Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1449-1494 An Old Man and his Grandson (detail), c. 1490, Tempera on wood, 62 x 46 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris https://paintersonpaintings.com/clarity-haynes-on-domenico-ghirlandaio/
Domenico di Tommaso del Ghirlandajo, who, from his talent and from the greatness and the vast number of his works, may be called one of the most important and most excellent masters of his age, was made by nature to be a painter; and for this reason, in spite of the opposition of those who had charge of him (which often nips the finest fruits of our intellects in the bud by occupying them with work for which they are not suited, and by diverting them from that to which nature inclines them), he followed his natural instinct, secured very great honour for himself and profit for his art and for his kindred, and became the great delight of his age… This is how Giorgio Vasari describes Domenico Gh irlandaio, the artist who was …endowed by nature with a perfect spirit and with an admirable and judicious taste in painting!Teaching with Domenico Ghirlandaio is a set of student activities and worksheets inspired by the great Italian artist I admire. Domenico’ Portrait of An Old Man and his Grandson in the Louvre is one of my all-time favourite Renaissance paintings. It touches me in a very personal way. It reminds me of my father’s love and unconditional devotion to my son, his Grandson… Του παιδιού μου το παιδί, δυο φορές παιδί (My child’s child, is twice my child), he used to say and looked at him with unbelievable tenderness… http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/giorgiovasari/lives/domenicoghirlandaio.htm
When the time comes for me to introduce my students to Domenico’s oeuvre I start with Giorgio Vasari description of how …He is said to have been so accurate in draughtsmanship, that, when making drawings of the antiquities of Rome, such as arches, baths, columns, colossea, obelisks, amphitheatres, and aqueducts, he would work with the eye alone, without rule, compasses, or measurements; and after he had made them, on being measured, they were found absolutely correct, as if he had used measurements. He drew the Colosseum by the eye, placing at the foot of it a figure standing upright, from the proportions of which the whole edifice could be measured; this was tried by some masters after his death, and found quite correct. I usually finish my presentation of Ghirlandaio with Vasari’s final sentence… Wherefore he has deserved to be held in honour and esteem for such rich and undying benefits to art, and to be celebrated with extraordinary praises after his death. http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/giorgiovasari/lives/domenicoghirlandaio.htm
Teaching with Domenico Ghirlandaio Lesson Plan, PowerPoint and Activities…
For a List of ONLINE References on Domenico Ghirlandaio TeacherCurator put together, please… Click HERE!
For my PowerPoint on Domenico Ghirlandaio, please… Click HERE!
I always feel confident discussing an artist with my students when I prepare my Steps to Success Lesson Plan Outline…
7 Steps to Success Lesson Plan
For Student Activities (four Activities), please… Click HERE!
I hope that Teaching with Domenico Ghirlandaio will prove easy and helpful. Do you think it justifies my BLOG name Teacher Curator?
Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1449-1494 Birth of St John the Baptist (detail), 1486-90, Frescoes on the right wall: Stories of St John the Baptist, W. 450 cm, Cappella Tornabuoni, Santa Maria Novella, Florence https://www.wga.hu/support/viewer_m/z.html
Venus in the Shell (detail), 1st century AD, fresco, House of Venus in the Shell, Pompeii Archaeological Site, Pompeii, Italy, 2017 Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese http://pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/R2/2%2003%2003%20part%2011.htm
…Ah, goddess, when the spring / Makes clear its daytime, and a warmer wind / Stirs from the west, a procreative air, / High in the sky the happy-hearted birds, / Responsive to your coming, call and cry, / The cattle, tame no longer, swim across / The rush of river-torrents, or skip and bound / In joyous meadows; where your brightness leads, / They follow, gladly taken in the drive, / The urge, of love to come. So, on you move / Over the seas and mountains, over streams / Whose ways are fierce, over the greening leas, / Over the leafy tenements of birds, / So moving that in all the ardor burns / For generation and their kind’s increase… The amazing fresco of Venus in the House of Venus in the Shell inspired me to search for Roman Poems dedicated to the Goddess of beauty… and I “stumbled” upon Lucretius’s Hymn to Venus, the goddess of pleasure. https://newepicurean.com/lucretius-hymn-to-venus-and-the-defense-of-pleasure/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuqPhR8QTZQ
The Via dell’Abbondanza, one of Pompeii’s two Decumani Maximus, formed the main east-west axis which traversed the entire urban area of the city. Facing Via dell’Abbondanza, in Regio II of the city, near the Porta Sarno, the Amphitheatre and the Large Palaestra, lies a private property of particular interest, the House of Venus in the Shell (Insula 3), also known as House of the Marine Venus or House of D. Lucretii Satrii Valentes. Excavated between 1933-35, it was damaged by bombings during World War II in 1943, but was re-excavated and restored in 1952. https://sites.google.com/site/ad79eruption/pompeii/regio-ii/reg-ii-ins-3/house-of-venus-in-the-shell
The House of Venus in the Shell has all the characteristics of a typical Pompeiian House. A narrow corridor (1) (fauces) beautifully decorated in the 3rd Pompeiian Style opens directly onto a square atrium (2) with a central impluvium. Both areas were intricately decorated with red or yellow painted panels with small medallions in the center to enhance the visual effect. Three cubicula face the atrium, the one in the south east corner (4) is decorated in the 3rd Pompeiian Style “with framed white panels separated by fantastic architectural views above a lower dark red frieze. The central panel of the south wall contains a badly faded mythological scene of Hermes and Dionysus. The side panels on the north wall contain floating figures while on the east are two portrait medallions.” https://sites.google.com/site/ad79eruption/pompeii/regio-ii/reg-ii-ins-3/house-of-venus-in-the-shell
Two more interesting rooms open to the Atrium (2), a Triclinium (6) and a large Tablinium (5). The Triclinium (6) has vaulted ceilings and walls, painted in the 3rd Pompeian Style, with architectural themes framing floating figures within black panels, and on the uppermost part of the room’s decoration, small scenes and still lives. The Tablinum (5), “has lost most of its decoration but still impresses with its size. The tablinum has a second doorway on its south wall which opens onto the north side of the peristyle.” https://sites.google.com/site/ad79eruption/pompeii/regio-ii/reg-ii-ins-3/house-of-venus-in-the-shell
