Renaissance artist’s workshop

Thursday March 9th, 2017 , Schools & Periods

Image source: https://sagitta55.blogspot.it

RENAISSANCE ARTIST’S WORKSHOP

When you look at a masterpiece, you admire not only the work of a great artist but also the training received by those who came before him.
That happens if you look at The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, but also at one of the several works by Titian.
These are artists who, since they were children, attended artists’ workshops and learnt the tricks of the trade.

How did they transmit knowledge and techniques from a generation to another in the Renaissance?
I’ll explain in this post.

Art Deco: a lifestyle

Thursday March 2nd, 2017 , Schools & Periods

Gio Ponti, La casa degli Efebi, 1924-1925, Richard-Ginori.

ART DECO: A LIFESTYLE CALLED DECO

Art Deco exploded as a style which characterized a specific period of time, the 1920s.
It’s not an artistic movement, but a lifestyle, capable of influencing all the aspects of the existence, from clothes to home accessories, from ceramic plates to shapes of motorcars, from furnishings to jewellery.

Acrylic paint

Sunday February 26th, 2017 , Schools & Periods

ACRYLIC PAINT

The technological progress in the production of colours has developed over the centuries and has allowed the development of new artistic movements.
For the Impressionists the invention of tubes of acrylic paint which could be easily carried was fundamental; and thanks to the invention of acrylic paint Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism allowed the creation of new images.

Acrylic paint is a new invention and its success depends on its ease of use.
The commercial offer offers practically endless possibilities of use, and to get an idea of how many products are now available, all you have to do is have a look at the website artecreo.it.

In this post I’ll tell you when acrylic paint developed and which advantages offers.
Continue reading

The Barbizon School

Thursday February 23rd, 2017 , Schools & Periods

Théodore Rousseau, Albero di Quercia, Apremont (1850–1852). Image source. Wikipedia.it

THE BARBIZON SCHOOL

The artist who started the movement which would decisively influence the Impressionists is Théodore Rousseau.
Théodore Rousseau (don’t mistake him for Henry Rousseau, important point of reference for the 20^th-century avant-gardes), was born in Paris in 1812, and abandoned soon the academic painting, which was the basis of his artistic training, for a freer way to paint, by observing the nature “dal vero” (in the open air).

Since the late 1830s the Forest of Fontainebleau played the starring role in his paintings and became also his home, because Rousseau chose to live in the near village of Barbizon, and other artists, fascinated by this new way to paint gathered around him.

The Barbizon School was born.

Renaissance

Thursday December 1st, 2016 , Schools & Periods

Cupola di Santa Maria del Fiore | Duomo Firenze

Cupola di Santa Maria del Fiore, Firenze – Image source: Gabriele Colzi via Facebook

THE RENAISSANCE

When people talk about masterpieces of Italian art, they often make reference to the Renaissance as a turning point and the point of reference for the majority of the Western artists.
The Renaissance began in the early 15th century and covered a period of time of two centuries, up to the end of the 16th century, just to make it clear.

The city symbol of the Renaissance is Florence, when in 1401 a competition to build the second door for the Baptistery of the city was announced. Lorenzo Ghiberti was awarded the commission, and in his work he summarized the new Renaissance principles bound revolutionize the destiny of Western art: perspective, proportions and anatomy.

READ ALSO: The Bagatti Valsecchi Museum, a house museum hosting art collections of the Renaissance collected by the Bagatti Valsecchi brothers at the end of the 19th century.