Monday, April 09, 2007

Madonna del Parto


Madonna del Parto, originally uploaded by CharlesFred.

The Madonna del Parto was one of the first paintings/frescoes which really fascinated me and which I loved. When I first saw it, it was still in a small chapel by the side of the main road from Arezzo to Anghiari. Fred and I were being taken for a drive by our friend Rosanno from San Leolino and his girlfriend Carla. This was the first stop on the way, after which we also made it to Caprese Michelangelo, the birthplace of Michelangelo, high up in the Casentino, before ending up at Locanda Castel di Sorci where we had a most delicious dinner.. and lots and lots of it.

Anyway, back to the small village of Monterchi, rising above a valley planted mainly with tobacco and sunflowers. There was a little dirty looking chapel by the side of the road and an old crone sitting nearby, with the keys. She opened the doorts for us and we were treated to the wonderful sight of this masterpiece, with its wonderful colours and sensitivity on behalf of the expectant mother, flanked by two identical angels.

We had seen, with my Mum and Dad, the frescoes of The Legend of the True Cross in the Bacci Chapel of the San Francesco church in Arezzo, but they were dark and relatively inaccessible and being 14 scenes, were difficult to take in in one go. This Madonna, by contrast, was a simple painting, all on its own in its little chapel, a chapel which used to attract young women wanting to have a baby. It was very easy to like, and through this experience, it was time to better appreciate the True Cross frescoes in Arezzo. Luck would have it that these frescoes remianed inaccessible for many years while being restored... indeed it was over ten years later in 2000 that they were revealed again.

Since then, the Madonna del Parto has also been restored and been moved to her own museum, nearer the centre of Monterchi, away from the main road. Instead of tipping the old crone wfor opening the doors there is now an entrance fee to be paid, but it is all worth it, as the colours have been restored to their former glory and the painting can be viewed in good light at all times of the day.

Other favourite Piero works are The Resurrection of Christ in Piero's home town of Sansepolcro and The Flagellation of Christ in Urbino, which requires a wonderful drive over the Mountains of the Moon to get to. All highly recommended!

There is an excellent website organised by the local councils to support the current 'Piero della Francesca and the Italian Court' exhibition to be found by clicking here.

4 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

ninest123 08.14
longchamp outlet, replica watches, tiffany jewelry, coach purses, tory burch outlet, coach outlet, christian louboutin, ray ban sunglasses, michael kors handbags, prada handbags, louboutin shoes, oakley sunglasses, christian louboutin, prada outlet, nike free, tiffany jewelry, michael kors outlet store, ralph lauren polo, burberry outlet, nike air max, coach outlet, gucci handbags, longchamp outlet, chanel handbags, michael kors, longchamp bags, coach outlet store online, kate spade outlet, michael kors outlet, burberry factory outlet, ralph lauren outlet, michael kors outlet online, nike air max, ray ban sunglasses, michael kors outlet online, cheap jordans, true religion outlet, oakley sunglasses, louboutin uk, nike outlet, oakley sunglasses, kate spade

14 August, 2015 07:41  
Blogger Unknown said...

jordan pas cher, michael kors, nike free pas cher, hollister uk, nike roshe run pas cher, true religion outlet, lululemon outlet, mulberry uk, ralph lauren pas cher, sac guess pas cher, true religion jeans, michael kors outlet online, converse, new balance, longchamp pas cher, ray ban uk, burberry pas cher, abercrombie and fitch UK, longchamp soldes, polo ralph lauren uk, nike air max, north face pas cher, michael kors uk, polo lacoste pas cher, vans pas cher, nike blazer pas cher, north face uk, nike tn pas cher, nike air max pas cher, hermes pas cher, hogan sito ufficiale, true religion outlet, nike air force, nike air max uk, nike air max uk, lunette oakley pas cher, lunette ray ban pas cher, abercrombie and fitch, vanessa bruno pas cher, nike free, timberland pas cher, louboutin pas cher

14 August, 2015 07:42  
Blogger Unknown said...

longchamp uk, hermes handbags, chi flat iron, insanity workout, instyler ionic styler, abercrombie and fitch, jimmy choo outlet, p90x workout, nike air max, mont blanc, wedding dresses, mcm handbags, celine handbags, timberland boots, herve leger, valentino shoes, nike trainers uk, iphone cases, giuseppe zanotti, bottega veneta, soccer jerseys, north face outlet, north face outlet, nfl jerseys, beats by dre, softball bats, mac cosmetics, salvatore ferragamo, oakley, babyliss pro, vans outlet, nike air huarache, new balance shoes, hollister clothing, abercrombie, asics running shoes, nike roshe uk, soccer shoes, reebok outlet, lululemon outlet, ghd hair, nike roshe run

14 August, 2015 07:43  
Blogger Unknown said...

wedding dresses uk, vans scarpe, hollister, gucci, ugg uk, uggs on sale, karen millen uk, juicy couture outlet, uggs on sale, lancel, juicy couture outlet, marc jacobs, ugg,uggs,uggs canada, uggs outlet, coach outlet, replica watches, pandora charms, pandora jewelry, swarovski uk, nike air max, thomas sabo uk, polo ralph lauren, uggs outlet, bottes ugg pas cher, swarovski jewelry, converse, converse shoes outlet, ugg,ugg australia,ugg italia, links of london uk, uggs on sale, montre pas cher, supra shoes, ray ban, hollister, pandora uk, louboutin, toms shoes, ugg pas cher
ninest123 08.14

14 August, 2015 07:44  

Post a Comment

<< Home

Locations of visitors to this page