House of Venus in the Shell, 1st century AD, looking towards the south-west corner of the Atrium, with doorway into room 11, on the left, and rooms 5 and 6, on the right, Pompeii Archaeological Site, 2017 Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese
The nicest part of the House, the Peristyle area, develops around a lovely garden with 9 fluted columns of stuccoed brickwork (11). Rooms and Porticos, sumptuously decorated, once more, with frescoes in the 3rd Pompeiian Style, display interesting scenes that reveal almost impressionistic qualities. “On the rear wall (17) of the peristyle are three large framed frescoes each set on a blue background. The lefthand painting, is of the god Mars shown standing naked on a plinth while holding a lance and a shield. Around him the foliaged garden is teaming with birdlife. The central painting on the rear wall is of Venus lying in a conch shell with a cherub either side of her. The nymph on the left side of the painting is shown riding a dolphin while the one on the right supports the conch shell. The righthand painting is of flowers and birds drinking at a fountain. The fresco incorporates a niche painted with plants.” https://sites.google.com/site/ad79eruption/pompeii/regio-ii/reg-ii-ins-3/house-of-venus-in-the-shell
Venus in the Shell, 1st century AD, fresco in the central panel of the Peristyle area South Wall, House of Venus in the Shell, Pompeii Archaeological Site, Pompeii, Italy, 2016 Photo courtesy of Buzz Ferebee https://pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/R2/2%2003%2003%20part%2011.htm
Venus in the Shell (detail depicting one of the Cherubs), 1st century AD, Fresco, House of Venus in the Shell, Pompeii Archaeological Site, Pompeii, Italy https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Venus_Anadyomenes_in_the_House_of_Venus_(Pompeii)#/media/File:Casa_de_Venus_Pompeya_07.jpg
The star fresco in the House, after which the house, let’s not forget, was named, depicts Venus in the Shell. It portrays a large and striking depiction of the goddess Venus, naked but relaxed “giving no signs of modesty, yet no signs of overt sexuality,” reclining in a shell, swelling “sails” behind her, accompanied by a cortege of two Cherubs. This fresco may not be one of the finest discovered in Pompeii, but it is definitely eye-catching. Venus’s head of curly hair and pale skinned body, resplendent with gold jewels, “looking off into the distance seemingly without a worry in the world” create a stunning vision. The Cherubs’ look of curiosity and astonishment is a strike of ingenuity. The combination of aquamarine blue and plum-hued violet, cool and refreshing, is precious! Simply put… I love it!!! https://womeninantiquity.wordpress.com/2018/11/27/the-portrayal-of-venus-in-pompeian-frescoes/
For a student RWAP (Research-Writing-Art-Project), please… CheckHERE!
Twelve months in a row, / Use them well and let them go; / Welcome them without a fear, / Let them go without a tear— / Twelve months in a year; / Greet the passing miracle, / Spring and summer beautiful, / Autumn, winter, gliding on, / Glorious seasons quickly gone— / God’s treasures in a row, / Take them, love them, let them go! I like the simplicity of Annette Wynne verse in Twelve Months in a Row, it reminds me of the simple way the anonymous Venetian Artist of the 16th century depicted the twelve months of the year, in twelve small paintings, now… in the National Gallery, in London. The Labours of the Months: January will start a new journey, exploring and learning… month by month… https://discoverpoetry.com/poems/month-poems/ and https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/italian-venetian-the-labours-of-the-months-january
Depicting the Labours of the Months was a popular artistic theme that was frequently used in the decoration of Cathedrals and Churches, Castles and Palaces, Psalters, Breviaries and Books of Hours across Europe during the Medieval and Early Renaissance period. Each month, depicting popular activities of peasants and/or the gentry throughout the year, were sometimes paired with the Signs of the Zodiac circle. They would be either simple and small in size or large and elaborate, crafted in stone, wood, stained glass, painted in murals or often enough, painted in parchment. Many great Monuments and Libraries in Europe display fine examples of such artefacts for art lovers to enjoy. http://www.livingfield.co.uk/ages/labours-of-the-months/
The Labours of the Months had a role in highlighting authority and privilege, hard work and, occasionally, small, everyday pleasures. They are often perceived as a link between the work of man, the seasons of the year and God’s ordering of the Universe. The Trentino Fresco Panels at Torre Aquila, for example, present trained and obedient peasants busy with their seasonal activities, but dominated by the local aristocracy who seem to only care for their idler activities. (I presented the eleven surviving Torre Aquila frescoes in 2020. Please check https://www.teachercurator.com/?s=torre%20aquila&cat=plus-5-results)
For 2021, I want to present something different, unpretentious but rare. In London, at the National Gallery, there are 12 small pictures, “painted on canvas and then each glued to a wooden panel. It is possible that they were made to decorate the recessed panels of a pair of doors. The paintings seem to have been planned in pairs with the figures facing each other and are currently displayed in two frames in groups of six. They show the ‘labours of the months’ – the rural activities that take place each month throughout the year.” This set of painted Doors combines simplicity in execution and extravagance in visual effect! The paintings, very small in size, about 13.6 x 10.6 cm, were achieved in vivid, bright, luxurious colours, like “ultramarine blue for the sky, strong vermilion and red lake for the clothing, with rich greens and yellows in the landscape. The restricted and repeated use of colour gives the group of little pictures a charming, decorative simplicity. All but one of the scenes show a man working outdoors on what appears to be the estate of a large villa, seen in several of the paintings, at the foot of the distant blue mountains.” https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/italian-venetian-the-labours-of-the-months-january#painting-group-info
For the Month of January, we have a cosy indoor scene. “An old man sits indoors by the fire with his elbow propped on the fireplace or stove, and his forehead leaning on his hand. He pulls his jacket closer around himself and wears a yellow wrap or blanket against the cold. The interior of his room is bare and simple, and not in good repair – the plaster has fallen from the brick wall beneath the window.” The festivities of the holidays are over and now… young and old, privileged or not, need to recuperate, relax and rest…
Happy New Year… may 2021 be a BETTER, HEALTHIER and HAPPIER YEAR for ALL!!!
