Boy in red jacket at the window, River Arno, Florence
Including a small area of red can sometimes do wonders for a photograph! With this in the back of my mind, I am always alert to something red appearing in my image finder!
Piazza Santa Croce
Whether it works or not, probably depends on a lot of other factors, like what else is in the photograph! But there is no doubt, that if you get it right, a small focal point of red can catch the eye and improve a photograph. I will leave readers to decide whether this works or not, in any these photos which I took recently in Florence, Italy.
Dogs in red and pink outfits
Red is a warm colour and in general, warm colors will appear to advance, i.e. to stand out in a picture or photograph. But the effect also depends on the surrounding colours and – I think – on how much space (area) they take up in a photo. The relative brightness of different colours – whether they are in light or shade – will also affect the result. If red takes up the majority of the photograph, like this tiny red car (below), then the effect gets a bit lost although I still like the result!
Tiny red car, Florence.
At the other end of the scale, if the red areas are too small, like these red jackets in this river shot (below), then the effect is also diluted.
River Arno at sunset
The effect is also a bit muted if there are multiple red areas in a photo, as in this street market scene below.
Street market, Florence
In conclusion, I think it works best to highlight an otherwise fairly ordinary photo, like the first one (above).
The Ponte Vecchio, or ‘Old Bridge’, is a mediaeval bridge across the River Arno in Florence. The existing bridge dates from 1345, although there were bridges at this location as far back as Roman times. It is of course, one of the most famous sights in the world, and huge numbers of tourists from around the world visit this bridge every year. It is a thing of beauty, both in terms of its elegant structure and its beautiful colours.
The Ponte Vecchio
The small shops which hang off the sides of the bridge are painted in attractive pastel colours.
Ponte Vecchio
Originally, there were a variety of different shops, including butchers, fish mongers and tanners of hides; all practices where I imagine it was a convenient location to throw things into the river! Today, and since 1593 incredibly enough, there are only jewelery shops on the bridge. They did not seem to be doing much trade, although everybody was looking! Maybe one in a thousand buy something?
Jewlery shop on Ponte Vecchio
There were also street vendors – immigrants from north Africa – selling their wares on the bridge. They either sold sticks for taking selfies, or – it seemed to me – rather poor reproductions of paintings (below). They played a continual game of cat and mouse with the local police, scooping up their wares and hurriedly moving on when the blue-coated police arrived.
Street vendors on the Ponte Vecchio
The local municipal police (polizia municipale) – in the white custodian helmets – seemed to me to be doing a good job, but were a lot less intimidating than the Carabinieri, who were usually tall young men in sun glasses!
Local municipal police (polizia municipale) Florence
We all want to visit famous places and see them for ourselves. Once we have done that we can tell our friends, post blogs on the Internet and share pictures on Facebook, Instagram or wherever. Unless one is completely elitist, this has to be a good thing, but with well over 7 billion people on the planet, it means that some places are going to get quite crowded. That said, I did not find the bridge unduly crowded when I visited in March, but I guess it does get very busy in the summer. Florence is also a fairly big city, so apart from the main sites (Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo etc.), it is not too difficult to sidestep the crowds if you visit out of season. I did not take a selfie (on purpose) but I am glad a went and saw this iconic structure for myself. I would however, have loved to have seen it in Medieval times, with all the hustle and bustle of a functioning market.
On the Ponte Vecchio
I noticed a large number of padlocks attached to some iron railings on the bridge and wondered what these were. Apparently, there is a superstition that if you and your loved one attach a padlock to somewhere on the bridge, and then throw the key into the river, your love will last forever. Quite a nice sentiment, although as a result of the large number of people who now want to do this, there is now a €160 penalty for anyone caught attaching a lock! Maybe its better just to make a wish?
Adoration of the Shepherds by Ghirlandaio (1485) cropped
I stumbled across this gorgeous painting, almost by chance in Florence. I popped into this church – Santa Trinita – on a whim to have a quick look around. I noticed that the people inside were congregating around one painting in a small chapel (Sassetti Chapel) to the right of the altar. The main painting in the centre of the chapel was, I discovered, a work called Adoration of the Shepherds, by Domenico Ghirlandaio (painted in 1485). I did not manage to get the whole scene in my photograph (above) but it is shown below. Mother Mary is looking at Jesus lying on a mat on the ground, with his head resting on a Roman marble sarcophagus (He does not look very comfortable!); Joseph is looking back (and scratching his forehead) at a huge procession of people including the Magi (the wise men) who are just about to arrive with their gifts. The shepherds are shown on the right, one of whom is carrying a lamb, just so you know! The artist himself (Ghirlandaio) is very much in the scene, dressed as a shepherd in a brown cloak. The artist, with long dark locks and striking features, is shown kneeling to the right of the donkey, pointing to the Christ child. His right hand is pointing towards himself, as if to say to us, I am the artist!
Adoration of the Shepherds by Domenico Ghirlandaio. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons – Reference 1.
