tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post6520041921181022939..comments2024-03-28T07:52:07.647-04:00Comments on venezia blog: Handle with Care: Titian's Masterpiece Finally Returns to I GesuitiSteven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-24809366115309241492014-01-12T10:45:03.335-05:002014-01-12T10:45:03.335-05:00I'll have to go back and click to see more pic...I'll have to go back and click to see more pics, as I'd like to. <br /><br />There's no doubt in my mind that given the dearth of books written in Russian on Venice your project makes a lot of sense and is far from superfluous. And one might argue that the best books always tend to be "private projects"--rather than the much more common "commercial pitches" of today. Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-64937550451470150972014-01-05T13:51:07.158-05:002014-01-05T13:51:07.158-05:00There are dozens of photos in almost every post - ...There are dozens of photos in almost every post - accessible by clicking Дальше... I'm not sure it's evident to the foreign visitors.Also I doubt there are any visitors. I've started this blog as a storage for my Venice-themed posts from LiveJournal. <br /><br />I plan to write a book in Russian - because mostly we have just the translations of books about Venice that are originally in English (not in Italian, only Tiziano Scarpa is translated from Italian). Of course there is a question does anyone need the 100 001st book about Venice in any language, but it's my private project, a kind of legacy.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05288500845815423152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-11969678587237314682014-01-05T12:19:07.697-05:002014-01-05T12:19:07.697-05:00I haven't tried out any translation program on...I haven't tried out any translation program on your blog posts yet--I'm a little dubious about how worthwhile that would be (to just get a garbled version of what you wrote)--but I like the pics so far, and the "New Arrivals" one in particular has given me some things to check out. Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-64739509062277985602013-12-28T08:38:39.731-05:002013-12-28T08:38:39.731-05:00http://venices101st.blogspot.ru/
I'm still tr...http://venices101st.blogspot.ru/<br /><br />I'm still trying to master it's interface in order to add the links to the friendly blogs, etc. To make the first page more full.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05288500845815423152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-51338571403854527212013-12-28T06:03:59.677-05:002013-12-28T06:03:59.677-05:00But, in answer to your questions: I arrived too la...But, in answer to your questions: I arrived too late to see the painting unboxed. The first view I had of the procedure was the image at the top of this post, with one man holding the rope and others positioning it in its niche. Though I did not specifically notice them doing this, I believe the pulley at the top of the niche (along with its rope) was removed once they'd placed the painting upon the blocks of wood (you can see in the second photo) just in front of, and a little below, the niche itself. Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-72300094411034663092013-12-28T05:57:26.388-05:002013-12-28T05:57:26.388-05:00I have to admit, Auvraisien, that I am also not a ...I have to admit, Auvraisien, that I am also not a big fan of the green and white marble interior of that church. It certainly qualifies as a curiosity, and perhaps something to see, but I don't find it appealing. Perhaps fortunately for those who really dislike the church's interior, the Titian is located right inside the front door, and the rest of the church could, if one wanted, be easily avoided. (Though I am fond of one life-sized marble bearded figure high on a wall to the right of the main altar who lies on his side on his tomb, his head propped upon one hand, as if just awakened--or just being lulled into sleep by a television not visible to us. For me at least it somehow lacks the gravitas of this traditional tomb motif, which makes it all the more likeable.)<br /><br />I envy the fact that you'll be able to compare, from 1st-hand experience, the Tititan painting as you saw it and remember it before to how it is now! <br /><br /><br /> Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-4821903798495194142013-12-28T05:14:49.300-05:002013-12-28T05:14:49.300-05:00I'll have to re-visit Basaiti's painting, ...I'll have to re-visit Basaiti's painting, Sasha, and really look. I've never spent much time in San Pietro for some reason, though it's not far from where I live. What is the address of your blog?Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-42318610467731518132013-12-22T20:29:48.156-05:002013-12-22T20:29:48.156-05:00Thank you for these nice photos. I remember having...Thank you for these nice photos. I remember having seen this painting some years ago. It was really very dark, with only some visible colored patches (red/yellow for the fire, yellow/white for the Saint's body) on an entire brown/black background with confused shapes and figures. However the composition looked clearly expressive and tragic. The restoration seems to be a wonderful success, and it’s a new painting we shall see. Certainly one of the greatest by Titian becoming older. <br />Sig. Nonloso, have you some photos of the beginning of the maneuver, when the painting left its travel package and begun to be raised. It was certainly impressive. Your first photo shows only the end of this raising maneuver, but how did the team do before? And what did the rope used to raise it become - the man on the left holds this rope I suppose? Was it hidden behind the painting or somewhere else?