For a PowerPoint on The Labours of the Months at the National Gallery in London, please… Check HERE!
Philip Rundell (1746-1827) for Rundell, Bridge & RundellPhilip Shield of Achilles, 1821-22, Silver-gilt, 90.5 x 90.5 x 18.0 cm (whole object), Royal Collection Trust https://www.rct.uk/collection/51266/shield-of-achilles
“First of all he forged a shield that was huge and heavy, / elaborating it about, and threw around it a shining / triple rim that glittered, and the shield strap was cast of silver. / There were five folds composing the shield itself, and upon it / he elaborated many things in his skill and craftsmanship. / (483) He made the earth upon it, and the sky, and the sea’s water, / and the tireless sun, and the moon waxing into her fullness, / and on it all the constellations that festoon the heavens, / the Pleiades and the Hyades and the strength of Orion / and the Bear, whom men give also the name of the Wagon, / who turns about in a fixed place and looks at Orion / and she alone is never plunged in the wash of the Ocean… ” When Homer describes The Legendary Shield of Achilles my eyes fill with images of a world long gone and my mind dreams of fabled stories… I wonder how Achille looked like carrying it and how brave Hector felt facing him… http://www.u.arizona.edu/~afutrell/w%20civ%2002/iliad.html
The making of the Shield of Achilles brings the readers of the Iliad closer to its horrific end… When Hector killed Patroclus and stripped him of Achilles’s Armour, his fate was sealed! He committed Ύβρις and his punishment was imminent! In Homer’s 18thΡαψωδία, Thetis, Sea Goddess and mother of Achilles took immediate charge. She commissioned God Hephaestus to create a new Armour for Achilles, the lame God of Smithing got to work… and Homer created an amazing description of his world! Achilles’ shield was “a mirror of the world of gods and men, within the mighty Stream of Ocean and although Homer described its appearance in great detail, the precise relationship of the various elements was unclear…” https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/publications/carlton-house/the-shield-of-achilles
Philip Rundell (1746-1827) for Rundell, Bridge & RundellPhilip Shield of Achilles (detail), 1821-22, Silver-gilt, 90.5 x 90.5 x 18.0 cm (whole object), Royal Collection Trust https://www.rct.uk/collection/51266/shield-of-achilles
Lines 468 to 607 in the 18thΡαψωδία, give readers a vivid and detailed portrayal of the imagery which adorns the new Shield of Achilles. “Starting from the shield’s centre and moving outward, circle layer by circle layer, the shield is laid out as follows: (in the center) The Earth, sky and sea, the sun, the moon and the constellations (484–89).” The circle that immediately follows depicts two cities, one peaceful and festive, its people taking part in a wedding and a case of law administration (490–508), the other in trouble, besieged, ambushed and in battle (509–40). The Shield is furthered decorates with scenes depicting a field being ploughed (541–49), a harvest setting (550–60), a vineyard with grape pickers (561–72), a herd of straight-horned cattle under attack by a pair of lions, herdsmen and cattle dogs trying to them beat off (573–86), a picture of a sheep farm (587–89) and a group of young men and women dancing (590–606). The great Ocean is depicted in the outermost circle, somehow encasing Homer’s view of a civilized microcosm… “where images of conflict and discord… i.e. war and peace, work and festival… show the basic forms of a civilized, essentially orderly life.” (607–609). https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Shield_of_Achilles
Philip Rundell (1746-1827) for Rundell, Bridge & RundellPhilip Shield of Achilles (detail), 1821-22, Silver-gilt, 90.5 x 90.5 x 18.0 cm (whole object), Royal Collection Trust https://www.rct.uk/collection/51266/shield-of-achilles
“In 1810 John Flaxman (a British Sculptor and Draughtsman, and a leading figure in British and European Neoclassicism) received the first of a number of payments from Rundells (Philip Rundell for Rundell, Bridge & Rundell master jewellery makers) to reconstruct” the legendary Shield described by Homer in the Iliad. Flaxman was a well-versed Greek scholar and an admirer of Homer “who spent many evenings reading aloud (in Greek) from the Iliad.” Flaxman completed his design in 1817 and then “modelled and cast it in plaster himself. This shield was the first in a series of silver-gilt and bronze casts and was completed in 1821, when it was prominently displayed at George IV’s coronation banquet. Flaxman was said to have been justly proud of his design, which was subsequently described by Rundells as a masterpiece of modern art and considered by many as one of the artist’s most successful works.” Other silver-gilt versions of the shield were made in 1821/2 for the Duke of York (now Huntington Collection, San Marino), and in 1822/3 for the Duke of Northumberland (now Al-Tajir Collection) and the Earl of Lonsdale (now National Trust, Anglesey Abbey). There is an early bronze cast of the shield, subsequently electro-gilt, in the Royal Collection (RCIN 31606) https://www.rct.uk/collection/51266/shield-of-achilles includes a Video and https://issuu.com/artsolution/docs/koopman_2019_the_shield_of_achilles
For a PowerPoint on The Legendary Shield of Achilles, please… Check HERE!
