JJ Merelo
@jjmerelo.bsky.social
Student of a BA in Art History by day, professor by another day.
Venetophile
Posts in English, Italian and Spanish.
Venetophile
Posts in English, Italian and Spanish.
Barcelona was back them a thriving city, the main harbor of the Crown of Aragon (which merged a bit later with Castille with the marriage of the Catholic Kings) and ally of Venice or Genoa, and with intense trade with England and Flanders. The city coat of arms is proudly shown below the throne.
December 5, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Barcelona was back them a thriving city, the main harbor of the Crown of Aragon (which merged a bit later with Castille with the marriage of the Catholic Kings) and ally of Venice or Genoa, and with intense trade with England and Flanders. The city coat of arms is proudly shown below the throne.
They are not at the sides of the painting, but between the Madonna and the saints. The saints are not introducing them, they are kinda aside, literally having the back of one of the councillors. It’s a kinda inverted “Sacred conversation”, which besides includes “il popolo minuto”, little people.
December 5, 2025 at 9:04 PM
They are not at the sides of the painting, but between the Madonna and the saints. The saints are not introducing them, they are kinda aside, literally having the back of one of the councillors. It’s a kinda inverted “Sacred conversation”, which besides includes “il popolo minuto”, little people.
Back to Barcelona, so let’s go back to our “Madonna of the councillors” and its iconology. First, the five councillors, and just the five that paid for it, prostrated in front of the Virgin, but it’s not using hierarchical, but cavalier perspective: pretty much life-size everyone. Heads a bit lower.
December 5, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Back to Barcelona, so let’s go back to our “Madonna of the councillors” and its iconology. First, the five councillors, and just the five that paid for it, prostrated in front of the Virgin, but it’s not using hierarchical, but cavalier perspective: pretty much life-size everyone. Heads a bit lower.
If I had to bet, I would say bad restoration… It looks like a claw, and not a terrestrial one.
I prefer to check out the subtle transparency of the veil, even if it’s a bit of a show off
I prefer to check out the subtle transparency of the veil, even if it’s a bit of a show off
December 5, 2025 at 8:51 PM
If I had to bet, I would say bad restoration… It looks like a claw, and not a terrestrial one.
I prefer to check out the subtle transparency of the veil, even if it’s a bit of a show off
I prefer to check out the subtle transparency of the veil, even if it’s a bit of a show off
Even if it’s still Gothic by composition, lack of naturalism and perspective, it’s still a beautiful work of art. The expression of the Virgin, the Gothic tracery of the throne, the volume of the Virgin’s clothes is incredibly detailed. Luis Dalmau is also using oil on table like the Flemish masters
December 4, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Even if it’s still Gothic by composition, lack of naturalism and perspective, it’s still a beautiful work of art. The expression of the Virgin, the Gothic tracery of the throne, the volume of the Virgin’s clothes is incredibly detailed. Luis Dalmau is also using oil on table like the Flemish masters
The consellers are the dudes in red robes that look a bit like friars are the councilors of the city of Barcelona, where the table is now, in the Catalonia National Museum. The woman with the Saint Andrew cross is Saint Eulalia; and the guy with the T cross is… Saint Andrew.
December 4, 2025 at 9:40 PM
The consellers are the dudes in red robes that look a bit like friars are the councilors of the city of Barcelona, where the table is now, in the Catalonia National Museum. The woman with the Saint Andrew cross is Saint Eulalia; and the guy with the T cross is… Saint Andrew.
Apparently Dalmau was sent with an Erasmus scholarship to work with van Eyck; it’s even said that he might have worked with him in the Ghent altarpiece, but who knows, he might have buffed up his CV. Be that as it may, it’s a fine work of primitive Flemish style, even if made elsewhere.
December 4, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Apparently Dalmau was sent with an Erasmus scholarship to work with van Eyck; it’s even said that he might have worked with him in the Ghent altarpiece, but who knows, he might have buffed up his CV. Be that as it may, it’s a fine work of primitive Flemish style, even if made elsewhere.
