The 14th century artist Giotto di Bondone, considered by critics to be one of the founders of the Italian Renaissance.

The Basilica di Santa Croce is the main Franciscan church in Florence. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce. The site, when first chosen, was in marshland outside the city walls. Legend says that Santa Croce was founded by St Francis himself. It is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Foscolo, Gentile and Rossini. Its most notable features are its sixteen chapels, many of them decorated with frescoes by Giotto and his pupils, and its tombs and cenotaphs.

The Peruzzi Chapel pairs three frescoes from the life of St. John the Baptist (The Annunciation of John’s Birth to his father Zacharias; The Birth and Naming of John; The Feast of Herod) on the left wall with 3 scenes from the life of St. John the Evangelist (The Visions of John on Ephesus; The Raising of Drusiana; The Ascension of John) on the right wall. The choice of scenes has been related to both the patrons and the Franciscans. Because of the serious condition of the frescoes, it is difficult to discuss Giotto’s style in the chapel, although the frescoes show signs of his typical interest in controlled naturalism and psychological penetration.

The Peruzzi Chapel was especially renowned during Renaissance times. Giotto’s compositions influenced Masaccio‘s Cappella Brancacci, and Michelangelo is known to have studied the frescoes.
Giotto’s paintings in the lance-shaped chapel are believed to have had a major influence on Michelangelo painting, who was born nearly 140 years after Giotto died and who painted the Sistine Chapel in the early 1500s.

Thanks to the collaboration between the Opera of Santa Croce, the Gallerie dell’Accademia and the Getty Foundation in Los Angeles comes, during the restoration, the extraordinary discovery about the Giotto’s frescoes of the Peruzzi Chapel in the church of Santa Croce in Florence.

Restorers and researchers began an ambitious project of ‘non-invasive diagnostics’ to ascertain the condition of the 12-metre-high chapel, which Giotto painted in about 1320.

The diagnostic campaign of the fresco in the Peruzzi Chapel has obtained surprising, as fundamental and remarkable results that will change the course of studies on Giotto. Using the investigations with ultra-violet rays (UV) the restorers have rediscovered rich original details such as the light and shade which create the massive volumes and figures that give a realistic presence and almost three-dimensional space.

Giotto di Bondone painted the Peruzzi Chapel towards the end of his life and some experts believe he was striving for a different effect than he achieved with the fresco technique, in which the painting is done while the plaster is still wet.

‘It allowed him to obtain something more rich in terms of colours, of decorations, but over time, dry painting is very fragile,’ Ms. Cecilia Frossini said (Direttore Settore di Restauro delle Pitture Murali, Opificio Pietre Dure). ‘I hope we can find enough funds (estimated approximately 200,000) euros to have a complete ultra-violet mapping of the whole chapel in order to build some kind of virtual software to share all that we have discovered with the general public,’ Ms. Frossini said.

Images: MiBAC

The conference will be held in Valencia, Spain from 4 to 5 May 2012.

Conceptual, material and technical issues surround the production of mural paintings in the 20th  and 21st  centuries.  Graffiti, community mural paintings, the use of materials from industry, the new approaches in the ways in which buildings are conceived, the constant transformation of  public space. All this diversity creates a new scenario that imposes specific considerations regarding the study, documentation, treatment and preservation of such particular artworks.

The aim of this conference is to provide a forum for artists, curators, conservators, and all those involved in the conservation and restoration of modern and contemporary mural paintings to discuss questions such as:

• - Should graffiti murals be considered as enduring work?

• - Can artists and conservators collaborate to make their works Last as long as possible?

• - Who is responsible for the conservation of ‘community murals’?

• - What role do artists play in their preservation? Is repainting a valid alternative?

• -What about the change in context of those murals removed from the location they were created for?

• - Do we know exactly what materials artists use in their production? What are the interactions between the modern materials that form the structure of these works?

• - Why do they often age so quickly?

• - How to preserve outdoor murals subjected to extreme environmental conditions?

The Conference mcmp2012 will focus on the following topics:

 - Materials of contemporary murals:  history, current technology, future improvements (graffitis, ceramic murals, silicate paints, synthetic temperas, acrylic smalts, mural canvases….etc).