For a PowerPoint of Student Work inspired by The Legendary Shield of Achilles, please… Check HERE!
Bulletin Board display of Grade 3 student work inspired by The Legendary Shield of Achilles
I heard the bells on Christmas Day / Their old, familiar carols play, / And wild and sweet / The words repeat / Of peace on earth, good-will to men!… Christmas Bells by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)… a wonderful way to introduce Christmas-Time by Eastman Johnson and Wish you all Merry Christmas!!! https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1423.html and https://poets.org/poem/christmas-bells
Eastman Johnson, 1824–1906 Eastman Johnson, 1890s, albumen print (cabinet card) by Edwin S. Bennett (detail), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Department of Image Collections Self-portrait of Eastman Johnson, circa 890, oil on canvas, 60.9 x 50.7 cm, Brooklyn Museum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastman_Johnson
In 1846 Eastman Johnson was in Boston, where he was commissioned to create portraits of several of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s friends and family members. At the time, Eastman Johnson was a young man of twenty-two, but his draftsmanship was accomplished and thus he drew the attention of the established poet and Harvard professor Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. All of these portraits hang today in the Vassall/Craigie/Longfellow House in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a site that offers unique opportunities to explore 19th-century literature and arts. https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/15896 and https://www.nps.gov/long/index.htm
Young Eastman Johnson was pleased to place himself under Henry Wadsworth Longfellow patronage, but like his patron, his dream was to travel and study in Europe… and this is exactly what he did in 1849, “when he travelled to Düsseldorf, Germany, and received rigorous training in drawing at that city’s academy. More congenial, however, was the time he spent in the studio of Emanuel Leutze,” the German/American artist who painted in 1851 Washington Crossing the Delaware“where he concentrated on painting. In 1851 he went to London to see the Universal Exposition and then relocated to The Hague, remaining for over three years. His lengthy stay at The Hague was somewhat unusual for an American artist, but he apparently found much inspiration in the Dutch Old Masters as well as ready patronage through August Belmont, the wealthy American ambassador. His European education ended with several months spent in the Parisian studio of Thomas Couture before the death of his mother brought him home in 1855.” https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1423.html
Eastman Johnson, 1824–1906 Negro Life at the South, 1859, oil on canvas, 129.5×154.9 cm, The New-York Historical Society, The Robert L. Stuart Collection
Back in the United States, Eastman Johnson spent his time painting in his rented studio in New York City or travelling extensively, visiting members of his family in Washington, D.C., or Lake Superior, where he sketched members of the Chippewa Tribe. His reputation was established in 1859 when, at a time when slavery was heatedly debated, he presented in a New York exhibition a painting of the backyard of his father’s house in Washington, D.C. titled Negro Life in the South. https://www.nyhistory.org/exhibit/negro-life-south-0
In 1864, he was commissioned to paint Christmas-Time, The Blodgett Family, a group portrait with interesting narrative elements. “It shows William Tilden Blodgett (1823–1875), a supporter of the Union cause and a founding trustee of the Metropolitan Museum, with his family in the Renaissance Revival parlour of their house at 27 West 25th Street. Depicted during the Civil War, at a time of urban upheaval, the serene interior decorated for Christmas embodies the best sentiment of home, as a critic observed in 1865.” https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11258
Eastman Johnson, 1824-1906 The Girl I Left Behind Me, 1872, oil on canvas, 106.7 x 88.7 cm, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
One of the foremost painters of American life, Eastman Johnson’s reputation grew further with paintings like the A Ride for Liberty—The Fugitive Slaves, of 1862 or The Wounded Drummer Boy, of 1864-1870 or The Girl I Left Behind Me,of 1872. He was financially comfortable and professionally successful. He lived in a large house in Manhattan and vacationed on the island of Nantucket, the scene of many of his paintings. He was an active member of the National Academy, the Century and Union League Clubs, the Metropolitan Museum, and even the Society of American Artists. He is remembered for his humour and kindness in helping other artists, as a good story-teller, a short, rotund kind of a man. https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/exhibitions/1664
For a Student Activity on It’s Christmas with Eastman Johnson, please… Check HERE!
