Pages

Saturday, May 17, 2014

A Roman Lime Kiln


Sébastien Bourdon 1616-1671
A Roman Lime Kiln 
1637
Oil on canvas
172,5 x 245,5 cm
Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich

Sébastien Bourdon, a French Baroque artist, was Court painter to Queen Christina of Sweden

This is his early masterpiece »A Roman Lime Kiln«, probably painted around 1637 in Rome. 

Lime is being burnt and sold close to famous monuments in Rome. 

Bourdon was himself open to the inspiration of other great painters, and his style evolved throughout his career. Among those he copied were: The Bamboccianti, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, Anthony van Dyck and Nicolas Poussin 

He himself was one of The Bamboccianti in 1638, he had to flee Rome to escape denunciation by the Inquisition for his Protestant faith

For some reason the picture put me in mind of what Rome might be like this Summer

Perhaps I have been reading too much of Father Z: here, here , here , and here

No comments:

Post a Comment