This “Madonna of the councilors”, o “Verge dels consellers”, was painted by Luis Dalmau in the first half of the 15th century. It’s probably the masterpiece of late Spanish Gothic, and the bookstop to Spanish Medieval painting, separated by almost a century and a half of almost nothing from Baroque
December 4, 2025 at 9:40 PM
This “Madonna of the councilors”, o “Verge dels consellers”, was painted by Luis Dalmau in the first half of the 15th century. It’s probably the masterpiece of late Spanish Gothic, and the bookstop to Spanish Medieval painting, separated by almost a century and a half of almost nothing from Baroque
Denver was back then a moderately-sized city, a quarter million people, and a department store was probably good business; what’s surprising is that what required the church or an state to build in the 16th century can be built in the 20th by a private investor. Who spent a pretty penny, too
December 3, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Denver was back then a moderately-sized city, a quarter million people, and a department store was probably good business; what’s surprising is that what required the church or an state to build in the 16th century can be built in the 20th by a private investor. Who spent a pretty penny, too
A tower has a thing, has heft, and height… it was kept when the store was razed, and refurbished as residential and office space. I don’t know if they kept the actual bell, though; it did have a bell commensurate to its size to go with its four clocks.
December 3, 2025 at 9:25 PM
A tower has a thing, has heft, and height… it was kept when the store was razed, and refurbished as residential and office space. I don’t know if they kept the actual bell, though; it did have a bell commensurate to its size to go with its four clocks.
Let’s go back to Denver (figuratively, I don’t see any good reason for going to the USA in the foreseeable future, to check out this, can you see where where it got its inspiration? It’s the Daniels and Fisher tower, that was built in 1911 as a simple milestone that marked a department store.
December 3, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Let’s go back to Denver (figuratively, I don’t see any good reason for going to the USA in the foreseeable future, to check out this, can you see where where it got its inspiration? It’s the Daniels and Fisher tower, that was built in 1911 as a simple milestone that marked a department store.
This Saint Francis of Paula, also after Ribera, uses however an original background and an organization of the light falling on his head that shows also a good control of design and colors.
This can only be visited by appointment, and I really had to hurry up, so I didn’t have time to check it out…
This can only be visited by appointment, and I really had to hurry up, so I didn’t have time to check it out…
December 2, 2025 at 9:45 PM
This Saint Francis of Paula, also after Ribera, uses however an original background and an organization of the light falling on his head that shows also a good control of design and colors.
This can only be visited by appointment, and I really had to hurry up, so I didn’t have time to check it out…
This can only be visited by appointment, and I really had to hurry up, so I didn’t have time to check it out…
She was a Baroque painter that shared the original hospital walls with Bocanegra, a boastful Baroque painter. She mainly painted “after” Ribera, lo Spagnoletto, like St. John Baptist above, but this Saint Francis, although in the same chiaroscuro style, looks totally original.
December 2, 2025 at 9:45 PM
She was a Baroque painter that shared the original hospital walls with Bocanegra, a boastful Baroque painter. She mainly painted “after” Ribera, lo Spagnoletto, like St. John Baptist above, but this Saint Francis, although in the same chiaroscuro style, looks totally original.
The local Vasari, Palomino, mentioned “Mariana de la Cueva, an excellent designer”. But other than a painting in El Prado, little was known about her. A researcher in the University of Granada, however, uncovered 6 more, which are all in this building, in the chapel and in the main corridor.
December 2, 2025 at 9:45 PM
The local Vasari, Palomino, mentioned “Mariana de la Cueva, an excellent designer”. But other than a painting in El Prado, little was known about her. A researcher in the University of Granada, however, uncovered 6 more, which are all in this building, in the chapel and in the main corridor.
I managed to get in a retirement home that, managed by the Brotherhood of the Charity and Refuge, has inherited many works of art from the 17th century. I showed the building the other day, it’s a modernist work by Wilhelmi, a local architect. But this painting and others are something else.
December 2, 2025 at 9:45 PM
I managed to get in a retirement home that, managed by the Brotherhood of the Charity and Refuge, has inherited many works of art from the 17th century. I showed the building the other day, it’s a modernist work by Wilhelmi, a local architect. But this painting and others are something else.
The style is a bit neo-Renaissance, with garlands, “candelieri”-like things, and a bit of Western grandeur. The scale is huge for a city that was, back then, little more than a big town, with less than 40000 people. It was a rich town, flush with gold bullion, so why not.
December 1, 2025 at 8:51 PM
The style is a bit neo-Renaissance, with garlands, “candelieri”-like things, and a bit of Western grandeur. The scale is huge for a city that was, back then, little more than a big town, with less than 40000 people. It was a rich town, flush with gold bullion, so why not.
We’ve talked about stations several times before, and this one, Union Station in Denver, Colorado, USA, stands on its own. Built, as recorded in the side, in 1880. It’s got a clock, t’s got high arched windows, but this is America so a bit of neon can’t hurt. It’s now become, since recently, a hotel
December 1, 2025 at 8:51 PM
We’ve talked about stations several times before, and this one, Union Station in Denver, Colorado, USA, stands on its own. Built, as recorded in the side, in 1880. It’s got a clock, t’s got high arched windows, but this is America so a bit of neon can’t hurt. It’s now become, since recently, a hotel
The hourglass, the intertwined garland and snake, the bearded and crowned skull, all saying “remember you are going to die just like this dude down here”. The contrast between the early Renaissance effigy and the Baroque frame is stark, and probably achieves its dramatic purpose.