• - The question of  “value”  and how it applies to murals

• - Muralism and anthropology: the community’s role

• - Understanding modern and contemporary wall paintings and their conservation needs

• -The philosophy behind conservation of modern and contemporary paintings: minimal intervention vs. non-intervention

• - Case studies of traditional-vs-unorthodox treatments in mural paintings

• - Other topics related.

   

   

   

  Registration

 ‘a natural genius, a great inventor of dramatic tales that unfold in a choreography of vibrant light and shade… an endlessly entertaining performance.’ Roberto Longhi

The exhibition is part of a broader program designed to explore the work of those artists who have helped to make the story of art in our country so unique and grandiose, ranging from Botticelli to Antonello da Messina, from Bellini to Caravaggio and, more recently, to Lorenzo Lotto and Filippino Lippi. 

This exhibition, focusing on the three main themes that distinguish Tintoretto’s work: religion, mythology and portraiture, is strictly monographic and will be divided into sections comprising a handful of carefully selected and unquestioned masterpieces, beginning and ending with his two self-portraits of himself as a young man, from the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, and as an old man, from the Louvre. 

The first section, on the first floor of the Scuderie, will be devoted to religious themes (which played such a major role in Tintoretto’s artistic output), opening with one of his first acknowledged works, Jesus Among the Doctors(1542) lent by the Milan Cathedral’s Diocesan Museum, and ending with the The Deposition (1594) from the Monastry of San Giorgio Maggiore, possibly the last work in which it is possible to identify the hand of the master. In between, the exhibition will include such important works as the Madonna of the Treasurers and the Stealing of the Dead Body of St. Mark , both from the Gallerie dell’Accademia, the St Mary of Egypt and the St Mary Magdalen , from the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, and the unprecedented and spectacular juxtaposition of the Last Supper from the Venetian church of San Trovaso and another version of the same subject painted five years later, from the church of San Polo, to celebrate one of the Scuole del Sacramento’s favorite themes. 

The second floor will house the other two sections of the exhibition, starting with the section devoted to portraits. Even though he was in competition with Titian, his contemporaries yet recognized his “utterly exquisite eye in portraiture”. Some of his most famous portraits from leading international collections will be on display in this section.

During the exhibition, numerous activities and workshops for kids and families are planned. For further information, please contact: didattica.sdq@palaexpo.it

Tintoretto, Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome
25 February 2011 - 10 June 2012

Full price € 10.00
Reduced price € 8.50

One price ticket for Scuderie del Quirinale and Palazzo delle Esposizioni
Full price € 18.00
Reduced price € 15.00
Schools € 6.00
Tickets are valid for 3 days from date of emission
Palazzo delle Esposizioni is closed on Monday
For information about Palazzo delle Esposizioni exhibitions: www.palazzoesposizioni.it

ARTE FIERA BOLOGNA. From January 27 to 30, 2012 the 36th edition of Bologna Art First.

Since 1974 the Arte Fiera has been presenting arists, such us Ben Brown, Gavin Turk, Miguel Barcelò, Lucio Fontana, Andy Wharol, Kounellis, Calzolari, Pistoletto, Anish Kapoor and many others. This year, The curatorial project On the Spot challenges several premises, investigating whether an exhibition containing works on display at an art fair can be conceptualized, selected, exhibited and inaugurated in only one day; and whether concepts like ‘spectator participation’ and ‘live experience’ can be put into practice at an art fair.

The one-day projects will be exhibited at the curator’s place in hall 22 booth B2 at ArteFiera between the 27 and 29 January 2012.

Artists, critics, museum directors, curators and players on the Italian and international art scene will animate a series of meetings, events and presentations of publications and projects. Thanks to the collaboration of gallery and publisher exhibitors at Arte Fiera Art First, the Art Café is a unique opportunity to meet a range of people from the art world.

DAILY PROGRAMME of this 36th edition of Arte Fiera Art First
(Updated to January 17)

27 January 2012
12,00 a.m. – 13,00 p.m.
Award of the Segno D’Oro prize to the artist Nunzio
Discussant: Lucia Spadano.
Event organised by rivista Segno.

