I'm on the train right now going down to London so hopefully I'll have lots of cool photos to share when I'm back next week. No plan as such so I'm just going to try and see as much as possible. Gotta see the natural history museum and hopefully I'll get time to see the national gallery and the British museum again.
Also, I'm desperate to try out some of the awesome techniques I've been learning on Lynda.com. If you're really keen to learn more about photoshop, or any software actually, then check out that website - deke mcClelland especially, for photoshop. It ain't free but it's really well priced for the amount you can learn and you can opt out any time.
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Friday, 4 February 2011
Filippo Negroli's Armour 03
Good news Negroli fans - you can see his work super close up on Google's new, and incredible, feature 'Google Art Project'. . . 'Negroli fans' . . that's an obscure fan base
http://www.googleartproject.com/museums/met/parade-burgonet-273001#
Also, try this link to see how ridiculously far you can zoom in.
http://www.googleartproject.com/museums/frick/st-francis-in-the-desert
Don't thank me though - I'd never have known about it if Mr Three Pipe hadn't posted on it first.
http://www.googleartproject.com/museums/met/parade-burgonet-273001#
Also, try this link to see how ridiculously far you can zoom in.
http://www.googleartproject.com/museums/frick/st-francis-in-the-desert
Don't thank me though - I'd never have known about it if Mr Three Pipe hadn't posted on it first.
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Preview photographic colour variations in Photoshop: Numero Dos
I refined my 'template' for testing images in Photoshop and actually discovered I'd misinterpreted smart objects slightly. I couldn't find a way of making photos come into Photoshop at a certain size when you're using them as a smart object (usually they come in way too big). So, if you do want to set up a template, I think you'll need to do something like this:
1. Create a canvas in Photoshop of about 300mm squared.
2. Make sure you have two layers - a locked white background, and an empty layer.
3. Drop a landscape-oriented photo into the empty layer at about 50mm tall.
4. Convert your photo layer into a smart object.
5. Duplicate the smart object and set up a tightly spaced grid.
6. Once you've used the 'align' functions to get it all neat, trim any excess white space off the canvas by re-sizing it.
7. Now click on each smart object layer and apply an adjustment layer of your choice to it. Make sure the adjustment layers are clipped to the layer below (not affecting all layers).
8. You'll then have a sheet full of variations BUT, if you want to replace the content of the smart object (to see another photo with all the variations), you need to resize the photo first (to 50mm tall) and then use it as a replacement - otherwise, it'll come in too big.
The method above will allow you to use portrait-oriented photos without allowing the spacing to become an issue - as long as you make sure all photos you use to test are made 50mm tall to begin with (or whatever measurement you're going with).
I tried two more photos recently and I found the results a little repetitive so I tried something else. If you look at the first spread here, the images are mostly the same but I noticed the top right version was very different. The adjustment used on that layer is 'Black and White: High Contrast Blue Filter'. I wondered whether I could blend it with the one below - the very densely white version, which used 'Channel Mixer: Black and White with Red Filter'. So I opened the original image and made two layers, each containing the image. I then applied the two adjustment layers to each copy of the image. I then applied a blend mode to the upper layer which happened to be 'overlay' and got the great results below.
Tip: to run quickly through blend modes, use 'shift+plus' or 'shift+minus' when the layer is selected.
Another tip: you will sometimes notice that changing the exposure much more than a few clicks left or right will create harsh effects. Instead, try duplicating the image onto another layer, then apply a blend mode to it, like 'darken', and your image will only get deeper and more dynamically lit.
The below are two sets of images, each with a test sheet, original photo and end photo.
1. Create a canvas in Photoshop of about 300mm squared.
2. Make sure you have two layers - a locked white background, and an empty layer.
3. Drop a landscape-oriented photo into the empty layer at about 50mm tall.
4. Convert your photo layer into a smart object.
5. Duplicate the smart object and set up a tightly spaced grid.
6. Once you've used the 'align' functions to get it all neat, trim any excess white space off the canvas by re-sizing it.
7. Now click on each smart object layer and apply an adjustment layer of your choice to it. Make sure the adjustment layers are clipped to the layer below (not affecting all layers).
