There are few buildings in Florence more enchanting than the former Dominican monastery of San Marco. It was Cosimo Medici, son of Giovanni di Bicci de Medici, who in 1433 commissioned his favourite architect, Michelozzo, to complete the on-going reconstruction San Marco, where Cosimo had installed a group of reformed Dominicans whose protector and financial supporter he became. Within a few years Michelozzo had finished the project which was immediately praised for its practical layout and design, with two large cloisters and two smaller ones, kitchen gardens and orchards, a hospice, two refectories, a chapter hall and a church. On the first floor Michelozzo designed huge dormitories and a large, richly-stocked library - the first in the world to be open to all scholars. Today this former monastery serves as a museum and library, but it still maintains the unique combination of extreme sobriety and sophistication of the original monastery. The combination of pale plaster on the walls of the cloisters and the library, the arches spanning simple ionic columns and the simplicity of line, create a feeling of space and light that accords with the former spiritual role of the building, and which is matched only by Fra Angelico's series of emotive frescoes which decorate the interiors. This beautiful and much needed book, written by the former Deputy Director of the San Marco Museum and illustrated with over 120 newly-commissioned colour photographs, provides a unique insight into the history, art and architecture of this exquisite building. The chapters of the book are arranged according to the different rooms within the monastery, starting with the ground floor chambers before covering the dormitories and library upstairs. Each chapter begins with a brief introduction to the art and architecture, accompanied by overall shots of the larger rooms, followed by illustrations of selected highlights described in detail by means of extended captions. There are individual chapters on the cells, including Savonarola's, and on the library. The series of frescoes by Fra Angelico are discussed within the context of the various rooms of the building. Finally, floor plans are included to help orientate the visitor and reader.

San Marco Florence: The Museum and Its Art

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Damiani, Giovanna

Antiques & Collectibles

Scala Books

English summary: A multidisciplinary, pioneering study of the paintings and works of Giovanni Fattori. Fattori and his contemporaries added new materials to traditional artistic techniques, escaping the academic environment for the open air. This vast and articulate study brings new light on this important artistic movement from the turn of the previous century. Italian text. Italian description: È un volume multidisciplinare sulla pittura di Giovanni Fattori. Grazie al contributo di numerosi esperti scientifici, istituti e centri di ricerca, il lavoro raggiunge un traguardo pionieristico nel campo dell'indagine conoscitiva di un particolare gruppo di opere d'arte finalizzata alla conservazione e al restauro. Con la pittura di Fattori (e dei suoi contemporanei) si affacciarono all'universo delle tecniche artistiche tradizionali materiali nuovi dai comportamenti non noti né prevedibili: dai supporti in sottili legni esotici cavati dalle celebri scatole di sigari ai pigmenti che si arricchivano di prodotti chimici di sintesi. Alle procedure tradizionali di preparazione delle tavole e tele, pur note e tramandate in ambito accademico, si venivano affiancando metodi irrituali e sperimentali, più adatti a una pittura praticata en plein air . Le conoscenze disponibili su un nucleo selezionato e significativo di dipinti fattoriani diventano enormemente più vaste e articolate, grazie a questo lavoro d'indagine che ha valore esemplare anche in vista di possibili e auspicabili estensioni dello stesso approccio ad altri esponenti del movimento macchiaiolo e più in generale ad altri artisti otto-novecenteschi, la cui carica innovativa si avvaleva sì di pensieri compositivi inediti e di stesure affrancate da schemi secolari, ma non meno di materiali e metodi stimolanti e ispiratori, mai prima usati.

Con la matita e col pennello. Giovanni Fattori: Indagini e restauri dei dipinti della Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Palazzo Pitti (Italian Edition)

Arts & Photography

Vervat, Muriel

History & Criticism

Edizioni Polistampa

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