The closely cropped photograph below shows Mary and Joseph, and the delightfully innocent and benign animals in their rather ornate manger.
Adoration of the Shepherds (detail) by Ghirlandaio (1485)
None of these photographs really do justice to the original painting, which when lit with an isolating spotlight, is very colourful and powerful. Even if you knew nothing about it, you would sense that this paiting was something special. And, when you discover that it was painted 530 years ago, well, it is quite amazing.
There are many other works of art in this church which apparently was constructed in 1258–1280, over a pre-existing 11th-century one.
Making pasta in the window of a restaurant in Florence
This girl was making pasta in the window of a restaurant in Florence. I took a grab-shot and then made eye-contact afterwards. She smiled and waved and did not seem to mind. I noticed that a number of restaurants in the city had people making pasta in front of a window onto the street; I guess it is good marketing. Is this gnocchi I wonder?
River Arno, between the Pnte alla Caraia and P S. Trinita, Florence
People say that the light in Italy is special, and you only have to look at the art to appreciate the truth of this. One evening in Florence however, I witnessed this for myself. The light had been bright all day on 17th March, with a strong north wind blowing. Walking along the south bank of the River Arno, with the sun setting behind me, I was fortunately placed to capture the light on the buildings of the north side of the river, between the Ponte alla Carraia and Ponte S. Trinita.
The light had already moved off the waters of Santa Rosa weir, creating a huge contrast with the sunlit buildings on the other side of the river.
Santa Rosa Weir at sunset, Florence
The posh hotels on the north bank of the River Arno looked very elegant in the warm light; what were they eating and drinking on the roof terrace?!
Hotels on the River Arno, Florence
A duck flew past, flying low over the river.
Duck flying over the River Arno, Florence
The light started to get better as I walked eastwards along the river.
River Arno at sunset
The Piazza Carlo Goldini – named after the Venetian playwright, whose statue can be seen in the sun – was by now in the shade.
Piazza Carlo Goldoni, Florence
I was getting quite excited looking at the light reflected off the buildings, through the beautiful arches of the Ponte alla Caraia, Florence
Ponte alla Caraia, Florence
By the time I reached the Ponte alla Caraia – jogging along at this time! – the light was at it’s best; the peak of the magic hour, and I hurried onto the bridge to get some more shots looking east towards the Ponte Santa Trìnita.
Palazzo Corsini, Florence
I love reflections, and couldn’t help sampling this particular one, of a pale yellow building with red shutters (cropped and edited slightly).
Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro; c. 1395 – 1455) has a confusing number of names. He was known to his contemporaries as Fra Giovanni da Fiesole (Brother John of Fiesole) as well as Fra Giovanni Angelico (Angelic Brother John). He is now called il Beato Angelico (Blessed Angelic One) in Italian, although he is known to the art world as Fra Angelico. He was a Dominican friar and a consummate artist, with a remarkable body of work held in museums around the world. Fra Angelico was trained in Florence in the workshop of another monk, Lorenzo Monaco (active 1390–1423), a painter and illustrator of manuscripts. In some ways, Lorenzo Monaco’s works are even more stunning – but lest we get side-tracked, here is just one image from the master’s master!
Adoration of the Magi by Lorenzo Monaco and Cosimo Rosselli, 1420-22 (detail)
Fra Angelico was also strongly influenced by the works of another Italian artist, Masaccio (1401 – 1428), who died at the very early age of 26. The Museum or Basilica of San Marco is a wonderful place to view both the works of Fra Angelico (and other artists) and discover about the lives of these painter monks. Unlike some other sites in Florence, it is not heaving with tourists trying to take a ‘selfie’ in front of a painting (e.g. by Botticelli) or statue (e.g. by Michelangelo). Fra Angelico’s paintings have not yet achieved the worldwide cult status of some other works in Florence, which seem to attract viewers as much by their fame as their beauty, it seems. But perhaps the two are inseparable.
San Marco Church and Museum, Florence
What is know about Fra Angelico is that he was (according to the chronicler, Giorgio Vasari) ‘gentle and temperate’ and ‘humble and modest’. Although he knew the rulers of his day (Popes and Medici) he must have been completely dedicated to his art – albeit art in the service of his faith – to have achieved so much in his life time. Particularly, as some of the paintings must have taken so much time to produce, even with the help of a workshop of assistants. The following is a detail from a painting entitled Deposition from the Cross, which was started by his master Lorenzo Monaco, and completed by Fra Angelico between 1432 and 1434. It is the powerful use of colour as well as the imagery which attracts me to these paintings.