8. You'll then have a sheet full of variations BUT, if you want to replace the content of the smart object (to see another photo with all the variations), you need to resize the photo first (to 50mm tall) and then use it as a replacement - otherwise, it'll come in too big.
The method above will allow you to use portrait-oriented photos without allowing the spacing to become an issue - as long as you make sure all photos you use to test are made 50mm tall to begin with (or whatever measurement you're going with).
I tried two more photos recently and I found the results a little repetitive so I tried something else. If you look at the first spread here, the images are mostly the same but I noticed the top right version was very different. The adjustment used on that layer is 'Black and White: High Contrast Blue Filter'. I wondered whether I could blend it with the one below - the very densely white version, which used 'Channel Mixer: Black and White with Red Filter'. So I opened the original image and made two layers, each containing the image. I then applied the two adjustment layers to each copy of the image. I then applied a blend mode to the upper layer which happened to be 'overlay' and got the great results below.
Tip: to run quickly through blend modes, use 'shift+plus' or 'shift+minus' when the layer is selected.
Another tip: you will sometimes notice that changing the exposure much more than a few clicks left or right will create harsh effects. Instead, try duplicating the image onto another layer, then apply a blend mode to it, like 'darken', and your image will only get deeper and more dynamically lit.
The below are two sets of images, each with a test sheet, original photo and end photo.
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Preview photographic colour variations in Photoshop
The link below is a video on 'smart objects' in Photoshop – skip it to 43:00 mins and you'll find a really useful way of seeing what one of your photographs might look under different colour conditions.
http://tv.adobe.com/watch/adobe-evangelists-julieanne-kost/episode-3/
Basically, you can set up a file in Photoshop that acts as a template into which you can 'drop' any photograph you have and see lots of variations of it. The number of variations is up to you – after all, you set them up. The way the photograph varies is also up to what adjustments you choose – but colour adjustments are the main options.
I followed the video to create a template for lots of different black and white filters on a photo of of mine. The differences can sometimes be very subtle, but you'll find some great results – like the second one in from the left (top row). It has a really good wide range of tones and not too harsh a contrast. Photoshop does offer predefined variations but they're very basic and you don't get much control over them so this is the way to go.
http://tv.adobe.com/watch/adobe-evangelists-julieanne-kost/episode-3/
Basically, you can set up a file in Photoshop that acts as a template into which you can 'drop' any photograph you have and see lots of variations of it. The number of variations is up to you – after all, you set them up. The way the photograph varies is also up to what adjustments you choose – but colour adjustments are the main options.
I followed the video to create a template for lots of different black and white filters on a photo of of mine. The differences can sometimes be very subtle, but you'll find some great results – like the second one in from the left (top row). It has a really good wide range of tones and not too harsh a contrast. Photoshop does offer predefined variations but they're very basic and you don't get much control over them so this is the way to go.
Saturday, 22 January 2011
Bacchanalia
I read The Secret History by Donna Tartt when I was at university and, although I don't usually enjoy fiction, I found it interesting to learn about Dionysus – the Greek God of wine and music . . the Pete Doherty of the time. The main character in The Secret History studies the Classics among a select group of students – an exclusive class of individuals who dangerously mix curiosity with their freshly digested knowledge of ancient Greece.
This curiosity leads them to explore the idea of a bacchanal – what I understand to be a whirling, violent frenzy of body and mind, usually fueled by alcoholic intoxication and usually ending in the brutal mutilation of anyone or anything that hinders the rush of the group or individual. Bacchus (Dionysus) is often portrayed alongside his maenads – his female followers who would partake in festivals and dancing in his honour.
The images I've included below, however, are merely inclusive of the women themselves and say very little about any violent or aggressive nature of the bacchanal – perhaps due to their having been painted in the 19th century. The first, by Auguste Leveque, appears primarily to represent the bacchanal with a general air of lust but, at closer inspection, you see some revelers in a drunken stupor, some in desperation, others grappling, and still others who seem to be sharing a gentle embrace. Confusion might be a better description.
Lawrence Alma-Tadema treats not the bacchanal itself but the aftermath in his own work – his maenads are only just waking. They stretch and come to terms with their dehydrated, aching limbs – the rewards to those who spend the moonlight on alcohol and vicious sprints through the country that precede the ruin of some unfortunate creature.