1,15 p.m. – 2,15 p.m.
Presentation of the book “Change the colour!” by BridA/Sendi Mango, Jurij Pavlica, Tom Kerševan, edited by Božidar Zrinski, published by The International Centre of Graphic Arts of Ljubljana (MGLC).
Discussants: BridA (Sendi Mango, Jurij Pavlica) and Božidar Zrinski.
Event organized by Traffic Gallery.

2,30 p.m. – 3,30 p.m.
Presentation of the project “Vontobel per l’arte”.
Discussants: Pietro Bellasi, Bruno Corà, Francesco Tarabini Castellani and Stefano Sbarbaro.
Also present Dim Sampaio and Eduard Winklhofer, artists involved in the project.
Event organized by Vontobel Europe SA Milan Branch.

4,00 p.m. – 5,00 p.m.
Presentation of the book “Davide Nido e Robert Pan | Trame riflesse” edited by Alberto Mattia Martini.
Discussants: Davide Nido, Robert Pan, Alberto Mattia Martini. Event organized by Bonelli ArteContemporanea, Mantua.

5,30 p.m. – 6,30 p.m.
“Conversazioni intorno al libro”: presentation of books “Athos Ongaro”, “Forme implicite”, “Opus Alchymicum”; Allemandi Editore.
Discussants: Athos Ongaro and Marco Senaldi, Mirta Carroli and Maria Luisa Vezzali, Lolita Timofeeva; moderator: Sandro Parmiggiani.
Event organized by Allemandi Editore.

28 January 2012
12,00 a.m. – 1,00 p.m.
Presentation of the book “Le piccole provinciali di M. de P.” by Fabio Mauri, Editore Il Canneto.
Discussants: Achille Mauri, Giacomo Marramao, Giambattista D’Aste. Event organized by Galleria Michela Rizzo.

1,15 p.m. – 2,15 p.m.
Presentation of the book “Pelle di donna. Identità e bellezza tra arte e scienza”, edited by Martina Mazzotta and Pietro Bellasi, Edizioni Gabriele Mazzotta.
Discussants: Pietro Bellasi, Martina Mazzotta, Fulvio Simoni. Event organized by Edizioni Gabriele Mazzotta.

2,30 p.m. – 3,30 p.m.
Presentation of the book “La neve dentro”, by Maurizio Padovano, illustrations by William Mark Zanghi, Drago Edizioni.
Discussants: Alberto Zanchetta, Marco Cingolani, William Mark Zanghi.
Event organized by Drago Edizioni.

4,00 p.m. – 5,00 p.m.
Presentation of the book “Gastone Novelli. Catalogo generale 1. Pittura e scultura”, edited by Paola Bonani, Marco Rinaldi, Alessandra Tiddia; sponsored by the Museum of Contemporary and Modern Art of Trent and Rovereto in collaboration with the Gastone Novelli Archive; Silvana Editoriale.
Discussants: Walter Guadagnini, Paola Bonani, Marco Rinaldi, Alessandra Tiddia.
Event organized by Galleria dello Scudo.

5,30 p.m. – 6,30 p.m.
Presentation of the book “Pennellate all’arte. Incontri con artisti dal 1930″, by Corrado Levi, Corraini Edizioni.
Discussants: Corrado Levi, Stefano Arienti, Beppe Finessi.
Event organized by Galleria Corraini.

29 January 2012
12,00 p.m. – 1,00 p.m.
Presentation of the book “New Italian Art” by Ludovico Pratesi, Castelvecchi Editore.
Discussants: Ludovico Pratesi, Patrizia Sandretto, Giovanni Ozzola, Andrea Bruciati, Giovanni Gasparini.
Event organized in collaboration with Artefiera.

1,15 p.m. – 2,15 p.m.
Presentation of the book “Advertising” by Pio Monti, Giancarlo Politi Editore.
Discussants: Pio Monti and Giancarlo Politi.
Event organized by Galleria Pio Monti.

