renaissance - Peter Arscott

August

How has August been for you? Have the August weeks seemed long and interminable? Are you dreading the end of Summer or are you just looking forward to everybody getting back to work and school so that you can get on with things? We all want to avoid boredom – sky diving, snorkelling, eating ice cream, going abroad, or building a palazzo with allegorical frescoes as Duke Borso d’Este did in 1465.

exterior of the Palazzo Schifanoia in Ferrara

belatrova was in Ferrara and paid the Palazzo Schifanoia a visit. The name “Schifanoia” is originates from “schivar la noia” meaning literally to “escape from boredom” which describes accurately the original intention of the Duke when he had the palazzo built.

the March fresco

The highlights of its decorations are the allegorical frescoes lining the Salone dei Mesi (Room of the Months). The Allegory of August (top image) mainly depicts the triumph of Ceres, Goddess of the Harvest, but there are other little everyday details too.

Francesco

One of the reasons for the visit was the book by Ali Smith called How to Be Both, which has two interconnected stories, one centred on a teenage girl called George whose mother has just died and the other on the Italian renaissance artist, Francesco del Cossa, responsible for most of the frescoes in the Palazzo. It is an intriguing story and an unusual book, and it led us to the almost empty palazzo on a very hot day this month. A lot of the fresco is damaged beyond repair but what remains is surprisingly bright despite the deliberate gloom of the interior of the hall.

belatrova selfie

The Duomo in Venice

Part of the Italian genius seems to be based on their ability to take you unawares. So many apparently small and modest churches may spring a Giotto on you, a rectangular blur on a distant hill turns out to be medieval Assisi, you go to Venice and all you remember is the best Dry Martini ever, they drive fast on the road but they drive well, a memorable dish of meat and sage is, of course, called Saltimbocca (Jumps in the Mouth), the waiter who forgets to serve anybody because he wants you to tell him everything about Tate Modern, the Roman taxi driver who pines for Manchester.

best Dry Martini at Harry’s Bar

belatrova planter with hint of fresco

A surprise around every corner then, something available to suit any mood. Do you see where I am going?

Grand Canal

By now you must know of belatrova’s great love of the sublime playing of Thelonius Monk and his piano (see July’s blog), of his ability to hit the right “wrong” note at an unexpected moment yet leave you wanting more – a saltimbocca note.

Thelonius pot “Saltimbocca”

And so from Italian culture to jazz to ceramics: belatrova’s Thelonius series of one-off pots which we introduced to you recently continues to develop, and we are open throughout hArt for you to come and see it. We will also be selling our ceramic and oak birdbaths, our ceramic lamps, our three legged bowls and large undulating fruit bowls.

San Marco, Venice

Thelonius pot with attitude

h.Art Week 2016 will take place from 10th to 18th September and we will be open 10 – 5.30 daily. Come and visit us at work in the studio. There will be some great bargains to be had at our belatrova studio clearance.

towering belatrova plinths

There is a surprise for everybody at belatrova, the Schifanoia of the ceramic world.

Cheers!

Toasting Assisi (in the distance)

Ziggy the Christmas spider

Julius II by Raphael

Rex Harrison

God & Adam

A commission in art was at one time only the privilege of the rich and powerful. Rulers and governments commissioned artists to design pieces that often glorified the kingdom or state. During the Renaissance, the Church became a regular patron of the arts commissioning such great works as The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci, and of course, the most celebrated art commission of all time, the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo, commissioned by Pope Julius II, a man who centuries later, as older belatrovians will remember, would be played by Rex Harrison in “The Agony and the Ecstasy“.

top commission

Commissions are all very well when it comes to painting and sculpture, we hear you say; what about ceramic commissions? Well, how about the ‘Frog Service’, a 50-person set intended for dinner and dessert made by Wedgewood in 1773 for Catherine the Great who bought it for her Gothic summer palace built in a frog marsh some miles outside St Petersburg, “Kekerekeksinky“*, would you believe – hence the inclusion of the frog motif.

The service was painted with 1222 views of British landscapes,antiquities and gardens. It cost £2,290 and was intended for occasional use, not for display alone. When the service was nearing completion, the bulk of it was put on display at Portland House in London, so as to show it to the English public before it was dispatched to Russia. At the present time the Hermitage collection includes some 770 items from this famous commission.

part of the Frog Commission

As an aside, belatrova went to visit the Wedgewood Museum and returned as enthralled as ever by Josiah, a man of energy and creativity who along with others transformed society and kick-started the Industrial Revolution. He was born into a family of potters in 1730, at Burslem, Staffordshire, and his father’s death in 1739 led him to an early start working as a ‘thrower’ in the pottery of his eldest brother, Thomas, to whom he was later apprenticed. An attack of smallpox seriously weakened him and in 1768 he had to have his right leg amputated. This meant he was forced to abandon throwing, but he gained a wider insight into the potter’s craft, which led to experimentation. If you would like further insight into this world, belatrova warmly recommends a book by Jenny Uglow, “The Lunar Men”.

mezzotint of Josiah based on Reynolds painting. copyright National Gallery

Why are we telling you all this? Oh, yes… The Wedgewood Museum Trust. It became liable for the £134m pensions debt of its insolvent parent company and after a long battle to prevent the break up and sale of the collection, the Art Fund was given the chance to save the collection for £15.75 million. £2.74 million is still required by November to save the collection from being dispersed: 250 years of history, 80,000 objects – a unique visual archive.

belatrova commissions

Back to commissions. We would like to say that nowadays commissions are much more commonplace and accessible, and that vast fortunes need no longer be spent. Nobody need be a Medici to commission a belatrova birdbath, or table lamp, or platter. In fact, we have been busy fulfilling commissions as a result of so many visits during h.Art (Herefordshire Art week), so we thought we would remind you that with three months to go before Christmas belatrova is the place for that unique gift.

Just give us a ring at the workshop on +44 (0) 1531 634082 or send us an email (info@belatrova.co.uk) or visit our website: http//www.peterarscott.co.uk/dev – we are happy to talk to you about any idea you may have.

So long as it does not involve spiders.

There is one arachnophobe amongst us who finds it hard to deal with the creatures as they start to come indoors with the nights getting cooler –“all I want is a room somewhere / Far away from the cold night air…” they sing. It is impossible to determine in which direction they will scuttle and so they strike fear in the heart of this particular person, who will remain nameless.

Meanwhile, with a little bit of bloomin’ luck, we hope to see you when we open up the workshop over the weekends of November 29th and of December 6th.

* Kekerekeksinky was mistakenly thought to mean “frog” in Finnish, though if you try to pronounce it in a deep voice you will sound a little like one.

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Escape from Boredom

the art of commissioning