Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Decorative Frescoes on Palace Ceilings II

Andrea Pozzo
Hercules Hall
1704-08
ceiling fresco
Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna

Vincenzo Giustiniani was one of the most active art collectors and connoisseurs in 17th-century Rome. The translated quotation below is from a long letter-essay he addressed to a friend concerning the methods of painting and the rankings of painters 

"Be warned however that it is not enough to make a mere reproduction [of natural objects]. Rather it is necessary that the work be well designed, with fine well-proportioned contours. It must have pleasing and appropriate coloring, which comes from the experience of knowing how to handle colors, and almost from instinct, and is a gift granted to few. Above all, one has to know how to give the right light to each part so that the grayed colors are not harsh but are done smoothly and harmoniously. However the dark areas and the lighted areas must be distinct so that the eye is satisfied by the blending of the lights and dark without alteration of the true color and without harming the spirit of the painting." 

Andrea Pozzo
Hercules Hall (detail)
1704-08
ceiling fresco
Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna

Andrea Pozzo
Hercules Hall (detail)
1704-08
ceiling fresco
Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna

Andrea Pozzo
Hercules Hall (detail)
1704-08
ceiling fresco
Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna

Andrea Pozzo
Hercules Hall (detail)
1704-08
ceiling fresco
Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna

Louis Dorigny
Mythological scene
ca 1719
ceiling fresco

Villa Allegri Arvedi, Cuzzano di Grezzana

Louis Dorigny
Mythological scene (detail)
ca. 1719
ceiling fresco
Villa Allegri Arvedi, Cuzzano di Grezzana

Louis Dorigny
Mythological scene (detail)
ca. 1719
ceiling fresco
Villa Allegri Arvedi, Cuzzano di Grezzana

Louis Dorigny
Mythological scene (detail)
ca. 1719
ceiling fresco
Villa Allegri Arvedi, Cuzzano di Grezzana

Niccolò Bambini
Mythological scene
ca. 1708
ceiling fresco
Ca' Dolfin in San Pantalon, Venice

Alessandro Allori
Women on a terrace
1589
ceiling fresco
Loggetta, Palazzo Pitti, Florence

Giambattista Tiepolo
Nuptial Allegory 
1757
ceiling fresco
Ca' Rezzonico, Venice

Giambattista Tiepolo
Nuptial Allegory (detail)
1757
ceiling fresco
Ca' Rezzonico, Venice

Giambattista Tiepolo
Nuptial Allegory (detail)
1757
ceiling fresco
Ca' Rezzonico, Venice