Siena Duomo Cathedral Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I am happy to be getting my working schedule back, but still am feeling in awe of the Cathedral in Siena and wanted to share some more images of this mind-blowing creation.  Enjoy today’s post.  I hope you are not bored with it because I have more . . .

If you find yourself in Tuscany before 26 October 2013, I hope you will go see the temporary unveiling of the highly decorative stone floor of the Duomo (Cathedral) in Siena. http://www.operaduomo.siena.it/

More of the Divina Bellezza or “Divine Beauty”exhibition and the Duomo in Siena in the next post.

If you would like more information about Siena and its gorgeous Duomo, check out these links:

http://www.operaduomo.siena.it/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siena_Cathedral
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Saluti,
Kelly

Sculpture on Fresco Siena Duomo

Sculpture on Fresco Siena Duomo

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Here is another example of the sculptural embellishment on a fresco, high up inside the Duomo of Siena, Italia.  Note that the guy near the top who is receiving a crown is a bas-relief sculpture.  This protrusion makes it easier to see him, as well as connotes his importance in the image.  His golden robes do the same. 

I apologize for not knowing more about “the guy near the top.”  Sadly, I tend to be more interested in the ideas and presentation than about the actual characters for works like these, but also, it was simply a lack of time.  When I visit places with other people, I tend to slow them down and often miss things I might have researched better when alone and not in a hurry.

If you find yourself in Tuscany before 26 October 2013, I hope you will go see the temporary unveiling of the highly decorative stone floor of the Duomo (Cathedral) in Siena. http://www.operaduomo.siena.it/

More of the Divina Bellezza or “Divine Beauty”exhibition and the Duomo in Siena in the next post.

If you would like more information about Siena and its gorgeous Duomo, check out these links:

http://www.operaduomo.siena.it/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siena_Cathedral

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Feeling generous?  If you would like to donate any amount to support this blog, you may do so via PayPal. Please visit the blog online and see the PayPal links in the column on the right:
http://artbyborsheim.blogspot.com
Thank you for your interest and support.
Saluti,
Kelly
 

Buttons on Fresco Siena Duomo

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I am still interested in the Duomo of Siena in Tuscany, Italy.  I hope that you have enjoyed the last two posts about the Cathedral that was intended to be built as the most beautiful and impressive place in the world.  Plans were never finished, but one can see outside of the cathedral the marble blocks in the same shape as the internal supporting columns.  These are the supports for the part that never was built.

Anyway, off to the left inside the Duomo is another elaborate room that contains sheets of ancient music housed in large books and protected in transparent display cases.  It boggles a mind such as mine to contemplate just how many artists and artisans were employed to create this cathedral… or frankly, so many others in Italia and beyond.

I wish that I had enjoyed sculpting in plaster when I tried it back at the Elisabet Ney Sculpture Conservatory in the early 1990s.  I love the colors of fresco painting and yet am reluctant to learn fresco since that is basically painting quickly into wet plaster.  But are these not just lovely (even if a bit outrageous in their audacious quilt-like patterns)?

I wanted to use this one as an example of how the artist treated the image.  Look closer:  The figures in the foreground were given an extra detail… the gold “buttons” on their clothing are a physical addition.  I do not mean “lumpy paint” or I suppose a more “Harlequin romance” way to say it might be, “thick brushstrokes.”  I mean that the buttons are more sculpted than painted.  They really stand out.  I am not sure if this was the style of the day or simply a way to show the importance or wealth of these particular characters.  I tried to shoot straight up the wall to give you an idea of their depths, but my telephoto lens is not that powerful and this fresco started a bit above my head.

If you find yourself in Tuscany before 26 October 2013, I hope you will go see the temporary unveiling of the highly decorative stone floor of the Duomo (Cathedral) in Siena. 

More of the Divina Bellezza or “Divine Beauty”exhibition and the Duomo in Siena in the next post.

If you would like more information about Siena and its gorgeous Duomo, check out these links:

http://www.operaduomo.siena.it/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siena_Cathedral

Happy Birthday to my darling sister Danielle!

Feeling generous?  If you would like to donate any amount to support this blog, you may do so via PayPal. Please visit the blog online and see the PayPal links in the column on the right:
http://artbyborsheim.blogspot.com
Thank you for your interest and support.
Saluti,
Kelly

Too Much Art, Italia!

Too Much Art, Italia!

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Who would really believe this?  Siena is not the first Italian town in which I have seen a wall dropped down right over original stone carvings and frescoes.  This poor guy now has a low decorative (and no doubt heavy) wall planted right on his face:  ouch!  It must be terrible to have so much art around that one needs not preserve every piece of it.  Oh, poor Italia has just TOO MUCH ART!

If you find yourself in Tuscany before 26 October 2013, I hope you will go see the temporary unveiling of the highly decorative stone floor of the Duomo (Cathedral) in Siena. Trust me, it gets way better than this.  I just have a wicked sense of humor.  More of the Divina Bellezza or “Divine Beauty”exhibition in the next post.

If you would like more information about Siena and its gorgeous Duomo, check out these links:

http://www.operaduomo.siena.it/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siena_Cathedral


Feeling generous?  If you would like to donate any amount to support this blog, you may do so via PayPal. Please visit the blog online and see the PayPal links in the column on the right:
http://artbyborsheim.blogspot.com
Thank you for your interest and support.
Saluti,
Kelly

Cathedral of Siena, Divina Bellezza!

Cathedral of Siena, Divina Bellezza!

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I apologize for the holiday from writing this blog.  I have had a long string of visitors and traveling and hope to share some of my journey with you.  I had the great pleasure to meet up with an American couple who are now friends and collectors of my work (a commissioned portrait of their grandkids).  They were doing a wine tour of Italy, and sadly had to miss visiting my beloved Firenze.  So, I met them in the charming town of Siena, bringing my visiting friend Dilya with me.

I had suggested that we all meet in Siena primarily because the amazing Cathedral (“Duomo” in Italian) was having a special exhibit inside, displaying the entire mosaic-ed floor inside of what one of my friends in Austin, Texas, called “The Zebra Castle” when he saw the Duomo as a child.  The unveiled floor usually has carpets covering the stone art to protect it.   This exhibit lasts only until 26 October and is called Divina Bellezza or “Divine Beauty.”

The mosaics tell various stories to inspire and make you feel a whole slew of emotions, as stories do.  Some depicted battles, such as this one in images below.  This particular mosaic consists mostly of white, black, red, and golden marbles and what a work!