Master Wenceslas’s vibrant April fresco at Trento’s Torre Aquila captures a flourishing 15th-century spring — farmers, elegant ladies and fertile landscapes celebrating nature’s awakening under wise governance.
Still Life à la cafetière
Van Gogh’s Still Life à la cafetière, a symphony of blues, yellows and oranges, showcases his extraordinary mastery of colour — transforming humble everyday objects into vibrant, moving art.
Virtual Spanish Weekend
Dedicated to Juan, fighting COVID-19 in Spain — discover happiness within through a virtual Toledo weekend, meeting El Greco’s genius, from the comfort of your home.
Celebrating the Greek War of Independence
Celebrating Greece’s War of Independence Bicentennial — honouring the revolutionary fighters of 1821 who sacrificed everything, so future generations could live in freedom and dignity.
El Greco: Formative Years
Born in Crete in 1541, Domenikos Theotokopoulos — El Greco — left behind a remarkable Icon in Syros, bridging Post-Byzantine tradition and Renaissance Mannerism in his extraordinary formative years.
Panagia Kosmosotira in Feres
Founded by Sevastokrator Isaakios Komnenos in 1152, Panagia Kosmosotira in Feres stands as a magnificent Byzantine treasure — his final resting place, adorned with exquisite 12th-century Constantinopolitan frescoes.
Correggio’s Jupiter and Io
Correggio’s Jupiter and Io masterfully twists Renaissance harmony into Mannerist excitement — Io’s sensuous, entwining body against Zeus’s dark cloud creating an unforgettable contrast of texture, colour and desire.
Hegeso, daughter of Proxenos
Hegeso’s magnificent 5th-century funerary stele, attributed to Kallimachos, captures an elegant Athenian woman in a timeless everyday moment — a graceful reminder that human life is fleeting and precious.
The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
https://history2701.fandom.com/wiki/The_Forty_Martyrs_of_Sebaste
The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste Ivory Icon at the BODE Museum in Berlin is a favorite of mine for making me think, reflect and compare.
First of all, I like the story of these 40 tough Roman soldiers, devoted to their faith, suffering… in the city of Sevaste, in Armenia, during the reign of Emperor Licinius, and under the presidency of Agricolaus, in the year 320 AD. Their story is beautifully told by MATHEW in http://dignareme.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-40-martyrs-of-sebaste.html
Then, I like Byzantine Ivory Carving! What a magnificent medium in… small-scale. Byzantine Art is not only about monumental, awe-inspiring mosaics and frescoes. The aficionados of Byzantium find equal pleasure even more! in artifacts of smaller scale, like luxurious ivories, silverware, glassware, and jewelry, even humble pottery and woodwork.
I am fascinated by Ivory itself. One only has to imagine the caravans or the galleys bringing to Constantinople African elephant tasks, the anticipation of the artisans ready to put their expertise into practice, and the eagerness of the buyers as they consider one more coveted possession. During the 10th and the 11th centuries, Byzantine Ivories were popular among the City’s aristocrats and highly prized as Imperial gifts to foreign dignitaries.
Meticulously carved, ivory icons, consular diptychs, or pyxides, enchant us today with their beauty. “The allure of this substance is easily understood: its smooth, tactile quality and creamy color made it ideal for the creation of” amazing works of art, just like the Icon of the Forty Martyrs of Sevaste in the BODE Museum.
The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, 10th century AD, ivory relief panel from Constantinople, Museum für Byzantinische Kunst, BODE Museum, Berlin
Is this amazing carving a case of Byzantine Renascence? The depiction of forty agonizing bodies, winding and twisting, reminds me of Signorelli’s fantasia of Paradise and Hell in Orvioto’s Cathedral, in the Capella of San Brizio. Are there missing links connecting these two masterpieces I don’t know about? Whatever the answer is, the BODE Ivory Icon is a strategic player in the equation. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ivor/hd_ivor.htm and http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/lucasignorelli/sanbriziochapel.htm
For a “Similarities and Differences” Student Activity, please… check HERE!
A Tiffany Drawing and the final product!
Tiffany’s luminous enamel-on-copper bowl, crafted by Julia Munson’s all-women workshop, dazzles with three-dimensional plums among leaves — a rare, shimmering masterpiece of extraordinary craftsmanship and organic beauty.