The antithesis of Dionysus, Apollo, was the bringer of order. During the Vienna Secession, Klimt explored the concept of music in relation to Dionysus early on in his life. He coordinated the complementary measures of the two deities in his paintings for the theaters and art galleries in Vienna at the time.
This curiosity leads them to explore the idea of a bacchanal – what I understand to be a whirling, violent frenzy of body and mind, usually fueled by alcoholic intoxication and usually ending in the brutal mutilation of anyone or anything that hinders the rush of the group or individual. Bacchus (Dionysus) is often portrayed alongside his maenads – his female followers who would partake in festivals and dancing in his honour.
The images I've included below, however, are merely inclusive of the women themselves and say very little about any violent or aggressive nature of the bacchanal – perhaps due to their having been painted in the 19th century. The first, by Auguste Leveque, appears primarily to represent the bacchanal with a general air of lust but, at closer inspection, you see some revelers in a drunken stupor, some in desperation, others grappling, and still others who seem to be sharing a gentle embrace. Confusion might be a better description.
Lawrence Alma-Tadema treats not the bacchanal itself but the aftermath in his own work – his maenads are only just waking. They stretch and come to terms with their dehydrated, aching limbs – the rewards to those who spend the moonlight on alcohol and vicious sprints through the country that precede the ruin of some unfortunate creature.
The antithesis of Dionysus, Apollo, was the bringer of order. During the Vienna Secession, Klimt explored the concept of music in relation to Dionysus early on in his life. He coordinated the complementary measures of the two deities in his paintings for the theaters and art galleries in Vienna at the time.
Friday, 21 January 2011
Footnotes in InDesign: automatic & creative
Part of the reason why I want to make a new book is that it's a reason to get to grips with what InDesign can do for large projects. I made a nice and easy start today by brushing up on footnotes but, more specifically, how you can change the way a footnote looks.
The following notes show what I did to get the footnotes pictured at the end, so you'll get a good idea of what can be done – under completely automatic controls.
1. Set up a text box and, as it's an example, click inside the box and go to type> fill with placeholder text.
2. Drag the bottom of the text box down to make space for the footnote to appear.
3. Click somewhere in the text and go to type> insert footnote. Then two things appear – a number in the text, and the footnote itself, at the bottom of the text box.
4. Now that we have the footnote, we want to control the way it looks. Go to type> Document Footnote Options. The dialogue box that appears is one of many in InDesign and really isn't complex if you take the time to go through each feature.
5. Of the two tabs at the top, you'll be on 'Numbering and Formatting'. Under 'numbering', most of it is self-explanatory but you can type things into the prefix/suffix boxes of your own choice (I left them empty). In the two formatting panels, you'll find we can apply styles to the footnote and number – hit 'new style' for each and name them 'footnote number' and 'footnote' respectively. Don't bother setting up the rest of the settings for the styles just yet though.
6. Underneath the paragraph style button, it says 'separator'. Delete the content of the box and use the arrow to the right to select 'tab'. This will mean that our footnote will start with the number, then jump a tab space and then begin the text.
7. In the other tab at the top, called 'layout', there are further options for formatting. You'll notice there's a Rule Above feature – ignore it! The style settings will offer the same visual options.
8. Hit OK on the footnote settings. Now before we look at the styles we've set up, we need to specify our tabs. Highlight the footnote itself, in the text box, and go to type> tabs. Type a measurement into the 'X:' bar and, if you want to, put something into the leader. You can experiment with this – I put two spaces and an em dash into it for mine.
9. Close the tabs panel. Now, making sure nothing is selected, double-click on your character style 'footnote number'. This will change the appearance of the reference inside the text. Make sure 'preview' is selected in the bottom left so you can see the effect of your settings. The more creative features come in the next step.
10. Double-click on the paragraph style that you named 'footnote'. In 'basic character formats' set up a type size of about 10, with around double the leading – 17/18pt. Then go to 'paragraph rules' and use a 'rule above' of about 10pt. This will be a bar the footnote text sits inside. You can play around with the stroke type, size, colour etc. 'Width' allows you to control how far the bar extends. You can put a '–1mm' left and right indent in, so the bar doesn't stop too close to the text.