November 30, 2025 at 9:31 PM
The hourglass, the intertwined garland and snake, the bearded and crowned skull, all saying “remember you are going to die just like this dude down here”. The contrast between the early Renaissance effigy and the Baroque frame is stark, and probably achieves its dramatic purpose.
A “memento morí” that includes a copy of a “Gisant” or effigy originally created by Arnolfo di Cambio, a Tuscan sculptor in the 13th century.
The frame is Baroque, however. The “golden eggs” are the Chigi symbol, from Alexander VII, who intervened in Saint John of Letran in the 17th century
The frame is Baroque, however. The “golden eggs” are the Chigi symbol, from Alexander VII, who intervened in Saint John of Letran in the 17th century
November 30, 2025 at 9:31 PM
A “memento morí” that includes a copy of a “Gisant” or effigy originally created by Arnolfo di Cambio, a Tuscan sculptor in the 13th century.
The frame is Baroque, however. The “golden eggs” are the Chigi symbol, from Alexander VII, who intervened in Saint John of Letran in the 17th century
The frame is Baroque, however. The “golden eggs” are the Chigi symbol, from Alexander VII, who intervened in Saint John of Letran in the 17th century
So it's totally a forged iron owl, and the complicated, putti-filled frame is stucco. It's also totally _not_ a balcony, but a niche to host, well, the owl. Now I'm really baffled.
November 30, 2025 at 5:22 PM
So it's totally a forged iron owl, and the complicated, putti-filled frame is stucco. It's also totally _not_ a balcony, but a niche to host, well, the owl. Now I'm really baffled.
But the project fell through. At the moment, we can only see how this beautiful, building decays, its windows get broken, its greenhouse patio gets invaded by growth… It’s a real pity, but with Renaissance palaces also decaying to crumbles, not many are going to cry over a house from the 30s…
November 29, 2025 at 9:07 PM
But the project fell through. At the moment, we can only see how this beautiful, building decays, its windows get broken, its greenhouse patio gets invaded by growth… It’s a real pity, but with Renaissance palaces also decaying to crumbles, not many are going to cry over a house from the 30s…
In fact, this house built in the regionalist style mixes and matches all kind of elements taken from Nasrid, Caliphal, Baroque and everything in between, including ceramic tiles, Nasrid capitals, Italianate loggias… But you can already see the signs of decay. It was slated to become a hotel…
November 29, 2025 at 9:07 PM
In fact, this house built in the regionalist style mixes and matches all kind of elements taken from Nasrid, Caliphal, Baroque and everything in between, including ceramic tiles, Nasrid capitals, Italianate loggias… But you can already see the signs of decay. It was slated to become a hotel…
This must explain this stone-like (although it’s most probably painted stucco) niche-like window frame, chock full of Solomonic columns, putting, volutes, the whole nine yards. I seem to remember this was built for a theatrical director, so it must have been like a theatre royal balcony
November 29, 2025 at 9:07 PM
This must explain this stone-like (although it’s most probably painted stucco) niche-like window frame, chock full of Solomonic columns, putting, volutes, the whole nine yards. I seem to remember this was built for a theatrical director, so it must have been like a theatre royal balcony
While on an errand, I remembered this building a bit off the way and returned to take some pictures. It’s the Carmen de los Alarifes, and it was built in 1938, during the civil War, by the architect Francisco Prieto Moreno, a rather prolific architect in the city of Granada.
November 29, 2025 at 9:07 PM
While on an errand, I remembered this building a bit off the way and returned to take some pictures. It’s the Carmen de los Alarifes, and it was built in 1938, during the civil War, by the architect Francisco Prieto Moreno, a rather prolific architect in the city of Granada.
… probably made of plaster, too, representing… what do I know. A baby is standing, three others are playing with a dog, trying to get themselves covered with a blanket, and… playing a flute? Shooting a blowgun? Kinda wing-less putti in a mythic scene? Whatever it is, it completes a Dadaist opus.
November 28, 2025 at 9:18 PM
… probably made of plaster, too, representing… what do I know. A baby is standing, three others are playing with a dog, trying to get themselves covered with a blanket, and… playing a flute? Shooting a blowgun? Kinda wing-less putti in a mythic scene? Whatever it is, it completes a Dadaist opus.