A 13th century masterpiece discovered!

[PaintBoss]

I thought maybe you may enjoy reading this article.
Cimabue is considered the father of the Renaissance. Painting was discovered in a lady’s kitchen....
https://globalnews.ca/news/6089464/c...ance-millions/

[stlukesguild]

I saw this story a little while ago. It's good to see another Cimabue discovered considering how little of his work has survived. His frescos from the Church of Assisi oxidized to such an extent that they look like old photographic negatives:



His masterpiece crucifixion housed in the Church of Santa Croce, Florence, was horribly damaged by the great Flood of the Arno:





Perhaps his finest surviving works are the Maesta...



... and the Santa Trinita Madonna:



This loss is all the worse when one recognizes that Cimabue was the father of the Florentine Renaissance... the immediate precursor to Giotto.

[PaintBoss]

Thank you for providing this info to the thread.👍🏻🙂 I was wondering what you might have to say, knowing your deep knowledge of art history. Thank you for sharing his works. It is amazing anything is left, let alone, in decent enough shape for viewing after so much time.

[ColinS]

It's a pretty amazing story, and the painting is fascinating because it really looks like that step forward toward better use of perspective and depth that prefigured Giotto's work.

[PaintBoss]

And imagine it on the wall exposed perhaps to some sun, and definitely smoke over the years. Amazing! If only it could tell us it’s journey. Not to mention the life the artist had, in that time. The hardships. I love history, and glimpses into the individuals of those times.
I say this in the great comfort from my own little studio space. Life is so much easier now. I really appreciate the effort these people in their own time had to go to, to create, to stay alive. To live long enough to get better and master anything.
The environment was challenging, and we still see the human spirit reaching to create something beautiful and meaningful.