The Church of the Holy Martyr Polyeuctus, built by Anicia Juliana in the 520s, on the northern branch of Constantinople’s Mese, between the Forum Tauri and the Church of the Holy Apostles, today in the Saraçhane area of Istanbul. Photo by Dick Osseman https://pbase.com/dosseman/polyeuktos
“The empress Eudocia, in her eagerness to honour God, was the first to build a temple to the divinely inspired Polyeuktos; but she did not make it like this or so large, not from any thrift or lack of resources—for what can a queen lack?—(5) but because she had a divine premonition that she would leave a family which would know how to provide a better embellishment. From this stock Juliana, bright light of blessed parents, sharing their royal blood in the fourth generation, did not cheat the hopes of that queen, who was mother of the finest children, (10) but raised this building from its small original to its present size and form, increasing the glory of her many-sceptred ancestors.” The Church of the Holy Martyr Polyeuktos has it all… a 6th-century magnificent building, in ruins today, with intricate decoration, a documented 76-line poem in Greek Anthologia (AP 1.10), stories of greed and looting, excavations in the 1960s, extensive Bibliography from around the world and currently, an Archaeological Site, frequently overlooked(?)…https://chs.harvard.edu/CHS/article/display/3263.mary-whitby-the-st-polyeuktos-epigram-ap-1-10-a-literary-perspective and https://topostext.org/work/532
Empress Eudocia, according to the poem, was the first to build a small Church dedicated to Polyeuktos and Anicia Juliana, great-granddaughter of Eudocia, was the family member “which would know how to provide a better embellishment.” What an interesting family affair! To further elaborate on the early history and topography of the Church… it was constructed between 524 and 527, on the northern branch of Constantinople’s Mese, between the Forum Tauri and the Church of the Holy Apostles, near the Column of Marcian and the Aqueduct of Valens, in near proximity to the Palace of Anicia Juliana. https://www.thebyzantinelegacy.com/polyeuktos and http://constantinople.ehw.gr/Forms/filePage.aspx?lemmaId=11784
An accidental discovery in the 1960s, led to excavations in the area Saraçhane of modern Istanbul… which brought to light the foundation of a monumental church while inscriptions on several of the unearthed sculptural blocks, in fact, they were magnificently decorated extracts of the donor’s inscription, allowed Cyril Mango and Ihor Ševčenko to identify the archaeological discovery as the Church of the Holy Martyr Polyeuktos. Excavations on the site of the Church lasted six seasons (1964-69) and it was a joined effort between the Istanbul Archaeological Museum (represented by Nezih Fıratlı) and Dumbarton Oaks, Centre for Byzantine Studies of Harvard University, under the directorship of Professor Martin Harrison. Mango C., Ševčenko I., Remains of the church of St. Polyeuktos at Constantinople, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 15, 1961 https://www.jstor.org/stable/i255238 and https://www.academia.edu/2122854/Martin_Harrisons_Excavations_in_Istanbul
In the background of this photograph taken in 1968, of the Archaeological Excavation of the Church of the Holy Martyr Polyeuktos is the famous “Aqueduct of Valens”, a bridge that carried water for the Byzantine and Ottoman city… https://www.academia.edu/2122854/Martin_Harrisons_Excavations_in_Istanbul
At the time she commissioned the Church of St. Polyeuktos, Anicia Juliana, “sharing …royal blood in the fourth generation,” was the noblest and the wealthiest woman in the Empire. She lived in a magnificent palace in the area of the Church and “raised this building from its small original to its present size and form, increasing the glory of her many-sceptred ancestors.”At the entrance of the church, outside the narthex, archaeologists discovered five more inscribed plaques where we read… “What choir is sufficient to sing the contests of Juliana who, after Constantine, embellisher of his Rome, after the holy all-golden light of Theodosius, (45) and after royal descent from so many forebears, accomplished a work worthy of her family, and more than worthy / in a few years? She alone has overpowered time and surpassed the wisdom of the celebrated Solomon, raising a temple to receive God, the richly wrought and gracious splendour of which a great epoch cannot celebrate.”
There is no doubt Anicia Juliana was Emperor Justinian’s political and artistic, if I may add, adversary. Her dedicatory poem at the Church of the Holy Martyr Polyeuktos is a blunt challenge. Her Imperial lineage and wealth was a test to match for Justinian and his ambitions… According to Gregory of Tours, and well-recorded in Byzantine Legacy… “the Emperor Justinian requested the wealthy Juliana to make a contribution to the public treasury. She feigned to be willing to do so and invited the Emperor to visit her in her house after a given period of time during which she might be able to bring her treasure together. Meanwhile, she called in craftsmen, handed them all her gold and directed them to cast it into plaques which were to be affixed to the roof of Hagios Polyeuktos. After this had been done, Juliana invited the Emperor to come and, having taken him to the martyr’s church, pointed to its roof. My povertyis contained in this work. Do with it whatever you please…” she allegedly said, and thus avoided Justinian’s rapacity. What a story… https://www.thebyzantinelegacy.com/anicia-juliana and http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E00655 and http://www.anastasiaashman.com/anastasiaashman/tag/Gregory+of+Tours
The Church of the Holy Martyr Polyeuktos was one of Constantinople’s most admired monuments for over five hundred years. “The church was certainly still in use in the 10th century, as it was one of the landmarks visited by the emperor during his Easter procession.” Then… we can only guess… the ornate Church of Anicia Juliana was gradually abandoned and valuable building materials were taken and used in the construction of other Constantinopolitan churches, such as the Pantokrator Monastery. In 1204 the Crusaders seized Constantinople and the Church, abandoned at the time, fell into ruins and many of its decorative architectural pieces were removed to Venice, Barcelona and Vienna.
