Pliny the Elder told the story of two rival painters, Zeuxis and Parrhasius, who were competing to see who could produce the most realistic painting. The story goes that Zeuxis had painted a picture of grapes so realistically, that birds were deceived enough to peck at the fruit. After Parrhasius finished his painting, he invited Zeuxis to his studio. Zeuxis tried to lift the curtain from the panel to see the painting underneath. To his surprise, the panel was a painting of a curtain. Zeuxis conceded that Parrhasius was a better painter, whereas he had deceived only birds, Parrhasius had…
“Laziness perishes in life but it is immortal in Art ” Leonardo da Vincci
While walking this morning around the beautiful rooms of the Thyssen Museum I was wondering ‘Is there in Art history more beautiful period than the Italian Quattrocento?’ It is a pity not to be now contemplating the frescoes of The visitation by Ghirlandaio in Santa Maria Novella Church at Florence. But at least I´m here just in front of this beautiful lady portrait: Her name was Giovanna and belonged to one of the most powerful families of Florence in the Quattrocento. In 1486 she married Lorenzo Tornabuoni, a leading nobleman of the Court of Lorenzo the Magnificent. When she died,…
