Cathy's Art Diary

Disappointing online lecture from the National Gallery on Giotto’s St Francis frescos in the church at Assisi. Artists and art historian, Aliki Braine, guided us though the technique of fresco and the narrative of the major fresco in the upper church as a coda to the National Gallery’s current St Francis exhibition which, of course, couldn’t include the frescos. It is always wonderful to look at this cycle again and Braine had beautiful illustrations but I would have liked a bit less on the technique, which I have studied quite often, and more on the iconography of the frescos themselves, why they were so groundbreaking and how they helped to establish the fame and importance of Francis.

Fascinating online lecture from Churches Conservation Trust on the Giotto’s Last Judgement in the Scrovegni Chapel. Richard Stemp, took us through the iconography of the fresco and how it fits within the detailed scheme of the whole chapel. He also compared to other Italian Last Judgements. This was a talk to mark advent and Richard pointed out that this was because sermons were preached in advent to mark the Four Last Things which are death, judgement, heaven and hell. I have heard Richard talk about the chapel a few times but I always learn something new about it and love his witty eye for details. This time I realised some of the damned are entering hell by walking along the top of the door arch and there are angels at the top rolling up the earth and sky as this is the end of the world.    

Fascinating online lecture from Birkbeck College looking at the symbolism of the vaults in the lower church of St Francis in Assisi. John Renner took us though the four faults over St Francis’s tomb possibly by Giotto linking their allegorical narrative with the theology of the Franciscan order at the time. He took us though the imagery in some detail and pointed out that the three vaults on the vows of the order all followed the same pictorial template. I love this sort of detailed analysis of images and wish we had had longer on them. Looking again as I write this I find myself looking at sections he didn’t describe and wondering what they mean. Oh dear, another place to add to the post lockdown list!

Fabulous three week online course from a new online course provided ARTscapes looking at the history and iconography of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua by Giotto. Richard Stemp lead this course bringing his dry wit to it but backed up with a deep and scholarly knowledge of the subject. In week one we looked at the construction of the chapel and it’s possible use followed by looking at the Great Last Judgement and the pictures of the virtues and vices in the lower register of the church. He had lovely illustrations showing interesting and quirky details. Week 2 we went through the frescos of the life of the Virgin and her parents up to the Massacre of the Innocents. I love the attention to detail in telling the stories. Week 3 was the Mission, Passion and afterlife of Christ followed by a discussion of the added depth of meaning when you look at how the pictures are paired up both above and below each other and across the church as well as the how the Old Testament vignettes betwe...