I was reminded of these two drawings recently during one of my grad seminars. I love the contrast be

I was reminded of these two drawings recently during one of my grad seminars. I love the contrast between them. Michelangelo’s, from a Florentine artistic perspective and Titian’s, from a Venetian sensibility.I wish I could find a higher res version of Michelangelo's Madonna so you could see the absolutely breathtaking way he renders Mary’s hands softly, cautiously holding onto her Child’s shoulder and leg. And I love the contrast between the softness of some of those lines compared to the stark chiaroscuro seen in the Christ Child’s body. It’s really something.And now to turn to the Titian - a drawing of St. Sebastian that is completely different in nearly every possible way, and yet it was made with as much care and thought as to iconography and composition. The drawing is such a powerful rendering of St. Sebastian’s martyrdom and we can discern that almost immediately. The strokes he uses aren’t cautious ones. Read together, as a whole, they create an image full of energy, anger, passion, grief, strength, sorrow, surrender… It is passages in art such as these that make me question whether I have the willpower to truly specialize in any area. Florentine, Venetian, Renaissance, Baroque… The art history of Italy across the centuries beckons for my undivided attention. I remember this when I remember the incredible pieces created across that glorious country. It’s possible to choose, but at the same time, so impossibly difficult.You may have the universe, if I may have Italy.- Giuseppe Verdi -- source link

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