For years and years, perhaps centuries, a large painted crucifix in Florence, Italy, lay in a storage room, neglected, unnoticed, covered with candle smoke and dirt.
I don't know how it finally came to be noticed. But in 2010, after a painstaking, meticulous 7-year restoration process, the crucifix returned to its original location, the Church of Ognissanti (All Saints), for all to see in its beautiful splendor.
For the restorers had uncovered a masterpiece by Giotto (1267-1337), the most important artist of the proto-Renaissance, that time of transition between medieval and Renaissance art. In 1550, over 200 years after Giotto's death, Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), in his "Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects," gave him the title "Father of Painting." While we with our modern eyes may see his paintings as somewhat abstracted, he brought a tender humanity to his work that had been missing in the more severe medieval and Byzantine styles. We can scarcely imagine what a breath of fresh air his works truly were.
And it makes me wonder: is there a part of myself hidden away, neglected, a part of me that needs to be brought out into the light of day and carefully restored? Perhaps a question for us all to ponder
I don't know how it finally came to be noticed. But in 2010, after a painstaking, meticulous 7-year restoration process, the crucifix returned to its original location, the Church of Ognissanti (All Saints), for all to see in its beautiful splendor.
For the restorers had uncovered a masterpiece by Giotto (1267-1337), the most important artist of the proto-Renaissance, that time of transition between medieval and Renaissance art. In 1550, over 200 years after Giotto's death, Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), in his "Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects," gave him the title "Father of Painting." While we with our modern eyes may see his paintings as somewhat abstracted, he brought a tender humanity to his work that had been missing in the more severe medieval and Byzantine styles. We can scarcely imagine what a breath of fresh air his works truly were.
And it makes me wonder: is there a part of myself hidden away, neglected, a part of me that needs to be brought out into the light of day and carefully restored? Perhaps a question for us all to ponder
Photo shot with my iPhone 12 Pro Max and edited in several apps, including Camera+ and Distressed FX.
#ognissanti
#Giotto
#Renaissance
#protorenaissance
#crucifix
#Giotto
#Renaissance
#protorenaissance
#crucifix
RSS Feed