacci Chapel, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence.

Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, 1426-27, fresco, Brancacci Chapel, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence. 

Masolino, The Temptation, 1426-27, fresco, Brancacci Chapel, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence.

Tribute Money, 1426-27, fresco, Brancacci Chapel, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence.

(Images: Web Gallery of Art)

Further Reading: John T. Spike, Masaccio, New York: Abbeville Press, 1995.

[somerabbitholes]

2.12.19 // vaguely wintery library days

[la-catharsis]

Léon-François Comerre - A Classical Beauty