2,30 p.m. – 3,30 p.m.
Presentaztion of “Tra arte e musica: l’esperienza del PAV Progetto Arti Visive di Time in Jazz” and the catalogue of “Terra”, published by Time in Jazz.
Discussants: Paolo Fresu, Giannella Demuro, Marco Senaldi.
Event organized by Galleria Pack Milano, Galleria Fumagalli Bergamo, The Gallery Apart Roma.

4,00 p.m. – 5,00 p.m.
Presentation of the book “Art&Kunst. Ricerca artistica e territorio”, edited by Valerio Dehò, Campanotto Editore in collaboration with Kunst Merano/Merano Arte.
Discussants: Valerio Dehò, Marcello Fera and Herta Torggler.
Event organized by the Goethe and Antonella Cattani Contemporanea galleries, Bolzano.

5,30 p.m. – 6,30 p.m.
Presentation of the catalogue “Concetto Pozzati. Archivio Generale IV Tomo”, edited by Fondazione Concetto Pozzati.
Discussants: Concetto Pozzati and Simonetta Lux. Presentation of the book “Premio Maretti – Giuseppe Stampone” edited by Eugenio Viola.
Discussants: Giuseppe Stampone and Eugenio Viola. Events organized by Maretti editore.

 ‘Heritage Under Pressure – Perspectives of HUL’.

Herewith we are pleased to send you the letter of invitation to the VII Annual Meeting by Prof. Wilfried Lipp (President of the Committee) and Prof. Boguslaw Szmygin (Secretary) and the Call for Abstract (deadline for presentation of the abstract is January 20^th 2012) to all the Members of the:

- ICOMOS International Scientific Committee for Theory and Philosophy of Conservation and Restoration (TheoPhilos)

- ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Historic Towns and Villages (CIVVIH)

- ICOMOS National and International Scientific Committees

- To all the international contacts of the Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation® -Life Beyond Tourism®

The Baku conference will be held in cooperation with CIVVIH and should deal with questions treating the urban development of historic cities – especially World Heritage Cities –, against the background of the latest UNESCO Recommendation on Historic Urban Landscapes. The meeting is planned to be held in two sessions on two full working days. Session I will be in the responsibility of the Theory Committee, and will be dedicated – sub specie Historic Urban Landscape – to the theoretical issues of this group of themes. CIVVIH will be responsible for Session II which will – by using case studies – shine a light on the current situation and practice. The HUL Recommendation is in a certain sense the continuation of the ever so often critically perceived Vienna Memorandum, which is dedicated to the urban development in historic context under the paradigm of economic pressure. The HUL paper embraces much wider perspectives – but without giving precise directives for the practice of conservation and preservation. Without any doubt it is a positive aspect that urban space and surroundings are taken to the horizon of heritage. The Recommendation provides a ‘frame’ of actions, opens a wide fan of possible and necessary relations. This is on the one hand a chance to discover new dimensions and values of historic urban areas, on the other it contains the threat of getting lost in the ‘peripheries’ of urban heritage, as, for example, in social or ethnical issues. In practice, however, the daily new ‘burning problems’ we are confronted with require fast decisions. Some related keywords are: increasing verticalisation – high risers – in the core areas of historic cities, sometimes also in satellite suburbs. Densification. Horizontalisation in the sense of urban sprawl. Skyline. Suburbanisation. Commercialisation. Advertising. Façadism. Gutting. Virtuality. Reconstruction. City above the city. Roof space alterations. Illumination (at night).In addition to that we experience other factors, like social change, immigration, movement, fluctuation, and disembedding; change of use and economic pressure; political and legal aspects. And all that in the focus of the conservational values (i.e. origin, authenticity and visual integrity), as well as the basic questions of mankind and society (like identity and values). This should be enough input to encourage potential contributions. A core issue all the single topics should revolve around will be: which tools are needed in order to rise to the stated challenges. Is it appropriate to adopt a ‘liberal’ course – as often called for by politicians and stakeholders, and to some extent within our own organization; or do we need a ‘reinforcement’ of the established foundations of the theory and practice of conservation and preservation, an offensive and of ‘understanding’ and conveyance? 

