PAOLO UCCELLO (1397-1475)

I'm always handy with a tip for a present, especially if the receiver is artsy fartsy, like I am. Well, here's my latest tip,  a reproduction of of one of my favorite paintings (above): Uccello's "Hunt in the Forest" (click to enlarge).

Acording to my net sources, what we know about Uccello comes mostly from Vasari. The painter's described as an amiable recluse with one foot in the old Gothic style and one foot solidly in the Renaissance. He loved the new ideas about perspective, but he also loved the flat, medieval look with it's  patterns and pageantry.

In the end he eclectically combined every influence that interested him, regardless of how out of sync he appeared to others. He paid the price, though. Internet biographies differ about his influence, but most say that no other Renaissance painter appears to have been directly influenced by him. When his time was up, he simply slipped out of history til he was rediscovered in the 19th Century. 

I love the frantic energy in this picture (above), the menacing widescreen forest, and the composition which is simultaneously chaotic and ordered, funny and frightening. The aristocrats and their dogs are at the threshold of a great mystery, but they're so keyed up that they don't seem to notice. There's an air of pageantry about it. The people in their finery are giddy with the excitement of it all, but how will it end? Nobody knows.

Here's a portion of another favorite, "The Battle of San Ramone." It makes a powerful argument for a decorative approach to the depiction of historical events. The lances are great, as are the gold balls (helmets?) that seem to float in the sky. Kandinsky used balls like that in some of his representational pictures. Jack Kirby was partial to them. Now I'm wondering if my own drawings are in need of gold balls.

Incidentally, how do you like the linoleum surface on the ground? I imagine it's there to heighten the perspective.

Here's (above) another portion of the same picture. Why is the face of the Prince so ill-defined? My guess is that Uccello had trouble with realistic human faces, but maybe it's the result of physical damage to the painting.

How do you like the drybrushed cerulean blue on the horse?

Here's (above) Uccello's famous stained glass window showing the Resurrection of Christ. Uccello's discomfort with the human form actually worked for him here. The lack of detail makes Christ's figure seem light and airy. I can only imagine how heavy stain glass windows must have been...I mean, they're made of thick glass and lead...but the whole window seems as light and graceful as a feather here. Once again there's the trappings of pageantry, and the detailed Celtic-type frame reminds us of the power and fun of tradition.

If you buy a poster of this glass window, I recommend that the image be no bigger than a foot long. It should be able to sit modestly, pinned on a cork board, sans frame.

BTW: I intended to link to a site where you could buy these posters, but the reproductions I saw looked horrible. I didn't visit all the possible poster sites, though. Maybe you'll have luck where I didn't.