“WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT PAINTING CEILINGS?” WAS THE QUESTION THAT INSPIRED THIS PROJECT. A SMALL, UNPAINTED SPACE WITHIN A LARGE, UMBRIAN VILLA WAS TRANSFORMED INTO A SMALL EARLY UMBRIAN RENAISSANCE- STYLE CHAPEL, PARTIALLY IN SITU IN UMBRIA, AND PARTIALLY IN AMSTERDAM.




INITIALLY BEGUN WITH A TRIP THROUGH UMBRIA TO THE MOST IMPORTANT ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS AND MUSEUMS, I CREATED TWO NOTEBOOKS OF RESEARCH MATERIAL WHICH I LATER INCORPORATED INTO MY DESIGN OF THE WORKING MODEL. THE SIX LOWER PHOTOS SHOW DETAILS TAKEN FROM SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS: FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: PERUGINO,GIOTTO, PINTORICCHIO, PINTORICCHIO, ST.MARIA DELLA CONSOLAZIONE, AND SAN FORTUNATO. SERIOUS DISCREPANCIES IN THE SUPPLIED MEASUREMENTS RESULTED IN A FINISHED CHAPEL WHICH IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN MY SCALE MODEL, THOUGH THE ORIGINAL CONCEPT REMAINS INTACT.




PHASE ONE OF THE PROJECT INVOLVED TRACING THE DESIGN ONTO THE CEILING AND ROUGHLY ESTABLISHING THE COLOUR AREAS AS WELL AS PAINTING SOME OF THE FINER DETAILS WITHIN THE GOLD MEDALLIONS. AT THIS EARLY POINT I DISCOVERED THAT BY PAINTING ON MY BACK, THE MUSCULAR STRESS IN THE LOWER NECK WAS REDUCED, ALTHOUGH MADE THE BALANCING OF PAINTS AND BRUSHES MORE DIFFICULT!




DURING PHASE TWO, THE FOLLOWING SUMMER, I COMPLETED GIVING MORE DEPTH TO THE BLUE AREAS AND GILDED 1,200 STARS ON TO THE CEILING. A DETAIL OF THE CEILING AS DRAWN IN THE MODEL, IS SEEN IN THE CENTRE PHOTOGRAPH, AND THE ACTUAL GILDED STARS AS SEEN IN NATURAL LIGHT IN THE LEFT PHOTO. THE DEEP BLUE, WITH GOLD STARS IS A TYPICAL DESIGN SOLUTION FOR MANY EARLY BUILDINGS OF SECULAR AND NON-SECULAR NATURE.



THE FOLLOWING AUTUMN, DETAILS TO THE CROSS BANDS AND FOUR CORNER SHELLS WERE COMPLETED.




THE NEXT STAGE WAS TO CLEAR THE SCAFFOLDING FROM THE CEILING AREA AND BEGIN PAINTING THE WALLS ACCORDING TO THE MODEL. THE PHOTO IN THE CENTRE SHOWS COMPLETED DETAILS OF THE INTERCHANGE FROM CEILING TO WALL, AND WITH PAINTED DOOR DETAIL.



THE PHOTO IN THE CENTRE SHOWS THROUGH SCAFFOLDING, THE NOW ALMOST COMPLETED WALLS AS SEEN IN NATURAL LIGHT.
PAINTING IN AMSTERDAM.

   


MEANWHILE, WORK ON THE ALTAR PIECE AND COLUMN ELEMENTS CONTINUED IN MY HOUSE/STUDIO IN AMSTERDAM. HERE, I AM SEEN STANDING IN FRONT OF THE COMPLETED OIL PAINTING (3.10 X 1.60 METERS) . THE ANGEL WAS BASED ON THE WORK OF PERUGINO, ONE OF THE FOREMOST ARTISTS OF THE TIME. THE WHITE RIBBON WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE TEXT AND THE CELESTIAL GLOBE REINFORCES THE HEAVEN AND EARTH THEME OF THE CEILING.




T HE PHOTO ON THE ABOVE LEFT SHOWS ONE OF THE FOUR CORNER COLUMNS AND THE COLUMN ON THE RIGHT IS ONE OF TWO PAINTED IN OILS THAT WILL EVENTUALLY BE ON EITHER SIDE OF THE ANGEL.ALL AMSTERDAM ELEMENTS COMPLETED, THEY WERE CAREFULLY PACKAGED AND TACKLED OUT THE WINDOW IN A TRULY AMSTERDAM FASHION AND SENT ON THEIR WAY AFTER THE QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS, EVENTUALLY FINDING THEIR WAY TO A SUNNY UMBRIA.



WHILE THE AMSTERDAM ELEMENTS MADE THEIR WAY TO UMBRIA, I BEGAN PAINTING THE WAINSCOTING ACCORDING TO THE MODEL AND AFTER DETAILS FROM PAINTINGS BY PINTORICCHIO. THE DESIGN WAS DRAWN ON THE REMAINING WALLS AND THEN COLOURED INTO VARIOUS TYPES OF MARBLE, UNITING THE COLOURS USED IN THIS RENAISSANCE PALETTE. GETTING CLOSER TO THE END, GIAN LUCCA DISSEMBLES THE SCAFFOLDING IN PREPARATION FOR THE ARRIVAL OF THE ANGEL AND COLUMNS.


DETAILS OF THE FINISHED CHAPEL.




CLICK ON PHOTO TO READ ARTICLE


MYSELF, AS PHOTOGRAPHED BY LUKE WHITE FOR THE DECEMBER 2004 ISSUE OF HOUSE AND GARDEN, AND AS SEEN THROUGH THE SIDE DOORWAY OF THE CHAPEL. “THIS EXTENSIVE PROJECT ENCOMPASSED TWO YEARS FROM INITIAL CONCEPTION TO COMPLETION AND PROVIDED AN UNUSUAL OPPORTUNITY TO COMBINE A PASSION FOR ITALY AND FOR THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE…… REALIZED IN A CANAL HOUSE IN AMSTERDAM…..BY AN AMERICAN.”


   



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