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.

The Renaissance: the greatest masters

Thursday November 10th, 2016 , Schools & Periods

Michelangelo Buonarroti, David (1501-1504) – Galleria dell’Accademia, Firenze. Image source: it.wikipedia.org

THE 16TH CENTURY: THE GREATEST MASTERS

I often write about artists and artistic movements, taking for granted that everyone can associate with right historic period. But a reader left a comment on my Facebook profile which made me think.
She lives in the USA e and is keen on fashion, but she shows little about art history, although she loves admiring masterpieces of the past, especially Italian masterpieces.
Therefore, I’ve decided to dedicate some posts to the greatest historical periods, thinking of her, and of those who want to know more about the artist I talk about on my blog, but also thinking of those who need to review.

Let’s begin with Italian art of the 16^th century.

Divisionism

Thursday June 23rd, 2016 , Schools & Periods

Giovanni Segantini

DIVISIONISM: THE ORIGIN OF MODERN PAINTING IN ITALY

Divisionism. Divisionism manifested itself in 1891 at the Triennale di Brera with the first public exhibition of a group of young artists: Giovanni Seganti, Giuseppe Pellizza de Volpedo, Angelo Morbelli, and Emilio Longoni.

What those artists showed upset and divided art critics and public, not only because they used a new painting technique consisting of juxtaposition of colour spots applied on the canvas, but also because they gave an innovative interpretation of social subjects and nature.

The Macchiaioli

Thursday June 16th, 2016 , Schools & Periods

Silvestro Lega, La pergola (1868).

THE MACCHIAIOLI

Macchiaioli. Not a year goes by without an exhibition dedicated to the Macchiaioli or to an artist who was attached somehow to the most important artistic movement in Italy in the 19^th century.

The latest exhibition I wrote about is “I Macchiaioli. Le collezioni svelate” (“The Macchiaioli. The collections revealed”) arranged at the Chiostro del Bramante in Rome. But before that an exhibition dedicated to Giovanni Fattori, the main exponent of the movement, took place at the Palazzo Zabardella in Padua. Not to mention that every time you admire a painting by Boldini, you can’t help thinking that at the beginning of his career he was a member of the Macchiaioli.
SEA ALSO: the photo gallery with the portraits of women by Giovanni Boldini.

I think it’s time for me to give a definition of “Macchiaioli”, and I will be waiting for your comments in order to know if you like their paintings.

IMPRESSIONISM

Thursday May 5th, 2016 , Schools & Periods

Claude Monet, Impression, Sunrise (1872) – Musée Marmottan Monet (Parigi).

IMPRESSIONISM

Impressionism. On April 15^th 1874 in Paris at the studio of the photographer Nadar a group of young artists of the Sociètè anonyme coopèrative des artistes peintres sculpteurs et graveurs (Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers) presented an art exhibition. Those artists were: Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Alfred Sisley e Pierre Auguste Renoir.

Their exhibition was a failure, but it was the first Impressionist exhibition.