After the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, “houses and a mosque were built in the now completely flattened space of St Polyeuktos’ church. This occupation of the location lasted until 1940 when the mosque was demolished. In 1960, during construction works in the area, some parts of the architecture of St Polyeuktos were unearthed” and a new period for the history of the Church started as a significant Archaeological Site “both due to the wealth and variety of the findings, and the architectural type of the church discovered.” http://constantinople.ehw.gr/Forms/filePage.aspx?lemmaId=11784
Church of the Holy Martyr Polyeuktos, Part II, Architecture and Interior Decoration will follow in January 2021…
The Church of the Holy Martyr Polyeuctus, built by Anicia Juliana in the 520s, on the northern branch of Constantinople’s Mese, between the Forum Tauri and the Church of the Holy Apostles, today in the Saraçhane area of Istanbul. Photo by Dick Osseman https://pbase.com/dosseman/polyeuktos
Domenico Veneziano, c. 1410-1461 Madonna and Child enthroned with St. Francis, John the Baptist, St. Zenobius and St. Lucy, c. 1445, tempera on panel, 209 x 216 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
“(Domenico was) …a good and affectionate fellow, fond of singing and devoted to playing on the lute, he would come together (with his friend Andrea del Castagno) every night to make merry and to serenade their mistresses” This is how Giorgio Vasari describes Domenico Veneziano, the artist from Venice who took Florence by storm! Teaching with Domenico Veneziano is a set of student activities and worksheets inspired by the great Italian artist I much admire. Domenico’ Madonna and Child enthroned with St. Francis, John the Baptist, St. Zenobius and St. Lucy Altarpiece in the Gallerie degli Uffizi is one of my favourite paintings in Florence. I am intrigued by its ethereal beauty, the balance of composition and harmony of pictorial planes. I can’t wait to be back to Florence… stand in front of it and have, once more, an aesthetically rewarding experience. http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/giorgiovasari/lives/andreadelcastagno.htm
When the time comes for me to introduce my students to Domenico’s oeuvre I start with Giorgio Vasari and his fictional story of how Domenico Veneziano was murdered by his friend Andrea del Castagno… a story masterfully said but totally untrue.
I start with Vasari’s condemnation of envy, wicket artistic rivalry and betrayal resulting from envy… “How reprehensible is the vice of envy, which should never exist in anyone, when found in a man of excellence, and how wicked and horrible a thing it is to seek under the guise of a feigned friendship to extinguish not only the fame and glory of another but his very life, I truly believe it to be impossible to express with words, …that in such men there dwells a spirit not merely inhuman and savage but wholly cruel and devilish, and so far removed from any sort of virtue that they are no longer men or even animals, and do not deserve to live.…” and explain the difference between a healthy competition among artists, which according to Vasari is “ …worthy to be praised and to be held in esteem as necessary and useful to the world” and pure, malicious envy capable in the case of Andrea del Castagno to “ …conceal and obscure the splendour of his talents.” http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/giorgiovasari/lives/andreadelcastagno.htm
I finish my introductory presentation discussing Domenico’s famous anecdotal story of his assassination by Andrea del Castagno, absolutely fictitious as modern scholarship proved. “ …Andrea, …being blinded by envy of the praises that he heard given to the talent of Domenico, determined to remove him from his path; and after having thought of many expedients, he put one of them into execution in the following manner. One summer evening, according to his custom, Domenico took his lute and went forth from S. Maria Nuova, leaving Andrea in his room drawing, for he had refused to accept the invitation to take his recreation with Domenico, under the pretext of having to do certain drawings of importance. Domenico, therefore, went to take his pleasure by himself, and Andrea set himself to wait for him in hiding behind a street corner; and when Domenico, on his way home, came up to him, he crushed his lute and his stomach at one and the same time with certain pieces of lead, and then, thinking that he had not yet finished him off, beat him grievously on the head with the same weapons; and finally, leaving him on the ground, he returned to his room in S. Maria Nuova, where he put the door ajar and sat down to his drawing in the manner that he had been left by Domenico. Meanwhile, an uproar had arisen, and the servants, hearing of the matter, ran to call Andrea and to give the bad news to the murderer and traitor himself, who, running to where the others were standing around Domenico, was not to be consoled, and kept crying out: “Alas, my brother! Alas, my brother!” Finally, Domenico expired in his arms; nor could it be discovered, for all the diligence that was used, who had murdered him; and if Andrea had not revealed the truth in confession on his death-bed, it would not be known now.” http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/giorgiovasari/lives/andreadelcastagno.htm
Domenico Veneziano, c. 1410-1461 The Adoration of the Magi, 1435, tempera on panel, 90 cm diameter, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
Teaching with Domenico Veneziano Activities…
For the List of ONLINE References on Domenico Veneziano TeacherCurator put together, please… Click HERE!
For my PowerPoint on Domenico Veneziano, please… Click HERE!
I always feel confident discussing an artist with my students when I prepare my Steps to Success Lesson Plan Outline…
7 Steps to Success…
For Student Activities (four Activities), please… Click HERE!
I hope that Teaching with Domenico Veneziano, will prove easy and helpful. Do you think it justifies my BLOG name TeacherCurator?
Domenico Veneziano, c. 1410-1461 The Annunciation, c. 1445/1448, tempera on panel, 27.3 x 54 cm, The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Henri Matisse once said… “Jazz is rhythm and meaning.” My students love to explore Matisse’s oeuvre and his Illustrated Book Jazz is a particular favourite. They like the brightly coloured pochoirs, his fluid lines and the energy every single illustration transmits. My new BLOG POST, Matisse and Jazz is inspired by two illustrations in Jazz, exhibited in Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in Athens. It is dedicated to my students…
What is Jazz?