A special thank for the information to Simone Giometti

Secretary General Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco® -Life Beyond Tourism®

Institutional Member of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee Theory and Philosophy of Conservation and Restoration 

Michelangelo Merisi from Caravaggio (a small town in Lombardy) was in Rome from about 1595 to about 1695 and spent his first years working in the studio of Cavalier d’Arpino as a painter of still life.

The exhibition examines what many have described as a crucial period in Italian painting, starting as the sixteenth century drew to a close and Rome was still reeling from the trauma inflicted by the Lutheran schism, and developing, with ever-increasing vigour, through the reigns of four important Popes: Clemente VIII Aldobrandini, Paolo V Borghese, Gregorio XV Ludovisi, Urbano VIII Barberini.

The direct, no-holds-barred clash between two of Italian painting’s giants left its mark on the first years, as Annibale Carracci from Bologna, the unquestioned leader of classicist painting, fought it out with Lombardy’s Caravaggio, creator of an evocative new representation of reality that truly deserves the epithet of revolutionary. The two artists died at a distance of almost precisely one year from one another: Carracci on 15 July 1609, Caravaggio on 18 July 1610.

In the next two decades, the stimulating foundations laid down by the two maestros were built on and developed, both by those who adhered to Caravaggio’s dramatic naturalism and by the classicist painters of Bologna who had followed Carracci to the Papal capital.
These two approaches dominated the art scene in Romein the second decade, as they were constantly being amended and enriched not only by frequent reciprocal influences and cross-fertilisation, but also by intense exchanges with the numerous painters from Tuscany, Emilia, Genoa, Lombardy and above all from abroad (from France, the Low Countries and Spain) who lived and worked in Rome at that time.

where: Rome, Palazzo Venezia -Via del Plebiscito,118

when: until 5th February 2012

Opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday, from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm 

Closing hours: Last admission before 6.00 p.m. Closed on Mondays

Images: “Rome at the time of Caravaggio’s” Rome, Palazzo Venezia November 11, 2011 – February 5, 2012. 

The aim of the program is to improve capacity in the region for the better conservation, maintenance, and presentation of mosaics. The program addresses both in situ mosaics as well as lifted mosaics in museums and archaeological storage.

MOSAIKON will strengthen the network of professionals and promote the dissemination of information on this subject. It will provide training to a variety of actors involved in the conservation, maintenance, and restoration of mosaics, and the management of archaeological sites and museums with mosaics. In parallel, it will also work with national and international bodies to provide a more favorable legislative, regulatory, and economic environment for the conservation of mosaics in the Mediterranean.

Fifteen site managers from Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, and Tunisia took part in the three-week workshop at the site of Tyre, Lebanon. Together with an international group of instructors, the participants considered the significance of mosaics on archaeological sites and strategies for their management and conservation. Guided by the course instructors, participants are currently applying knowledge gained during the Tyre workshop to projects at their own sites. In 2011, workshop participants and instructors will reconvene for a follow-up meeting

The Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), the Getty Foundation, ICCROM, and the International Committee for the Conservation of Mosaics (ICCM) are pleased to offer you the MOSAIKON e-Bulletin, a new e-newsletter published twice a year by the partners of MOSAIKON to keep conservation professionals and interested individuals up to date with MOSAIKON programs and activities.

View MOSAIKON e-Bulletin in Arabic.

In 2012, partners will define orientations of follow-up activities.

Images: Getty

Motto:

“For peace in the world, among young people of different countries, through culture. Meeting, getting acquainted, understanding each other to develop friendship among peoples” .

Being fully conscious that the cultural and artistic heritage possesses itself a high capacity for transmitting the values of interpersonal and intercultural exchange, reciprocal awareness and understanding, the Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation has long been committed to a program of cultural initiatives at its safeguarding and appreciation.

Thus the Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation intend by means of their program to attract the enthusiasm and consensus and, if possible, the impassioned involvement of all those who see in art and architecture non only universal expression of beauty and cultural identity, but also a powerful instrument with which to stimulate interpersonal and intercultural meetings, reciprocal awareness and understanding, and thus friendship between peoples; not solely an effort aimed at the protection of a patrimony which belongs to all humanity, but an investment for world peace; as the Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation’s motto:

“discovering the past together – working to build a shared future”

A special attention is given to students coming from Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Asia and Far East, because due to different reasons (historical, political or geographical) these countries have recently shown a great interest towards a stronger integration with western countries and their young generations just embody this growing interest.

