ALEKSANDRA JANISZEWSKA-CARDONE
The image of Virgin and Child created by Jean Fouquet is rather unusual one. The first thing that catches the eye is the exposed, snow-white Madonna’s breast, so perfectly round that it is almost unreal. In contrast to other images of this type – Madonna lactans, that means the nursing one – Child seems to…
This is a roundel – a small round-shaped stained glass. Unlike a typical one, consisting of many colored pieces of glass connected by a lead frame, this one is painted in two colors on a transparent surface. Its size depended on the technical capabilities of the glazier – making a smooth, uniform round pane of…
Today, not much from me. I wanted to share the words of a poet, who described his perceiving of the paintings of the old masters. Close to mine. As an illustration, I am showing the Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, currently considered a repetition of Pieter Bruegel’s composition. Which means that however there is…
Whatever you would like to write about Józef Mehoffer’s “Strange Garden”, everything ends with a question about a huge dragonfly filling the upper part of the composition. It is disturbing not only because of the large size, but also the reason why it was painted. What is it actually? Let’s start from the beginning. The…
Looking at the “The Triumph of Death” by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, I wonder what exactly is this picture about. The triumph of death as a subject functioned in art from the fourteenth century and was most often presented in the form of a triumphal procession, in which death proved its invincible power. In its…
In the common imagination, the person of Mary Magdalene does not have too flattering connotations. As saint, she is a patron of the religious orders for “fallen women” who sought redemption for their sins. To this day, the creators of popular culture most often use her character as the personification of a converted harlot who…
With great joy I took up the challenge set by one of the Readers and took a fresh look at the painting which I pass almost every day. Willem Claesz. Heda’s “Dessert” is for me one of those works that I respect, but with some indifference. However, I know that others are fascinated by it…
Until recently that painting by Sandro Botticelli has been for me a puzzle difficult to solve. The title, “Calumny of Apelles”, clearly indicates the allegorical meaning of the composition. Where, however, is the personification of the title Calumny? Until now, it seemed to me that she was the woman dressed in black. Ugly, old, looking…
Giotto di Bondone is considered to be a reformer of art, the one who once again has introduced in painting the idea of imitating nature. He was active at the very beginning of the thirteenth century, in the Middle Ages. However, his works are composed according to the rules that will develop in the Renaissance…
When summer arrives, the scent of warm grass rises in the air and lushy green leaves sway in the wind, I like to look at Friedrich’s paintings. They offer me what I am looking for in contact with nature. Silence, rest and unhurried contemplation of the world. Everything that the city refuses me on hot…