11. Go to 'character colour' and choose a good contrasting tone. Then, for another little addition, you can go to 'underline options' and use an offset stroke as an underline. Remember 'underlines' can become more like panels if you make them fat enough.
12. Now click OK and you'll be all set to write hundreds of footnotes without ever having to manually format them. Playing with the style settings will affect them all simultaneously and you can really use the style features inventively to work more 'economically'.
I found this little video series by Michael Murphy on making books with InDesign. It covers 'book files', automation, tables of contents, indexing and more. See his personal website here: http://www.theindesigner.com/blog/
The following notes show what I did to get the footnotes pictured at the end, so you'll get a good idea of what can be done – under completely automatic controls.
1. Set up a text box and, as it's an example, click inside the box and go to type> fill with placeholder text.
2. Drag the bottom of the text box down to make space for the footnote to appear.
3. Click somewhere in the text and go to type> insert footnote. Then two things appear – a number in the text, and the footnote itself, at the bottom of the text box.
4. Now that we have the footnote, we want to control the way it looks. Go to type> Document Footnote Options. The dialogue box that appears is one of many in InDesign and really isn't complex if you take the time to go through each feature.
5. Of the two tabs at the top, you'll be on 'Numbering and Formatting'. Under 'numbering', most of it is self-explanatory but you can type things into the prefix/suffix boxes of your own choice (I left them empty). In the two formatting panels, you'll find we can apply styles to the footnote and number – hit 'new style' for each and name them 'footnote number' and 'footnote' respectively. Don't bother setting up the rest of the settings for the styles just yet though.
6. Underneath the paragraph style button, it says 'separator'. Delete the content of the box and use the arrow to the right to select 'tab'. This will mean that our footnote will start with the number, then jump a tab space and then begin the text.
7. In the other tab at the top, called 'layout', there are further options for formatting. You'll notice there's a Rule Above feature – ignore it! The style settings will offer the same visual options.
8. Hit OK on the footnote settings. Now before we look at the styles we've set up, we need to specify our tabs. Highlight the footnote itself, in the text box, and go to type> tabs. Type a measurement into the 'X:' bar and, if you want to, put something into the leader. You can experiment with this – I put two spaces and an em dash into it for mine.
9. Close the tabs panel. Now, making sure nothing is selected, double-click on your character style 'footnote number'. This will change the appearance of the reference inside the text. Make sure 'preview' is selected in the bottom left so you can see the effect of your settings. The more creative features come in the next step.
10. Double-click on the paragraph style that you named 'footnote'. In 'basic character formats' set up a type size of about 10, with around double the leading – 17/18pt. Then go to 'paragraph rules' and use a 'rule above' of about 10pt. This will be a bar the footnote text sits inside. You can play around with the stroke type, size, colour etc. 'Width' allows you to control how far the bar extends. You can put a '–1mm' left and right indent in, so the bar doesn't stop too close to the text.
11. Go to 'character colour' and choose a good contrasting tone. Then, for another little addition, you can go to 'underline options' and use an offset stroke as an underline. Remember 'underlines' can become more like panels if you make them fat enough.
12. Now click OK and you'll be all set to write hundreds of footnotes without ever having to manually format them. Playing with the style settings will affect them all simultaneously and you can really use the style features inventively to work more 'economically'.
I found this little video series by Michael Murphy on making books with InDesign. It covers 'book files', automation, tables of contents, indexing and more. See his personal website here: http://www.theindesigner.com/blog/
Saturday, 15 January 2011
Giovanni di Lorenzo de Medici
People should try to break down their preconceptions more often. I've found it rewarding to ignore what people say and find out for myself before making judgements.
It didn't work with Big Brother or Facebook though!
Maybe the following man will help change your ways, if you (like me) can judge too soon.
Giovanni di Lorenzo de Medici was one of the sons of Lorenzo 'Il Magnifico' de Medici.
He went on a tour of europe – while he was in exile.
He was imprisoned for a time in France.
He suffered from stomach ulcers.
He, like Leonardo, Botticelli, and others, was an exclusive sodomite.
