Fresco Santa Trinita Church

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

This is the last of this series of images from the Church of Santa Trinita in Florence, Italy. I wanted to show you something that is sad and unfortunately quite common in the frescoes in Florentine churches. In this first image, I give you a snapshot giving you an overall view of the church. But look at the upper left part of the image: In a church in which there is quite a lot of symmetry and order, you can see that this part does not. It is because of damage over the years.


In this second image, you can see not only how much of the original fresco is missing, but you can also see how lovely the colors are. I cannot help wondering how beautiful this original artwork would have looked when it was new.


In these last two images, you can see the warmer fresco colors. I also really enjoy the border patterns and how they placed several complete compositions into one giant composition that worked with the architecture. And not unlike when I destroy my street paintings, I often find beauty in the ruins of . . . well, many things.

I am not sure, but I believe that the cracks and missing parts of frescoes give away their secrets on how they were made, or at least, how the work was separated into batches of plaster. I find it interesting that in the third image, one can see that the shapes of the missing art are more organic in nature. This composition, while having a number of straight vertical elements in its composition is quite different from the one across the space from it (image 4). You can see the lost space wrapping around the one figure in red’s robe.



Whereas the last image depicts a rather rectangular composition and the missing painting in the lower right is also a rectangular shape. One suspects that this artist worked in a very methodical manner perhaps based more on his brain’s way of thinking than even on the way the image was originally drawn. I wonder if he was part engineer?

Italy has such a wealth of important art and finds itself the custodian of so much of human culture and history. It must be a great expense for a generally not super-wealthy nation and it is no wonder that so many of Italy’s artworks appear to be waiting for restoration attention. I, for one, am generally happy that more artworks have not been restored after seeing how Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel was ruined by the “restoration experts.” But this is another topic . . .

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Religious Art Santa Trinita Church

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I hope you do not mind this short entry – I really want to paint today. Here are more images of some of the religious art inside of the Church of Santa Trinita in Florence, Italy. These first two shots are in an altar area that lies to the right of the central (main) altar inside the church. One must put a coin into a machine in order to view the art with a light.

Altars Santa Trinita Church

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

In my last post I showed you a few images I took of the Church of Santa Trinita in Florence, Italy.

Almost every church that I can remember entering in Italy has more than one altar. In fact, the sides of the churches seem to have many different “mini-altars” creating – for me – almost the feeling of “information overload.” I mean that in a good way, in that almost all of these altars have an individual function, often dedicated to one specific holy identity. Each is filled with art. What a great collection any one church has!


I include here a few images I was able to take before being told not to take images. See how each of these altars, viewed separately, has its own personality? One is quite elaborate in its decoration, another relatively sparse. Sometimes the space lies behind gorgeously designed iron gates, to be opened upon invitation or a special event. Each is lovely and quite tranquil.

Santa Trinita Church in Florence Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

The Church of Santa Trinita is across the river from my flat in Florence, Italy, not far from the ponte (bridge) by the same name. It is easy to recognize because of the figurative relief sculpture on the front of the church, above the door.


In this second image, I wanted to give you an overall feel of the inside of Santa Trinita. I really love the architecture in these Florentine churches, especially when the stones are alternated in color between the green and white marbles. And the frescoes on the ceilings and high on the walls always impress me with their magnitude of effort, if nothing else.


The Church of Santa Trinita appears to have it all: stained glass, frescoes, mosaics in stone (on the floors and walls), lovely arches, sculpture (of course!), fire, and paintings in several different styles.


The area behind the altar was open to tourists when I first arrived, but by the time I had walked to the back, a priest was shooing everyone out and closing off that part. I hope you enjoy today’s photos. I will be writing more about this church in the coming days.

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