Saints Remembered Florence Italy

 Dear Art Lover,

     A lot of cultures have quite exotic rituals about the dead, especially those they deem important dead.  Italy, perhaps being Italy, tends to create elaborate sculptural containers out of precious materials.  They hold the relics of saints, often parts of bones.  The creativity of these containers, as well as the metals and stones that were used, give one an idea of how treasured are these revered creatures.

      The images on this page come from some of the collection of the Museo dell’Opera in Florence, Italy.  Two of the Florentine-based artists responsible for such artworks are Giovanni Battista Foggini and Bernardo Holzmann.  They created the Reliquary of Saint Agatha’s Veils and other relics between 1710 and 1714.

G.B. Foggini, sculptor:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Battista_Foggini

     Sig. Foggini sculpted the tomb of Galileo Galilei inside Basilica di Santa Croce.  After he became his time’s favored sculptor of the Medici, he bought a bronze foundry on Borgo Pinti in Firenze.  It was once owned by Giambologna.  Who believes this?  Sometimes it blows my mind, this city so full for centuries, of artists, architects, and artisans.

     Not much is known about Bernardo Holzmann, as far as the place of his birth or the date, but he is likely German.  His work is known in Tuscany, mostly connected with the Gran Ducal workshops and G.B. Foggini.  He died in 1728 in Florence, Italy.

Here is an article (in Italian) about the artist:

http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/bernardo-holzmann_%28Dizionario_Biografico%29/

 but you may also put his name into Google and then click on “Images” to see much more of his work.

     While these designs are too ornate for my personal taste, I like the idea of them.  They are signs that we cherish someone with desirable qualities.  We cherish a “brava persona,” a person whose words match his actions, a person who thinks of and helps others.  We cherish those who truly know how to love. 

Cherishing is one of the qualities that we need more of in the world.  I love it because it is a cousin to Gratitude and Appreciation.  And on that note:

Happy birthday, MOM!  You make 70 years look good!  Keep on keepin’ on.

     Happy 70th birthday to you, my mamma! You made it possible for me to do so many things, most notably, the artist that I strive to be and the courage to try it all. Thanks, Mom. I love you!

Happy 23 December to you all.

Peace,

Kelly

 

Silver and Gold Florence Italy

Dear Art Lover,

     Rudolph is one of my favorite Christmas programs on TV.  When I was at university, I even bought the videotape and sang along loudly [alone, since my flatmates thought that I was nuts].  The arrangement and soothing voice of Burl Ives singing “Silver and Gold” always made me cry, as I inevitably thought of loves lost and the sweetness of loves retained over the years.  Here it is if you wanna listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY-XDQN6ipE

    Artwise, I am still in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo in Florence, Italy.  To be honest, most of the time, I can out-museum most of my friends.  However, in this period in which I have not been very productive in my own art creating, I find my mind wandering no matter how interesting the museum contents and presentation.  This next work of art at first got the “Boh!” response from me, as I peeked around the corner to gaze upon it.  However, the Italian tour guide caught my attention.  He was very expressive and enthusiastic about this piece, so I meandered over and started to photograph him as his whole body told stories.

    So much of this art is TOO silver and gold . . . it just seems “over the top” and one sees the shine or glare, if you will, more than the forms.  However, upon closer look, it is amazing the sheer skill and ideas put into this altar that was created in the years from 1367 to 1483.  It features twelve scenes from the life of John the Baptist.

     Again, I must quote the museum display:

      “This room contains an altar front and a monumental cross of pure silver, restored between 2006 and 2012, with a combined weight of 250 kilograms in metal parts alone.  Commissioned by the Arte di Calimala – the cloth merchants’ guild – and realised beginning in 1367 by artists spanning several generations, these intricate assemblages of thousand of components were at the center of the principal religious celebration of the Florentine Republic, the feast of the city’s patron saint, John the Baptist, on June 24, when altar and cross were installed in the church dedicated to Saint John, the Baptistery.”

     On a side note, I am touched that my new community is already involving me in the life here.  I have been asked to dress the part of a medieval sculptor [they provide the clothes] for the town’s “Living Nativity” on Christmas Eve.  It will feel great to have a hammer in my hand again, even if I am unlikely to be using it on this occasion.  Also, yesterday, I was asked to speak to the local mayor’s assistant [in Italian he is called the Assessore, which looks like two funny English words put together for a public servant’s title].  My local friends seem to think that my new-to-the-community voice, especially as a sculptor, will help them give some life to a seemingly forgotten decade-old project.

     

Peace,

Kelly

~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor, painter, writer, teacher

To the right is a video on the far wall that tells more of the story.

Florence Museo dell’Opera Donatello Christ

Dear Art Lover,

  In Florence, Italy, the Museo dell’Opera, which houses the treasures of the famous Florence Cathedral (or Duomo in Italian), recently received a facelift.  You may now view more of the art and in a better context with how it was all intended to be viewed in the first place.  In some cases, you are viewing the original sculptures since pollution was causing too much harm to it in its original position on the Duomo or the nearby Baptistry. 

     I am often struck by how the quality of the figurative art changed back and forth over the centuries, as well as how much was accomplished only with hand-powered tools.  But then, they likely had other technical abilities of which I am simply unaware.  Still, did we lose the skills after Greek art or did artists just make a point to change styles?  I have heard that the current beliefs of the church often affected how representational artists were allowed to portray the human figure.  And churches tended to be the only ones wealthy enough to pay for difficult-to-create art. 

    I was surprised to see this marvelous piece of stone carving among some fragments on exhibit from the Porta della Mandorla (the Almond Door).  It turns out that this relief figure of the Man of Sorrows Christ that decorates an arch border is by Donatello!  It is funny seeing his work paired with obviously less stunning carved figures.  Here is a part of the museum’s own description:

     “The most richly decorated side-door of the Cathedral, that to the northeast call the Porta della Mandorla (Almond Door), was realised [sic] by various sculptors in the years 1391-1422.  The components shown here, from the archivolt and lateral pilasters, belong to the years 1404-1409 and illustrate the range of styles used in the early 15^th-century Florence, with some of the figures still gothic while others proclaim a reborn interest in Greco-Roman sculpture.  The Suffering Christ from the door’s keystone, a work by the young Donatello, appears to be an early study for that artist’s wood crucifix in the Basilica of Santa Croce.”

Note that the Italians, as I suspect most Europeans, used British English more than American [hence the “sic” above.]

Note also that another sign under the arranged fragments titles the work by Donatello as “Rilievo con Cristo Vir dolorum” (Relief with Christ Man of Sorrows).  1404-1409.  Perhaps the two titles is simply a matter of different translations.

     In the image of the architectural drawing, the blue section of the pointed arch above the doorway, labeled F, is where the Donatello and gothic fragments originally resided.

     Enjoy!  I am happy to report that I am back to painting and drawing daily in my new temporary home.  Most of my things are still in storage until my real home is ready, but I have taken what I need from there and am working away with lovely views and birds singing daily.  Sanity is starting to return.

Happy birthday to my first brother, Paul! 

Peace,

Kelly

~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor, painter, writer, teacher

http://BorsheimArts.com