He once said 'death...cannot adequately explain the rebirth of learning, art and culture which flowers in Italy. While one can never rule out divine will, I postulate a more prosaic explanation – money.'
He was accused of paganism.
He owned a pet elephant called Hanno.
He also said 'I am Pope Leo X, the Vicar of Christ, the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of the Apostles, the Patriarch of the West, the Primate of Italy, the Vice-regent of the Prince of Peace, the Ambassador of Heaven.'
Of his father, Lorenzo, he said, 'I believe that, five hundred years from now, men will still celebrate his contributions to learning, art, architecture and politics.' He wrote this around 1515-20, 500 years ago.
It didn't work with Big Brother or Facebook though!
Maybe the following man will help change your ways, if you (like me) can judge too soon.
Giovanni di Lorenzo de Medici was one of the sons of Lorenzo 'Il Magnifico' de Medici.
He went on a tour of europe – while he was in exile.
He was imprisoned for a time in France.
He suffered from stomach ulcers.
He, like Leonardo, Botticelli, and others, was an exclusive sodomite.
He once said 'death...cannot adequately explain the rebirth of learning, art and culture which flowers in Italy. While one can never rule out divine will, I postulate a more prosaic explanation – money.'
He was accused of paganism.
He owned a pet elephant called Hanno.
He also said 'I am Pope Leo X, the Vicar of Christ, the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of the Apostles, the Patriarch of the West, the Primate of Italy, the Vice-regent of the Prince of Peace, the Ambassador of Heaven.'
Of his father, Lorenzo, he said, 'I believe that, five hundred years from now, men will still celebrate his contributions to learning, art, architecture and politics.' He wrote this around 1515-20, 500 years ago.
Change
Thought it was time I changed my banner. A new year, a new beginning.
I seem to be tumbling through a web of information that's getting further and further from modern design (the original subject of my blog). The new banner allows me to branch out!
What I've been reading (about 15/16th Century Italy) is starting to run away from me. I learn about one thing, and find I need to learn about another, and so goes the endless trail.
The good traveller knows his destination, though, (as some ancient Greek, or another, said) so I decided to attempt a fairly huge task . . partly so I can remember the aforementioned ancient Greek guy.
My little plan is to create another book. Something to hold everything I'm learning in one place. I read a quote along the lines of 'people tend to think history happened over a long period, when, in fact, it occurs very quickly'. I think the writer meant that, where we see 10 years as a very long time (and we probably don't remember much that happened more than 3/4 years previous to any given time) we seem to think of it as a much shorter period if discussed in a history book.
The content of my new book will be based, roughly, on the era between 1400 and 1600, and mainly in Tuscany. It'll take the reader through, chronologically, the events that unfolded. Even if this means referring to past/future events where necessary, I want to stick to the timeline because I think time and context are very important in understanding history.
Not everything in the book can be recorded to a date though. The description of the word 'sfumato', for instance, must occur somewhere but it can't be left in the main text alone. A 'secondary' level of information is therefore necessary. It should be presented in a different way to the main text and each subject being described needs to stand alone. A description of the roots of a family, as another example, will need to stand alone as a few paragraphs away from the main text.
As the book will essentially be a timeline – page to page – there can be a visual entity running throughout, that may, for instance, tell us who the pope was at any time in the book. Why? Because it builds the context around what is said in the main text.
What also needs to go in is pictorial information. This requires an infographics approach – a clear and concise way of telling readers, for instance, who was in power in Florence throughout the 200 years in question. Representation of artworks should be straightforward inasmuch as images can be presented independently of the text. Referencing etc will be necessary though.
While I put this stupidly complex book together, I'll hope to share the information I pick up along the way and get my blog moving again.
I seem to be tumbling through a web of information that's getting further and further from modern design (the original subject of my blog). The new banner allows me to branch out!
What I've been reading (about 15/16th Century Italy) is starting to run away from me. I learn about one thing, and find I need to learn about another, and so goes the endless trail.
The good traveller knows his destination, though, (as some ancient Greek, or another, said) so I decided to attempt a fairly huge task . . partly so I can remember the aforementioned ancient Greek guy.
