Something Beautiful

Otto I (ivory plaque)

Otto I presents Magdeburg Cathedral to Christ, ca. 965 (ivory)  (additional information)

St John the Baptist

A poignant portrait in marble of the young St John the Baptist, ca. 1470, by Antonio Rossellino. 

Pisano - South Doors

After discovering the (to my mind) astonishing bust of St Rossore the other day, I thought I might be able to make some other discoveries by searching the Web Gallery site for "gilded bronze." Nothing quite comparable came up, but the search did yield a short treatment of Andrea Pisano's South Doors for the Baptistry of Florence.   These two doors tell the story of St John the Baptist. 

It will just take a minute or two to get acquainted with these doors.  First, have a look at WGA's basic info page.  Then take a look at this wonderful close-up.

Believe it or not, there are just three simple things you need know to understand these artworks:   
    - Each door has 10 panels depicting scenes from St John's life (for a total of 20);   
    - Each door has four more panels at the bottom portraying theological virtues (for a total of 8);
    - The area surrounding each of the 28 panels is filled with lions, heads, rosettes and studs.

Now to have a look at three of the ten scenes on the left-hand door:       
     - The Visitation (second row down, first panel)      
     - Birth of the Baptist (same row, second panel over)       
     - Naming of the Baptist (third row down, first panel) 

And one scene from ten panels on the right-hand door: 
     - Entombment of the Baptist (fifth row, second panel over)

Next, here are two panels from the lower part of the door, depicting the theological virtues --
     - Hope (sixth row, first panel)       
     - Fortitude (bottom row, first panel) 

Finally, a closer look at some of the inter-panel lions, heads, rosettes and studs --  Decorative objects (bottom row, first panel)

Extraordinary portrait bust

Take a look at this magnificent bust, supposedly of St Rossore, 1425-27, by Donatello (gilded bronze). (detail).  There is just a bit of information about it here.

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Two sculptures

Here are two sculptures that I came across rather by accident.  They are very different in subject but share something, it seems to me, in terms of impact. 

St Mark, 1411, by Donatello (marble) (statue in its niche)

 Pietro Mellini, 1474, by Benedetto da Maiano (marble) 

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St. Peter's (tombs)

While putting together my links on sculptures of past popes, I noticed that the Web Gallery of Art site (one of the world's finest sites) permits you to search for artworks by location.   So it occurred to me that I could try putting together a kind of "tour" of the interior of St Peter's Basilica in Rome. 

To get started, here is an impressive monument to Pope Sixtus IV, 1484-93, by Antonio della Pollaiuolo (bronze) --

view from the front 

from side 

from above 

Another very fine work --

Tomb of Pope Gregory XIII, 1719-1725, by C. Rusconi (marble)   (second view)

Two influential, almost contemporaneous, tombs --

Tomb of Pope Urban VIII, 1627-47, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (golden bronze and marble)

Tomb of Pope Leo XI, 1634-44, by A. Algardi (marble)  (second view)   

Another tomb by Bernini --

Tomb of Pope Alexander VII, 1671-78, by G.L. Bernini (marble & gilded bronze)    (second view, detail)

And here are some other, more extravagant but less pleasing papal tombs within the walls of St. Peter's --

Tomb of Pope Innocent VIII, 1492-98, by A. della Pollaiuolo (gilded bronze)   (detail)

Tomb of Pope Paul III, 1549-75, by Guglielmo della Porta (bronze and marble)

Tomb of Pope Clement XIII, 1792, by Antonio Canova (marble)

 

Papal sculptures

I am feeling a need for sculpture, especially marble and especially Renaissance or baroque.   Given recent events in Rome, I thought it would be interesting to look for paintings and sculptures of past popes.   Here are a few of those I found. 

Pope Pius II, 1501-04, by Michelangelo (marble)

Pope Paul III, ca. 1547, by Guglielmo della Porta (marble)

Pope Urban VIII, 1632-33, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (bronze) (personal favorite)

Pope Benedict XIII, 1724, by Pietro Bracci (terracotta)

Pope Benedict XIII, 1762-73, by Pietro Bracci  (marble)

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Christmas Day

What is it about the terracotta reliefs of Andrea della Robbia that is so special?  Take a look at this Virgin and Child, ca. 1475, by Andrea della Robbia, owned by the Metropolitcan Museum of Art. (Don't leave it without seeing the zoom version. Very special!)

Ghiberti Doors -- in San Francisco

Only recently did I discover that Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, California, has a fine replica of the famous "Ghiberti doors," made in the fifteenth century for the Baptistry of Florence, Italy.  They are considered perhaps the finest doors ever created.   

Some marvelous person has, moreover, written up a multimedia feature for the Grace Cathedral website that permits all of us to examine the doors close-up and really get to know them.  First, let's get an over-all picture --

Here is the main entrance of the Cathedral  You can see the doors in the center.

Here you can see the doors in situ, as it were.

Last, here is a close-up of the doors themselves.   

Now, moving on to the website's feature page about the doors.

You need to know just three easy things to make the best use of the page.

* First, the doors have ten panels, which are divided into five rows, with two columns in each row. 

* Second, as you mouse-over any given panel, you will see that just one of the various "scenes" in the panel is highlighted at a time. 

* Finally, when you click on the highlighted scene, you will arrive at an enlargement of the scene and some text explaining it.   

To make sure you understand how to proceed, do this --

Go to the first panel Adam and Eve.  This panel has four "scenes" or sub-scenes.   

Mouse-over the lower-left portion of the panel, to see the first scene, wherein God creates Adam.   

Click on that scene to see a close-up and read a description of it. 

*   *

Now you're ready to enjoy all ten panels, each of which focuses on a different portion of the Old Testament --

 

Top row:
Adam and Eve (4 scenes);
Cain and Abel (5 scenes)

 

Second row down:
Noah and family (3 scenes);
Abraham and Isaac (2 scenes)

 

Third (middle) row down:
Jacob and Esau (6 scenes);
Joseph and his brothers (5 scenes)

 

Fourth row down:
Moses on top of Mt. Sinai (2 scenes);
Joshua and the Promised Land (2 scenes)

 

Bottow row:
David and Goliath (3 scenes);
King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (2 scenes)