First steps of Canaletto, painter of views

Wednesday January 4th, 2023 , Artists and Works

Canaletto, Piazza San Marco (1723 circa, Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza)

FIRST STEPS OF CANALETTO, PAINTER OF VIEWS

Canaletto’s first steps as a painter of vedute can be traced back to a stay in Rome between 1719 and 1720 when, following his father Bernando Canal, a Venetian theatre set designer, he probably met the vedute artist Gaspare Vanvitelli.

We already know how Canaletto painted, but in a recent essay, Charles Beddington has pointed out that Vanvitelli’s example was certainly the decisive inspiration to embark on a career as a vedutista, pursued by the Venetian artist in a completely original way.

Canaletto painter of views

Annibale Carracci and the frescoes in the Herrera Chapel

Tuesday January 3rd, 2023 , Artists and Works

ANNIBALE CARRACCI AND THE HERRERA CHAPEL FRESCOES

Annibale Carracci and the frescoes in the Herrera Chapel have long been considered one of the high points of 17th century art in Rome.
Between the 15th and 18th century, the church of San Giacomo degli Spagnoli in Piazza Navona was one of the most representative places for the Spanish nation in the eternal city.

In 1602, the Castilian banker Juan Enríquez de Herrera (c. 1539-1610), a leading figure in international finance at the time, had the family chapel built in the church, entrusting its decoration to Annibale Carracci.
Thus was born the master’s last great masterpiece and a challenge for art historians because it was completed by his workshop, made up of the best artists active in 17th century Rome.

Annibale Carracci and the frescoes in the Herrera Chapel

Boldini and the Myth of the Belle Époque

Tuesday January 3rd, 2023 , Artists and Works

Giovanni Boldini, Ragazza sdraiata con abito scozzese, 1891 c.a. Olio su tavola, 23,3×26,7 cm Collezione privata. Courtesy Gallerie Enrico

BOLDINI AND THE MYTH OF THE BELLE ÉPOQUE

Giovanni Boldini and the Belle Époque, salons, noblewomen and fashion are the elements of a piece of art history and, at the same time, of costume and fashion.
Looking at Boldini’s works, in fact, one is catapulted into a world of literature and fashion, music and luxury, art and bistro.

This is who Boldini really was: a boy from the Po Valley province who came from the bottom and ended up in the salons of high society, in the beating heart of civilisation and of an era that would consecrate him as one of its most iconic protagonists.

Boldini and the myth of the Belle Époque

The works of Ron Mueck: meaning and description

Monday January 2nd, 2023 , Artists and Works

Installation de l’exposition de Ron Mueck à la Fondation Cartier, 07 juin 2023

The works of Ron Mueck, an Australian artist born in Melbourne in 1958, are distinguished by their astonishing realism. His career began as a contributor at a television station, where he learned special effects techniques and animated models, fundamental to his future art. His first significant work, a giant sculpture of his father naked, was exhibited in 1996 in London, marking the beginning of an international artistic journey.

THE WORKS OF RON MUECK

Galileo Chini’s ceramics between Art Nouveau and Deco

Saturday December 31st, 2022 , Artists and Works

THE CERAMICS OF GALILEO CHINI BETWEEN ART NOUVEAU AND DECO

Galielo Chini’s ceramics reveal the work of a multifaceted artist, the inventor of modern Italian ceramics from the end of the 19th century.

Galileo Chini personifies that epochal transition from historical tradition to modernity, that moment in which the legacy of high artistic craftsmanship gave way to the inevitable need to confront a national and international market in constant search of novelty.
Chini belonged to a generation that had to come to terms with a series of epochal changes that brought the question of the relationship between art and industry to the attention of contemporary critical debate. His ceramics are certainly works of art, but also the sign of a changing world.

The ceramics of Galileo Chini