tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7054785923214156833.post5073520467443700352..comments2024-02-03T17:02:45.046-08:00Comments on Giorgione et al...: Giovanni Bellini: St. Francis in the DesertDr. Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08469403843869655063noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7054785923214156833.post-35065868802903112762014-10-16T14:38:47.759-07:002014-10-16T14:38:47.759-07:00HI Frank, thanks for kind reply! you have a knowle...HI Frank, thanks for kind reply! you have a knowledge of pictorial design that surpasses what I might be able to contribute to the discussion. Naïveté is Franciscan in its own way.... Is my only defense. I think the tree leans toward Francis as a metaphor toward the bird preaching episode, perhaps in the spirit of Berlinghieri etc.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06633998842442447636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7054785923214156833.post-84632089398941596712014-10-15T15:07:34.973-07:002014-10-15T15:07:34.973-07:00Philip:
Thanks for your comment. It is an interes...Philip:<br /><br />Thanks for your comment. It is an interesting hypothesis but I will stick with Fleming's analysis. In my brief review I could not do justice to the many ways in which he finds support for his thesis in Franciscan writings and traditions. Moreover, there are the many allusions to Moses and Elijah in the painting itself: the animals peculiar to the Nile delta, the plants, especially the leaning tree or bush, and the structure behind Francis.<br /><br />My viewing of Venetian Renaissance art also makes me believe that Francis has left the city in the background. Paintings usually read from left to right and from background to foreground. Bellini made a deliberate decision to place Francis far away from the city that could be regarded as a place of spiritual danger. The viewer's eye is drawn to Francis in the foreground but his gaze then directs us back to the leaning tree.<br /><br />FrankDr. Fhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08469403843869655063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7054785923214156833.post-6095348656638187492014-10-15T06:13:44.671-07:002014-10-15T06:13:44.671-07:00For me, i take a simple Fioretti approach to under...For me, i take a simple Fioretti approach to understanding this great masterpiece. The moment describes St. Francis after he has received a report from Friar Masseo. Francis had commanded Masseo to ask St. Claire and the priest Sylvester - if God wished Francis to preach or be a contemplative. The answer had come back: God wanted both. Francis accepts this with his arms open wide, the wild ass and bird are animal reminders of the scale of God's command, the city in the background is Bevagna. This is a prelude to the famous episode of Preaching to the Birds that would occur shortly in the the landscape. Bellini chose to paint the moment of inspiration - not the actual preaching to the birds - the act of accepting God's will. Michaelangelo's David depicts a similar moment of inspiration.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06633998842442447636noreply@blogger.com