Here enclosed you can find some of the main features of the activity of Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation, as well as the most important results of its partnership with Vivahotels “Art in our HeArt”.

A brief chart explaining the activity of the Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation

 Get more information about the Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation®

MoMA brought Rivera to New York six weeks before the exhibition’s opening and gave him studio space within the Museum, a strategy intended to solve the problem of how to present the work of this famous muralist when murals were by definition made and fixed on site. Working around the clock with two assistants, Rivera produced five “portable murals” -large blocks of frescoed plaster, slaked lime, and wood that feature bold images drawn from Mexican subject matter and address themes of revolution and class inequity.

After the opening, to great publicity, Rivera made three more murals, taking on contemporary New York subjects through monumental images of the city during the Great Depression. The story of this extraordinary commission elucidates Rivera’s pivotal role in shaping debates about the social and political value of public art during a period of economic crisis.

This exhibition (MOMA, The Museum of Modern Art November 13, 2011–May 14, 2012) will bring together key works made for Rivera’s 1931 exhibition, presenting them at MoMA for the first time in nearly 80 years. 

Of all the panels Rivera made for The Museum of Modern Art, Indian Warriorreaches back farthest into Mexican history, to the Spanish Conquest of the early 16th century. An Aztec warrior wearing the costume of a jaguar stabs an armored conquistador in the throat with a stone knife. The Spaniard’s steel blade -an emblem of European claims to superiority – lies broken nearby. Jaguar knights, members of an elite Aztec military order, were known for their fighting prowess; according to legend, their terrifying costumes enabled them to possess the power of the animal in battle. 

Emiliano Zapata, a champion of agrarian reform and a key protagonist in the Mexican Revolution, here leads a band of peasant rebels armed with makeshift weapons, including farming tools. With the bridle of a majestic white horse in his hand, Zapata stands triumphantly beside the dead body of a hacienda owner. 

Though Mexican and U.S. newspapers regularly vilified the revolutionary leader as a treacherous bandit, Rivera immortalized Zapata as a hero and glorified the victory of the Revolution in an image of violent but just vengeance.

Set on a sugar plantation, this portable mural introduces the tensions over labor, race, and economic inequity that simmered in Mexico after the Revolution. In the foreground, an Indian woman, with the traditional braids and white clothes of a peasant, cuts papayas from a tree while her children collect the fruit in reed baskets. Behind them, dark-skinned men with bowed heads gather bunches of sugar cane. 

Images: MoMA

The unique early Islamic murals on the interior are among the most important surviving from that period. This season saw the conservation of the exterior-including the repointing and consolidation of walls damaged by floods in 1994 and the dome and barrel vaults of the caldarium-as well as work to clean and stabilize the murals, many of which have been obscured for decades. 

Qusayr ‘Amra, located 85 km to the east of Amman, is a small residence discovered by the Czech traveler Alois Musil in 1898. It dates to the Umayyad period and is thought to have been built during the reign of Caliph Walid II (743-744 AD). Its plan consists of a rectangular audience hall, a bath complex, and hydraulic structures. The main hall has three rooms along its south side.

The baths are located on the east side of the main hall and are connected to a water tank. Qusayr ‘Amra was placed on the World Heritage List in 1985, due to its extensive cycle of mural paintings, which are unique and represent hunting and dancing scenes , as well as craftsmen at work. The calidarium ceiling illustrates constellations and zodiac signs and is the earliest surviving example of representations of heaven on a hemispherical surface. The wall paintings represent the transition between Byzantine culture and the new Islamic era. The painting that represents the “six kings” is perhaps the most famous, depicting the Umayyad ruler with the Byzantine emperor, the Sassanian King, the emperor of China , the Visigothic king of Spain, and the king of Abyssinia.

World Monuments Fund  (WMF) is the leading independent organization dedicated to saving the world’s most treasured places.

Images: WMF