“The eye must be opened to the true and wondrous life of nature, and the hand must be trained to do the soul’s bidding quickly, easily, and beautifully. This alone can be the aim of instruction in any of the pictorial arts.” Carl Gustav Carus, Nine Letters on Landscape Painting, Letter VIII. Johan Christian Dahl’sContinue reading “Johan Christian Dahl (1788–1857): Two Landscapes through Windows”
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Raphael (1483–1520): Drawings for the Vault of the Stanza di Eliodoro
The drawings considered here converge around Raphael’s decoration of the vault of the Stanza di Eliodoro. Their significance lies not only in the light they cast on the completed frescoes, but also in what they reveal about Raphael’s working practice, his movement between projects, his responsiveness to different visual sources and his adaptation of drawingContinue reading “Raphael (1483–1520): Drawings for the Vault of the Stanza di Eliodoro”
Corot: A Girl Reading
A young woman sits absorbed in a small book, her head inclined towards its pages in quiet concentration. Corot has reduced the setting to little more than a subdued arrangement of warm browns and ochres, relieved by the white of her blouse and the open pages before her, while the deep red of her jacketContinue reading “Corot: A Girl Reading”
Giacinto Gigante (1806 to 1876): landscape regenerated from within.
Giacinto Gigante, Veduta di Napoli dalla Conocchia, before 1876, oil on canvas, 37.5 × 60 cm. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons). (Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Museo Nazionale di San Martino, Naples). Born in Naples in July 1806 to Gaetano Gigante and Anna Maria Fatati, Giacinto Gigante grew up in an artistic household. Around 1801, his parents hadContinue reading “Giacinto Gigante (1806 to 1876): landscape regenerated from within.”
Giuseppe De Nittis: Light, Air and Modern Life.
Léontine in canotto/ Léontine in a rowing boat (1874), oil on panel, 24×54 cm, Private collection. Self-Portrait (ca.1883) Pastel on canvas, 114×88 cm, Palazzo della Marra, Barletta. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons). Giuseppe De Nittis: “A happy man who would have wished everyone around him to be equally happy.” Jeanne Mairet, Souvenirs, 1907. De Nittis was aContinue reading “Giuseppe De Nittis: Light, Air and Modern Life.”
Gemito and Mathilde Duffaud – ‘Not Made for Financial Gain.’
Introduction – Vincenzo Gemito and Mathilde Duffaud Mathilde Duffaud, la parigina, was Gemito’s first love—the first profound adult attachment of a foundling child. He met her in 1873 while living with his adoptive parents in the Palazzo del Mojariello in Capodimonte. Mathilde lived on the floor above with the French antiquarian Duhamel. Already known asContinue reading “Gemito and Mathilde Duffaud – ‘Not Made for Financial Gain.’”
Antonio Mancini – Hunger and Fame (la fame e la fama).
‘…a dodici anni mi recai a Napoli, dove rimasi fino ad adulto. Io giunsi a Napoli in pessimo arnese. La fame era allora molta, ma scarsa la fama…’ ‘…at twelve years old, I went to Naples, where I stayed until adulthood. I arrived in Naples in terrible shape. At the time, there was a lotContinue reading “Antonio Mancini – Hunger and Fame (la fame e la fama).”
Inner Surfaces 