Carpaccio at Scuola S. Giorgio degli Schiavoni

While working 24/7 on a book about Canaletto...and being only at the 2 chapter out of 9 and well behind schedule  I fell in love today with Carpaccio and in particular with this painting

The works dates to Carpaccio's mature period, when he was called by the "scuola" (guild or corporation) of the Schiavoni (Dalmatians) to executed a cycle of seven paintings on the stories of patron saints (George, Jerome and Tryphon) and evangelic episodes.

The work portrays the traditional episode of St. Jerome appearing to St. Augustine to announce his imminent death and departure to Heaven. Carpaccio portrayed the African saint in his studio, in the moment in which he is distracted from his reading by the voice of Jerome, coming as a luminous shape in the window near the desk. The room is that typical of an acculturated humanist of the painter's age, depicted with his usual attention to details.

The room is grossly rectangular, with a painted ceiling. Augustine sits on a bench over a pad, covered with green cloth and lined with studs; the desk is supported by a candelabrum. Some of the books show musical lines. Under the window is are a file and a hourglass. Other elements depicted include measurement instruments, precious caskets, a bell, a shell, an armillary sphere, vases, bottles and others.

In the center is a niche with an altar, where, as shown by the curtain moved aside, are Augustine's liturgic objects: a vest, a mitre, the crosier and a thurible which hands from two candelabra. At the side of the altars are two twin portals, with fine decorations in Renaissance style. The left one is open, and shows a small room with a window, according to the taste for different lightning sources inspired by the Flemish painting: this had become popular in Venice after its use by Antonello da Messina in paintings such as St. Jerome in His Study, which Carpaccio could perhaps observe and study. Here is a further number of details: a table with three couples of crossed legs and covered by a red tablecloth, further books, and, on a shelf running for the room's perimeter, several scientific and astronomical instruments, including Regiomontanus' astrolabe which, at the time, was owned only by John Bessarion, to who it is likely to have inspired Carpaccio for the saint's representation.

On the left two long shelves, housing more books with gaudy covers, a series of antiques (vases, bronze and others), a candle basement shaped as a lion paw (another is placed symmetrically on the opposite wall) and, below, large volumes, a seat and a prie-dieu. In the center of the room is a Maltese dog and, nearby, a cartouche with the artist's signature and the date.

Seeing this painting reminded me that I saw at the British Museum the preparatory work of the very same painting...and is here as you may see there was and ermelin!

On the trail of Tintoretto

An exhibition honouring 16th-century Venetian master Tintoretto opens in Rome today Saturday, following the painter's career from his days as an ambitious disciple of Titian to a bitter old age. "Tintoretto was the most controversial painter of his time," Melania Mazzucco, one of the organisers, told reporters in the Italian capital.  Tintoretto, whose real name was Jacopo Robusti, owed his nickname to his father who was a manufacturer of dyes ("tinta" in Italian). He became one of the greatest practitioners of the Venetian style. Images from Venice  - Fotografie di Venezia...***Agreed Fee's Apply To All Image Use***.Marco Secchi /Xianpix.tel +44 (0)207 1939846.tel +39 02 400 47313. e-mail sales@xianpix.com.www.marcosecchi.com (Marco Secchi)

Tintoretto used to live meters away from Campo Dei Mori where he used to walk probably every day

The exhibition, which runs until June 10, begins with one of his monumental works "The Miracle of the Slave" (1548), measuring 4.16 metres by 5.44 metres (14 feet by 18 feet) and normally jealously guarded in Venice. The choice of putting a slave at the centre of the painting instead of the saint who is rescuing him was considered scandalous at the time.Another masterpiece in the show is "The Theft of the Body of Saint Mark" (1564) showing a group of Christians in Alexandria taking away the saint's body from a bonfire that has been miraculously extinguished by rain. Apart from religious and mythological subjects, Tintoretto also painted hundreds of portraits -- a source of revenue from aristocrats, writers and celebrities that he used for contacts and protection. Tintoretto's pride was legendary: he once turned down a knighthood from French king Henry III because he did not want to kneel down and he refused to allow his beloved daughter Marietta to leave his home. His final years were cruel to the painter. Marietta died in 1590, followed by his son Giovanni Battista. His last self-portrait shows a somber and humbled Tintoretto, his face marked by the harshness of life. His last child died in a convent in 1652, leaving him without descendants.

Tribute to Lorenzo Lotto - The Hermitage Paintings At The Accademia Gallery

Switching alliances. After having been so passionate about Jacopo Robusti (Tintoretto) at the point that one of the reasons I choose my present house in Venice was due to being close to the Tintoretto's house and workshop I find myself deeply in love with Lorenzo Lotto. Traitor! VENICE, ITALY - NOVEMBER 23:  A woman stands between "Ritratto di due Coniugi" and "Ritratto di un Domenicano" at the press preview of Tribute to Lorenzo Lotto - The Hermitage Paintings at Accademia Gallery on November 23, 2011 in Venice, Italy. The exhibition which includes two very rare & never seen before paintings opens from the 24th November 2011 to 26th February 2012 in Italy. (Marco Secchi/Getty Images)

The Hermitage Paintings at Accademia Gallery on November 23, 2011 in Venice, Italy. The exhibition, which includes two very rare and previously unseen paintings, opens from the November 24 2011 to February 26, 2012 in Venice