According to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History … “Jazz is a kind of music in which improvisation is typically an important part. In most jazz performances, players play solos which they make up on the spot, which requires considerable skill. There is tremendous variety in jazz, but most jazz is very rhythmic, has a forward momentum called “swing,” and uses “bent” or “blue” notes… Jazz can express many different emotions, from pain to sheer joy… ” https://americanhistory.si.edu/smithsonian-jazz/education/what-jazz
What is the definition of Jazz?
“The origin of the word jazz has resulted in considerable research, and its history is well documented. It is believed to be related to jasm, a slang term dating back to 1860 meaning pep, energy, zest for accomplishment, drive, energy… The earliest written record of the word is in a 1912 article in the Los Angeles Times in which a minor league baseball pitcher described a pitch which he called a jazz ball because it wobbles and you simply can’t do anything with it”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz and https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jasm
Is Matisse’s Illustrated Book Jazz doing justice to the word?
I believe it does…The book’s title might be musical, but the illustrations are “experimental, and improvisational in nature” …just like Jazz music. “The designs were initially intended as covers for Verve, a French art magazine published by Tériade. In 1947, Tériade issued the compositions in an artist’s portfolio. The book included 20 colour prints, each about 16 by 26 inches (41 by 66 cm), as well as Matisse’s handwritten notes expressing his thoughts throughout the process. Tériade gave it the title Jazz, which Matisse liked because it suggested a connection between art and musical improvisation. Despite the low number of books printed, Jazz was well received.” https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/353770 and https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/151.2014.4/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_(Henri_Matisse)
In Athens, Greece, the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation exhibits two Matisse Pochoirs from Jazz… The Nightmare of the White Elephant, and The Cowboy.
Henri Matisse, 1869 – 1954 The Nightmare of the White Elephant, Jazz, 1947, Coloured pochoir on Arches paper, on double-page, 172/250, 42 × 65 cm, original edition, printed by Edmond Vairel (French, 20th century), published by Tériade for Éditions Verve (French, 1943–1975) in Paris, Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation, Athens https://goulandris.gr/en/artwork/matisse-henri-the-nightmare-of-the-white-elephant-jazz
Henri Matisse, 1869 – 1954 The Cowboy, Jazz, 1947, Coloured pochoir on Arches paper, on double-page, 172/250, 42 × 65 cm, original edition, printed by Edmond Vairel (French, 20th century), published by Tériade for Éditions Verve (French, 1943–1975) in Paris, Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation, Athens https://goulandris.gr/en/artwork/matisse-henri-the-cow-boy-jazz
The Month of December, latest 1407, possibly by Maestro Venceslao, Fresco, Torre Aquila, Castello del Buonconsiglio in Trento, Italy
Last, for December, houses on the plain, / Ground-floors to live in, logs heaped mountain-high, / And carpets stretched, and newest games to try, / And torches lit, and gifts from man to man / (Your host, a drunkard and a Catalan); / And whole dead pigs, and cunning cooks to ply / Each throat with tit-bits that shall satisfy; / And wine-butts of Saint Galganus’ brave span. / And be your coats well-lined and tightly bound, / And wrap yourselves in cloaks of strength and weight, / With gallant hoods to put your faces through. / And make your game of abject vagabond / Abandoned miserable reprobate / Misers; don’t let them have a chance with you. My new BLOG POST: The Month of December starts with a sonnet by Folgore Da San Geminiano (c. 1250-1317), translated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti in his book “Dante and His Circle,” (Roberts Brothers, Boston, 1893). http://www.sonnets.org/folgore.htm
Torre Aquila and Garden in Castello del Buonconsiglio, in Trento, Italy
The Month of December is a fresco, and it comes from the Torre Aquila in the Castello del Buonconsiglio, in Trento, Italy. It is part of an amazing fresco Cycle of the Twelve Months painted on the walls of the tower’s 2nd-floor main room. Today, only eleven of the original 12 panels survive as a 16th-century wooden spiral staircase, connecting the tower floors, destroyed the painted panel of March. The famous painted Cycle of the Months is divided into twelve panels, one for each month. Each one of the twelve panels is separated by a slender column, distinctive yet subtle, so as not to disturb the natural continuity between months and the seasons.
Months of September, October, November and December – Torre Aquila North Wall
This exceptional room, 6 x 5,8 x 3 m in size, was commissioned by Prince-Bishop George of Liechtenstein, as a quiet, atmospheric retreat, away from the rest of the Castello’s busy and noisy state quarters. It has been suggested and widely accepted that the painter of this extraordinary fresco Cycle of the Months was Maestro Venceslao, a Czech painter, popular in the Tyrol area of the time. https://www.cultura.trentino.it/eng/Cultural-venues/All-cultural-venues/Documentation-centres2/Torre-Aquila-Eagle-Tower
Fresco panels in Torre Aquila are rare and special. They document life in the Trentino area, with references to the aristocratic pastimes throughout the year, or the peasant activities and duties to their masters. They also depict a vivid landscape, romanticized…bare and covered with snow for the January panel, rich and fertile, autumnal, covered with fallen leaves, harsh and inhospitable for the scene depicting December.