Fra Angelico, Descent from the Cross, detail
The Dominican monks of Fiesole, took over the then convent of San Marco in Florence in 1435. Fra Angelico (and his assistants no doubt) were then commissioned by Cosimo de’ Medici to paint frescos in the various rooms, including the cloisters, chapter house, refectory, and dormitory cells and so on. There are 44 cells, or rooms for sleeping and contemplation, each of which has its own fresco. Fra Angelico is considered to be directly responsible for the design and execution of about six of them, but presumably his assistants took a lead from him in completing the others. The cells are empty apart from the frescos but are quite pleasant, each with unique fresco and a small window looking out into the central courtyard. The monks slept, prayed and meditated in their cells and the fresco were designed as a sort of inspiration; perhaps a meditation piece? I wonder if they got fed up with one fresco, they could swap cells to look at another fresco?
Museo di San Marco, Monks cell with fresco
The cells were arranged along corridors on the upper floor of San Marco; there are also some frescos along the walls of the corridors.
Museo di San Marco, Corridor fresco
At the top of the stairs leading to the sleeping quarters (upper cells) there is a wall fresco by Fra Angelico, Annunciation. This theme of the annunciation – where the angel Gabriel tells the Virgin Mary that she is going to give birth to Jesus – is one that Fra Angelico (and many other renaissance artists of course) painted many times (there are four known examples; five if you count the one in cell 3 of the monastery). There is a superb Annunciation panel-painting by Fra Angelico in the Prado Museum in Madrid, whose colours are so magnificent and fresh, it looks like it was painted yesterday. The wall fresco (below) at San Marco is more muted, especially in my photograph, but haunting none-the-less. His Virgin Mary’s are always charmingly humble and devoted; I am not religious but I find these paintings very inspiring, in part for their straightforward qualities of gentleness and humanity.
Annunciation by Fra Angelico, wall fresco at Museum San Marco, Florence
The library at the Museum San Marco is largely empty today, apart from display cabinets holding medieval illuminated manuscripts – one of which was illustrated by Fra Angelico. Illustrating missals (religious texts) was an activity carried out by the monks, and Fra Angelico also produced many miniature paintings in these beautiful books. I am not sure if this page (below) is by Fra Angelico, or one of his fellow monks, but it shows how each page is a work of art.
Museo di San Marco, Illuminated manuscript
The library was full of books in its day, including ancient Greek and Latin texts – whose rediscovery led to the renaissance – and was a place where the friars and other visitors could work and philosophise. The poet prince, Lorenzo de’ Medici – the so-called Godfather of the Renaissance – came here to meet his humanist friends (such as the Renaissance philosopher Pico della Mirandola and classical scholar Agnolo Poliziano).
Museo di San Marco, Library
So in many ways, this place was as much a workshop of ideas, as a workshop of craftmanship and illustration (what we would call painting). To demonstrate the extent of the workmanship and dedication which went into these works, it is worth considering one painting in detail: the so-called Tabernacolo dei Linaioli (shown below).
Museo di San Marco, Pilgrim’s Hospice room with the Tabernacle of the Linaioli on the right
The Tabernacle of the Linaioli, is a marble shrine displaying religious paintings, which was made for the guild of line (=linen) workers in Florence, in 1433-1434. Fra Angelico reportedly received 190 gold florins for doing the painting (I wonder what thet would be worth today?), which took the best part of two years to complete. The overall design of the frame was by another Florentine artist, Lorenzo Ghiberti, who commissioned a third artist, Simone di Nanni da Fiesole, to produce the marble parts. A joint creation.
Fra Angelico, Tabernacle of the Linen-drapers (Virgin and Child) 1433-36, detail of main panel
There are in effect eight separate paintings: two on each side of the doors (shutter panels), three smaller paintings along the bottom (called the predella) and the main central painting of the Madonna and child Jesus. If that were not enough, there are 12 musical angels arranged in an arc around the main panel. No wonder it took nearly two years to complete!
St. Peter Dictating the Gospel to St. Mark, Tabernacle of the Linaioli, Fra Angelico.
The righthand panel of the predella – the Martyrdom of St. Mark – is quite unique for the period. It illustrates a scene where the poor saint is being dragged through the streets of Alexandria in a hailstorm. The white balls of hail are very realistic (below).
Fra Angelico, Tabernacle of the Linen-drapers, Martyrdom of St. Mark 1433-36
There are many other works of art in the Musem San Marco, by both Fra Angelico, and other artists (such as Fra Bartolomeo) which I have not mentioned. This was also the place where Fra Girolamo Savonarola – who inspired the bonfire of the vanities – lived until he was put to death by being burnt at the stake! But that’s another story! Fra Angelico went on from here to paint a number of chapels in Rome for the Popes (Eugenius IV and his successor Nicholas V). These are fabulous works of a somewhat different style, and some I would love to see.
There are dozens of websites featuring this museum, which is a fascinating and enjoyable place to visit. They also permit the taking of photographs (without the use of flash; unfortunately many people do not know how to turn the flash off on their cameras!) which is a wonderful way to sample the art and review and enjoy it back at home. I don’t know how Fra Angelico would have fared in the digital age, but I can’t help thinking that he was such a talented and inspired person, that he would have produced something equally remarkable in our age.
Ray's ramblings 