My little plan is to create another book. Something to hold everything I'm learning in one place. I read a quote along the lines of 'people tend to think history happened over a long period, when, in fact, it occurs very quickly'. I think the writer meant that, where we see 10 years as a very long time (and we probably don't remember much that happened more than 3/4 years previous to any given time) we seem to think of it as a much shorter period if discussed in a history book.
The content of my new book will be based, roughly, on the era between 1400 and 1600, and mainly in Tuscany. It'll take the reader through, chronologically, the events that unfolded. Even if this means referring to past/future events where necessary, I want to stick to the timeline because I think time and context are very important in understanding history.
Not everything in the book can be recorded to a date though. The description of the word 'sfumato', for instance, must occur somewhere but it can't be left in the main text alone. A 'secondary' level of information is therefore necessary. It should be presented in a different way to the main text and each subject being described needs to stand alone. A description of the roots of a family, as another example, will need to stand alone as a few paragraphs away from the main text.
As the book will essentially be a timeline – page to page – there can be a visual entity running throughout, that may, for instance, tell us who the pope was at any time in the book. Why? Because it builds the context around what is said in the main text.
What also needs to go in is pictorial information. This requires an infographics approach – a clear and concise way of telling readers, for instance, who was in power in Florence throughout the 200 years in question. Representation of artworks should be straightforward inasmuch as images can be presented independently of the text. Referencing etc will be necessary though.
While I put this stupidly complex book together, I'll hope to share the information I pick up along the way and get my blog moving again.
Sunday, 5 December 2010
Saturday, 4 December 2010
New Links
Take a look down the right hand column to find a new list of design and art history web links.
Try the following first:
Shop: Bonjour Mon Coussin
Photography: Kasu
Design: Outrepart
Design: SolarBeat
Try the following first:
Shop: Bonjour Mon Coussin
Photography: Kasu
Design: Outrepart
Design: SolarBeat
www Matilda Saxow
One of my tutors at uni. Some inventive book design and layouts – her work seems to make use of no more than what's essential. The Grafik editions are stunning but I think the way she uses space in the Man&Eve books makes the best of the work featured within.
Friday, 3 December 2010
Cracked articles on Art
I recently found the following articles on American humour site Cracked.com – very funny stuff. Don't pay too much attention to the part on the Last Supper though: the original painting was a mess of smudges and blurs according to Vasari, who saw it only 50 years after its creation. What's shown today is the reproduction of the painting by other artists.
http://www.cracked.com/article_18386_7-mind-blowing-easter-eggs-hidden-in-famous-works-art.html
http://www.cracked.com/article_18700_7-famous-works-art-with-bizarre-mistakes-you-cant-unsee.html
http://www.cracked.com/article_18386_7-mind-blowing-easter-eggs-hidden-in-famous-works-art.html
http://www.cracked.com/article_18700_7-famous-works-art-with-bizarre-mistakes-you-cant-unsee.html
www Smart History
This site is great, if not for taking part in the discussions, for browsing through the various pages and dipping in and out of some of the more well known works of art throughout history. The design is quite well done too - very handy timeline, loads of immediately accessible pages.
http://smarthistory.org/
http://smarthistory.org/
Thursday, 2 December 2010
The Montefeltro Conspiracy - Marcello Simonetta
For anyone interested in Renaissance Italy, add this beauty to your bookshelf - The Montefeltro Consiracy.
I'd read quite a lot about Renaissance Florence before I came across Federico da Montefeltro - it was actually a portrait by Pedro Berrugete that I saw of him (first image below) that caught my eye (...a pun for later). I'd seen Piero della Francesca's painting (second image below) long ago and knew very little about it. I assumed it was of some Italian scholar or another, never knowing he was actually a battle-hardened condottiere. Seeing Berruguete's portrait, I'd managed to make the link back to della Francesca's work and saw it in a totally new light. For instance, if the man's face was depicted from the other side, we would find him missing an eye - the result of a jousting accident and the reason why the bridge of his nose is almost horizontal (a little DIY to his face improved his vision with that lonely left eye).
The book itself is a beautiful one - embossed lettering on the cover and the inner pages left untrimmed. The literature surrounds the assassination attempt upon Lorenzo 'Il Magnifico' de Medici; it includes lots of images that I've seen in no other books on the subject and, although they're in black and white to conform to the book's design, they really offer a valuable resource on a quite specialised subject.
