beside the easel

Self-Portrait, 1600's Pietro Berrettini was born in his namesake city of Cortona on November 1, 1596. One of the greatest giants of the Baroque era, his name has unfortunately lost much of its former glory in the shadow of others. What makes Pietro unique is not necessarily his technique but his approach to art—nicknamed cortonismo by his peers— essentially a monumental scale with multiple figures and grandiose storytelling. Pietro also did interior decoration and some architecture, and with his powerful patrons of the Barberini family he was able to secure some very large commissions, including massive ceiling frescos that have to be seen to be believed. For a period of four years he was also director or principe , of the Accademia di San Luca in Rome in which he designed the building for. It was the second greatest school in Italy (Accademia degli Incamminati was the first) which fostered a long list of teachers or principe that any art student today could only imagi...

Head of a Beared Man Looking to Upper Left, 1600's Ciro (Italian for Cyrus) Ferri, born in 1634, was the disciple of Pietro da Cortona , leading painter of the early Baroque. Ferri is not well known outside of Italy except for some of his drawings at the Met, which are remarkably astute and full of character. Notice the interesting angle of the man above, how he uses foreshortening to define the character and the action. I love how Ferri uses subtle strokes of white to heighten the form. Drawing such as this never ceases to inspire me. Head of a Woman,1600's Capturing the expression of a woman lost in thought here, seems to have a poetry all its own. A painting is not required here. Chastity of Joseph, ca.1650's Look at this tantalizing display of color and dynamics. A backdrop of red defines the lust of the woman reaching out for him. The choice of blue and yellow is unique and appealing. Note the marble floor with tiles in perspective and the scene ...

Ruin of a Roman Room, 1700's I first discovered Charles-Louis Clérisseau in Rome two years ago at the Galleria Corsini , and I remember being stunned. It was a painting of the Pantheon. The cool shadows, confident lines, deep textures and thick bright highlights created an impression that was life-like yet those juicy brushstrokes were hypnotic. I had never heard of him before. And it seemed criminal that a great draftsman and artist would remain in obscurity, high on corner wall of a Roman museum that even the taxi driver couldn't remember. At any rate, he's definitely worth studying. Charles-Louis Clérisseau was born on August 28, 1721. He studied under Pannini and was also a friend of another great architectural draftsman and architect from Scotland, Robert Adam . This style of architectural renderings and paintings formed the basis of Neoclassicism and inspired many Brits to travel across Europe on the "Grand Tour" to experience the wonders of the past. ...

Portrait of Giovanni Paolo Pannini by Louis Gabriel Blanchet One of my favourite vedutisti , Pannini was born on this day in 1691. During the Rococo of the late 1600's two major ideas evolved in landscape painting: the capriccio and the veduta , which eventually sort of merged into a kind of scenic cappriccio. The Capriccio, meaning caprice or fancy, evolved from the idea of imagination triumphing on the base of Classical architecture, often depicting it with deep shadows and bold colours, whereas the veduta. or view, arose from the British who frequently visited Spain, France and Italy (the Grand Tour) where they became so inspired by the glorious vistas they wanted to take a souvenir back home with them, a veduta. This of course launched the careers of some artists, especially Canaletto. Pannini, although he didn't invent the style, was the one who inspired all of them and as we can see by his portrait above by Blanchet, Pannini was held in high regard in his lifetime. ...