My attention turns to the upper right corner where on the frozen ground of a forest, the Trentino peasants are busy once more. Numb by the cold, wearing short white tunicles, one of them even bear-footed, with axes and hatchets in their hands, they are depicted wood harvesting. They chop forest trees down, pile wood logs up, carry heavy loads to the wagons, stack wagons up with neatly cut logs and finally carry precious firewood to the city, to heat the houses during the long winter days. What an accomplishment in such uninviting circumstances…
Trentino Torre Aquila frescoes love presenting anecdotal details. The depicted city, cold and bleak, is setting the tone … Icicles hang from the attics, neatly built in stone and wood, of the Buonconsiglio Castle and the top of its circular tower. The city boasts double defensive walls and plenty of gabled houses with red roof tiles that deftly form a neat residential area, with a decorated church on its left side. It is a stark and unembellished scene, yet… a caravan of mules, loaded with goods, heads towards the castle at the top of the city, while, on the lower part of the composition, two knights on horseback, escort a riding noble lady for a winter outing. Harry up… they seem to tell her, and water your horse before setting off! Let’s follow the stream and visit the Water Mill for an al fresco lunch. What a sight…
Lion Hunt (detail), late 4th century, from the House of Dionysos, Pebble Mosaic, 4.90 x 3.20 m., Pella Archaeological Museum
Is the Lion Hunt Mosaic at Pella inspired by Plutarch’s description that follows? “Accordingly, he exerted himself yet more strenuously in military and hunting expeditions, suffering distress and risking his life, so that a Spartan ambassador who came up with him as he was bringing down a great lion, said: “Nobly, indeed, Alexander, hast thou struggled with the lion to see which should be king.” (Plutarch, Life of Alexander 40.5) This hunting-scene Craterus dedicated at Delphi, with bronze figures of the lion, the dogs, the king engaged with the lion, and himself coming to his assistance; some of the figures were moulded by Lysippus, and some by Leochares.” https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Alexander*/5.html Could the Mosaic at Pella present Alexander the Great and Krateros? Is the Pella Mosaic a faithful copy of the Delphi ex-voto sculptural monument? This is not an easy question to answer…
The impressive bronze monument, commissioned by Krateros and immortalized by Lysippos and Leochares, at Delphi, has unfortunately long perished. We can only guess that the protagonists of the composition were placed on a pedestal against the back wall of the building arrayed one next to the other. What survives, in the area between the Theater and the Temple of Apollo, is an impressive structure, rectangular in shape, measuring some 15.27 x 6.35 meters and standing up to 4 meters high. The building was probably a portico with a colonnade on its façade and a dedicatory inscription on its rear, according to which the building was identified as the ex-voto of Krateros, the Macedonian general and close friend of Alexander the Great and his son by the same name, after his father’s death, probably around 320 BC, or at the end of the 4th century BC.
The dedicatory inscription reads… “Alexandros’s son, Krateros, promised this to Apollo, an honored and glorious man; his son, whom he begot in his palace and left as a child, composed it, Krateros, thereby fulfilling every promise to his father, hoping that the hunt for this bull-killing lion may have eternal and attractive fame for him. For when he followed Alexander and destroyed everything together with him, with that much-praised king of Asia, he defeated him and killed him when he fell into his hands in the land of the sheep-bearing Syrians.”https://pausanias-footsteps.nl/regios/phokis/delphi-votiefgaven/?lang=en Can we reconstruct this amazing sculptural composition? Plutarch’s description and the Delphi inscription present us with the necessary but inconclusive hints!
Hunt scene, known as “Alexander’s Hunt” from Messene, 3rd or 2nd century BC, grey-blue marble, 0,59×1.52 m, the Louvre
Petros Themelis writes about the Messene Lion Hunting scene in the Louvre, in his article A Macedonian Horseman – the Relief Louvre, inv. no. ΜΑ 858 from Messene, presenting the latest archaeological discoveries and attributes it to the funerary monument of the Philliades family. “The stone block Louvre MA858 (height: 0,60 m, width: 1,205 m, depth: 0,28 m) carries a relief representing (on the right) a naked male figure with a lion-skin wrapped around his left arm, striking down a lion with a double axe, while a horseman wearing a Macedonian causia, chlamys, and belted chiton with short sleeves comes rushing up from the left side. The hunter with the lion-skin and the axe is usually identified with Alexander, while the horseman with the causia is identified with Craterus because the relief is taken to reflect Craterus’ Monument at Delphi.” https://www.academia.edu/39501780/P_Themelis_2019_A_Macedonian_Horseman_the_Relief_Louvre_inv_no_MA_858_from_Messene_%CF%83%CF%84%CE%BF_EXCELLENCE_STUDIES_IN_HONOUR_OF_OLGA_PALAGIA
Lion Hunt, late 4th century, from the House of Dionysos, pebble mosaic, 4.90 x 3.20 m., Pella Archaeological Museum
The Lion Hunt Mosaic at the Archaeological Museum of Pella, detached from the so-called house of Dionysus, is a masterpiece of mosaic making. “The bodies of the figures on the mosaic floors at Pella are highlighted against the dark background by white pebbles, and the sculpted volumes are accentuated by the chiaroscuro created by grey pebbles in various tonic gradations. Red pebbles… were used in a limited way… The ground in the mosaic of the lion hunt is characterised by its many colours, while the outline and details of the figures’ body parts are rendered by thin strips of lead or terracotta.” Please note the intensity of the figures’ movements, the lion’s position in the middle of the composition, moving forward/looking backwards, his right front pow stepping over the foot of the receding man to the right, wearing a Petasos… https://www.latsis-foundation.org/content/elib/book_18/pella_en.pdf and http://www.pella-museum.gr/explore/museum/enotita1/kathimerini-zoi
My students and the Lion Hunt Mosaic, Archaeological Museum at Pella. For a PowerPoint, please… Check, HERE!
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