Reading the SoA has been held up a bit this week. With the arrival of the B&W Photography magazine, and Country Walking. The thing is with the magazines, when they arrive, I like to read them straight away.
Anyhow, that done I was able to get back to the SoA. At the moment, we are still moving through the 16th Century. My eye was particularly drawn to the Cupola of the Parma Cathedral.
I can imagine laying on the floor in the centre of the cupola looking up falling up. When you think this was drawn between 1520 and 1524. It really is an amazing piece of work, and I am only looking at it in a small picture in a book – what must the real scene be like? I must admit, I would love to see it. Here’s a link to a picture;
A little bit further in I encountered Domenikos Theotokopoulos, known as the “el Greco” or “The Greek”. He drew the vision of St John. My first thought was that this was a very different style, bordering on surreal. I was secretly pleased to read a few paragraphs later that el greco’s work, although popular was quite heavily criticised. Bearing in mind that it was drawn in 1609, it tells you just how different it was that it wasn’t until after the First World War that it was recognised. Here’s a link;
http://idlespeculations-terryprest.blogspot.com/2007/02/opening-of-fifth-seal-vision-of-st-john.html
It really is a strange picture. No wonder it so disturbed people of the time.
Bills Posts 