Saturday, January 24, 2015

My Favorite Artworks in Palazzo Ducale, Venezia (Doge Palace, Venice)


DSCN1604 _ view of Palazzo Ducale from Basilica di San Marco, 13 October

DSCN9982 _ Palazzo Ducale, Venezia, 11 October

DSCN0176 _ view of Ponte dei Sospiri from the prison of Palazzo Ducale, Venezia, 11 October

The vast compound of Palazzo Ducale, Venezia (Doge Palace, Venice) is a trove of architectural and art treasures scattered around within and without the highly decorated walls of the palace, therefore it took me some concentration to choose my two favorites.

My first choice was a painting by Titian, depicting the giant Saint Christopher carrying baby Jesus on his back, across a river before the child revealed himself as Christ.  The composition was powerfully dynamic, with the Saint startlingly sinewy and serious, a personification of reliability and steadfastness.  The Child, airy, playful and full of vitality, in the lighter moment of his eventful and tragic life.  The coloration was neither flashy nor rich - time might have robbed some of its tonal splendor but the muted palette gave gravitas to the painting and a sense of timelessness.

DSCN0091 _ San Christopher, Titian, Palazzo Ducale, Venezia, 11 October
San Christopher by Titian

My second favorite artwork in the palace was a relief on the outer wall, titled "The Drunkenness of Noah".  This relief cleverly utilized the confined space about a portal, positioning Noah, barely covered of his nakedness with a cloth, on one side of the portal, turning corner from the main plane, upon which carved all his three sons, who were divided into two groups, separated by the pointed arch, with his "good sons" Shem and Japheth nearing Noah, holding the garment to cover him, while his bad son "Ham" stood far away from the rest, with a clear sense of the banishment of him, whose descendents were cursed by Noah for Ham's supposed insensitivity to his father's privacy.

A very strange story out of bible, rendered with great economy, clarify and pathos. 

DSCN1193 _ Details of Palazzo Ducale, Piazza di San Marco, 13 October
The Drunkenness of Noah on the 'Vine Angle' above the 1st Capital on Palazzo Ducale

My Favorite Museum Collection Series
>> My Favorite Museum Collection Series 99: My Favorite Artwork at Piazza di San Marco
<< My Favorite Museum Collection Series 97: My Favorite Reliefs in Franziskanerkirche, Graz

List of My Favorite Artworks in the Museums I've Visited

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- My Favorite Sculptures at Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral), Vienna
- Boy With Frog Sculpture and Punta della Dogana, Venice
- Angelic and Evil - Bunkerei and Palais Augarten in Augarten, Vienna
- My Favorite Works at Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Firenze, Italia
- My Favorite Paintings at Palatina Gallery, Palazzo Pitti, Firenze, Italia
- My Favorite Paintings at the National Gallery (Schwarzenberg Palace) in Prague
- Bridges in Venice, Italy
- Magical Piazza San Marco in Venice


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