<br />I Gesuiti is a church out of the classical tours and a bit far from the Piazza San Marco and Rialto. So it is not unforeseen not to see a lot of people visiting it and admiring the Titian’s painting. Furthermore, its green and white marble decoration is for some people wonderful, but for others gives an impression of heaviness which can discourage them to visit it. My twenty year old son would say “too much” in english at the first glance and will not enter. For me, this decoration tends to smother everything around, may be also a masterpiece if one is not an attentive visitor. It looks probably very strange, a bit “too much”, besides this Titian’s tragic painting.<br />Auvraisiennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-73923038696887650842013-12-17T14:46:37.995-05:002013-12-17T14:46:37.995-05:00Basaiti's painting in San Pietro di Castello (...Basaiti's painting in San Pietro di Castello (St Peter Enthroned and Four Saints) is obviously a work of a minor master, and the more unkind phrasing comes to mind: second rate. The lower and upper halves are unbalanced, and the compositional imperfection is not of the endearing kind. I feel such paintings main merit is in providing a background of mediocrity against which a greater art looks even more astonishing.<br /><br />"Titian" reads fine, if you'd like to leaf trough the book it's electronic version is here: http://yadi.sk/d/AQL63jfdEVZc6 - maybe you'll want this tome for your library.<br /><br />I've started a Venetian blog just couple days ago. Lots of pictures and photos but the texts are mostly in Russian.<br /><br />Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05288500845815423152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-34934339848313517642013-12-17T13:55:56.654-05:002013-12-17T13:55:56.654-05:00Having re-visited the painting yesterday, Laura, i...Having re-visited the painting yesterday, Laura, it was easy to see how Titian's self-portrait could have been overlooked; it's wedged into such an odd small dark position in the painting that it wouldn't take much to obscure it entirely. <br /><br />As for handling those paintings, I suppose I could have declined, but yet along with the anxiety there was a certain excitement in handling such paintings: the Dubuffet was the best of his I've ever seen (not that I've seen so many of his, nor that I'm an expert, but it was pretty great).Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-18180352907072324632013-12-17T13:51:05.475-05:002013-12-17T13:51:05.475-05:00I felt quite lucky, Susie. I stopped in the other ...I felt quite lucky, Susie. I stopped in the other day and got to appreciate it in its fully installed state. For some reason I imagined there would be people looking at it, but even the few people who came into the church seemed to blow past it without paying any attention. Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-73798173405190088092013-12-17T13:48:46.829-05:002013-12-17T13:48:46.829-05:00Well, Sasha, he lived a long time so I guess a fat...Well, Sasha, he lived a long time so I guess a fat bio is unavoidable; I'll be interested to find out if you like it. Do you like the work of Marco Basaiti? He has Gio Bellini-esque piece in San Pietro di Castello that no one seems to pay much attention to, as far as I've seen. Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-65860413473784003002013-12-16T12:16:48.679-05:002013-12-16T12:16:48.679-05:00I am looking forward to seeing this painting, happ...I am looking forward to seeing this painting, happily re-installed in it's intended spot. How fantastic that you were able to witness this!Susie Lhttp://www.marklindsayart.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-72932020866206077582013-12-14T10:56:08.672-05:002013-12-14T10:56:08.672-05:00As it is common when you live surrounded by incred...As it is common when you live surrounded by incredible art pieces and stop noticing them, I don't remember seeing this painting before. Now, thanks to you, I will have to go and admire it. Since moving away from Venice I have developed tourist eyes and learned to appreciate the beauty like never before. Titian is always a pleasure to admire, and I can't wait to look at his self portrait.<br /><br />Your former boss should have benefited from some sort of meditation or other forms or relaxation, I wonder what the stress did to his body. Or maybe that was his way of getting the tension out, hard to imagine though to ask regular folks to handle his art pieces, I am surprised you didn't decline for fear of damaging them, or maybe you didn't have a choice.Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15305773287880023217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-23983275260554012902013-12-13T07:06:47.674-05:002013-12-13T07:06:47.674-05:00Just a few days ago, of course. Typos happen to me...Just a few days ago, of course. Typos happen to me all the time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-55136052572459457432013-12-13T07:04:52.492-05:002013-12-13T07:04:52.492-05:00Just I few days ago I've bought the new Titian...Just I few days ago I've bought the new Titian's biography - a really huge hardcover.<br /><br />http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jul/06/titian-his-life-sheila-hale-review<br /><br />Not my favorite Venetian painter (I prefer Bellinis, Carpaccio, even Mansuetti and Vivarinis) but there must be some interesting details, some traces of the epoque.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com