I'd read quite a lot about Renaissance Florence before I came across Federico da Montefeltro - it was actually a portrait by Pedro Berrugete that I saw of him (first image below) that caught my eye (...a pun for later). I'd seen Piero della Francesca's painting (second image below) long ago and knew very little about it. I assumed it was of some Italian scholar or another, never knowing he was actually a battle-hardened condottiere. Seeing Berruguete's portrait, I'd managed to make the link back to della Francesca's work and saw it in a totally new light. For instance, if the man's face was depicted from the other side, we would find him missing an eye - the result of a jousting accident and the reason why the bridge of his nose is almost horizontal (a little DIY to his face improved his vision with that lonely left eye).
The book itself is a beautiful one - embossed lettering on the cover and the inner pages left untrimmed. The literature surrounds the assassination attempt upon Lorenzo 'Il Magnifico' de Medici; it includes lots of images that I've seen in no other books on the subject and, although they're in black and white to conform to the book's design, they really offer a valuable resource on a quite specialised subject.
Filippo Negroli's Armour 02
Among Filippo Negroli's more prestigious customers were the Emperor Charles V and the dukes of Urbino, Francesco Maria I and Guidobaldo II della Rovere. Filippo's brother, Francesco, was highly skilled in damascening - a process of decoratively inlaying metals into the armour; he often did this in gold, favouring acanthus foliage patterns for the most part of his designs below.
Interestingly, you can see, in the miniature portrait of Guidobaldo II della Rovere below, that the armour he had Negroli produce for him (which is also featured in my last post on Negroli) is included in the background, proudly put on show for all to see. Seemingly, the armour is recorded very little as far as whether it was used or not - but to find it included in his portrait tells us it was of great significance to him.
Although the foliage designs on the works below are incredibly eye-catching, I find they lose their value when we learn the meaning or function of the illustrations. They act as a sort of secondary feature to the actual form of the armour, which is why I find that the more 'pure' (or 'simple') ancient Roman armour that would make more use of the human form itself and rely less on symbolism or motif, seems to function in a different way - something I might address at a later date.
Armour for Guidobaldo II della Rovere, 1532-35
Charles V's Masks Garniture, 1539
Armour for Dauphin Henry of France, 1540
Interestingly, you can see, in the miniature portrait of Guidobaldo II della Rovere below, that the armour he had Negroli produce for him (which is also featured in my last post on Negroli) is included in the background, proudly put on show for all to see. Seemingly, the armour is recorded very little as far as whether it was used or not - but to find it included in his portrait tells us it was of great significance to him.
Although the foliage designs on the works below are incredibly eye-catching, I find they lose their value when we learn the meaning or function of the illustrations. They act as a sort of secondary feature to the actual form of the armour, which is why I find that the more 'pure' (or 'simple') ancient Roman armour that would make more use of the human form itself and rely less on symbolism or motif, seems to function in a different way - something I might address at a later date.
Armour for Guidobaldo II della Rovere, 1532-35
Charles V's Masks Garniture, 1539
Armour for Dauphin Henry of France, 1540
Friday, 26 November 2010
www tangent
I came across an excellent website by a design studio in Glasgow and the US, Tangent. Their website is actually a good demonstration of how grids work (it makes the grid lines visible to the viewer) and some of their portfolio is stunning. I really admire intelligent work like their 'bar on seven' identity. I didn't see any pictures of lanky designers holding up posters either, which is good!
http://www.tangentgraphic.co.uk/#/portfolio/
http://www.tangentgraphic.co.uk/#/portfolio/
Sunday, 24 October 2010
www Three Pipe Problem
Here's a great blog I found recently for anybody interested in renaissance Italian art history. If you scroll down the page you'll find a list of various artists and topics that have been posted about in the past. The list itself is a good overview of what the blog covers.
It's an invaluable resource packed full of videos, images, interviews, suggestions for further reading etc. The writer is also really extremely helpful if you ever enquire about anything on the blog.
It's an invaluable resource packed full of videos, images, interviews, suggestions for further reading etc. The writer is also really extremely helpful if you ever enquire about anything on the blog.
Thursday, 7 October 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)