I love Bruegel, have admired his paintings countless times. This is a very cool thing to know: "The glow comes from a very specific painterly technique: the whole painting starts with a warm yellow ochre underpainting, even under the blue sky."
What a post for All Hallows Eve! The Bruegel painting is amazing - and the explanation about the glow answered some questions for me. He had real artistic command and what he did was "beautiful" except for the hellish creatures. The huge question for me remains: How in the world did Bruegel sit with this painting and survive over the time he painted it? Did he sleep at night? I mean, it had to be created in his head (like the worst nightmares) and put onto whatever medium he used. I would be so depressed and scared of what I created. Do we know much about Bruegel himself? But I do appreciate what he did. It just shows the terrors of hell and that probably put a lot of fear of God in the minds of those who saw this painting!
I love the way you put these two very different works in conversation. The Bamburg Apocalypse is just magnificent. Thank you for linking to the digitized version.
Finally getting to the Bamberger Apocalypse, looking at the pages at the library site. Amazing. The strength and brilliance of the pigments on something made 1,000 years ago is nothing less than amazing. I've of course never handled anything this old, but I know works on paper if sufficiently old will begin to exhibit what I know as "foxing", or rust-colored staining on the paper, due to various causes. Returning to your recent explanation of parchment: Works on parchment must be far less susceptible to such staining, given that the surface is skin and not paper. No? I would imagine parchment would serve to block acids and the like from seeping through onto the image surface, whether partially or entirely. Is that right?
Well, obviously it's not on paper. And yes, that's why parchment books last a thousand years. Also, they are kept closed, so neither oxygen nor sun damages the surface or fades the pigment. A liturgical book of great value like the Bamberg A, would not have been used much except for liturgical functions, and then put back in storage. one didn't treat such things carelessly. Where you get damage to these illuminated parchment books was when the pigments themselves corroded or oxidised or broke down over time. There are some green pigments that will just eat right through a parchment page, but the long term effects weren't known at the time they were used. A great pity.
I wish Bruegel was around today. Just imagine how he'd paint an election campaign rally.
ok, now I'm imagining that.
🤣 Sorry, Hilary … maybe a little warm milk before bed will help.
I love Bruegel, have admired his paintings countless times. This is a very cool thing to know: "The glow comes from a very specific painterly technique: the whole painting starts with a warm yellow ochre underpainting, even under the blue sky."
Thank you
What a post for All Hallows Eve! The Bruegel painting is amazing - and the explanation about the glow answered some questions for me. He had real artistic command and what he did was "beautiful" except for the hellish creatures. The huge question for me remains: How in the world did Bruegel sit with this painting and survive over the time he painted it? Did he sleep at night? I mean, it had to be created in his head (like the worst nightmares) and put onto whatever medium he used. I would be so depressed and scared of what I created. Do we know much about Bruegel himself? But I do appreciate what he did. It just shows the terrors of hell and that probably put a lot of fear of God in the minds of those who saw this painting!
The frenetic chaos of Bruegel reminds me of election day & I love knowing about the under painting
I love the way you put these two very different works in conversation. The Bamburg Apocalypse is just magnificent. Thank you for linking to the digitized version.
Excellent ponder.
I will have to go back through in more detail.
Thank you Sister, Grace and Peace to you....
Finally getting to the Bamberger Apocalypse, looking at the pages at the library site. Amazing. The strength and brilliance of the pigments on something made 1,000 years ago is nothing less than amazing. I've of course never handled anything this old, but I know works on paper if sufficiently old will begin to exhibit what I know as "foxing", or rust-colored staining on the paper, due to various causes. Returning to your recent explanation of parchment: Works on parchment must be far less susceptible to such staining, given that the surface is skin and not paper. No? I would imagine parchment would serve to block acids and the like from seeping through onto the image surface, whether partially or entirely. Is that right?
Well, obviously it's not on paper. And yes, that's why parchment books last a thousand years. Also, they are kept closed, so neither oxygen nor sun damages the surface or fades the pigment. A liturgical book of great value like the Bamberg A, would not have been used much except for liturgical functions, and then put back in storage. one didn't treat such things carelessly. Where you get damage to these illuminated parchment books was when the pigments themselves corroded or oxidised or broke down over time. There are some green pigments that will just eat right through a parchment page, but the long term effects weren't known at the time they were used. A great pity.