Cap 12. ALCUNE DELLE ALTRE : Giselda (11) Come vi ho già detto, nel novembre del 1881, il giovane Gabriele, spinto dal padre, si iscrisse alla facoltà di lettere e filosofia dell’Università di Roma e prese casa nella capitale gettandosi “con avidità pazza nel turbine dei piaceri”.Qui, malgrado la giovane età, divenne ben presto celebre… Read More Le donne del mio Vate – ☾ XCI☽ 🖋️
In 1562, Elizabeth I contracted smallpox which left her face pockmarked (see here). Since the queen had always been proud of her beauty, she feared this would spoil her image, showing a flawlessly fair skin, the typical look of the upper class, nobility and earthly perfection.Since she was aware that as the queen, she couldn’t… Read More Queen Elizabeth I & Venetian Ceruse (part 2)
During the Elizabethan era, white skin was highly desired by women as it symbolized youthfulness and an elevated social class. When Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) one of the greatest English monarchs in history, was 29, in 1562, she was struck by what was initially believed to be a violent fever. Therefore she was ordered by… Read More Queen Elizabeth I & Venetian Ceruse (part 1)
In yesterday’s post I wrote that the Italian painter Tranquillo Cremona (1837-1878) was killed by his favourite white, the basic carbonate of lead, which could cause saturnism, the ancient name of lead poisoning, a name deriving from “Saturn”, the Roman god associated with this metal by the alchemists.Tranquillo Cremona died of lead poisoning at the… Read More White Lead & Ceruse
When, in November 1545, Pietro Aretino wrote that spiteful letter to Michelangelo where his words were obviously intended to hurt and insult the painter, fortunately he hadn’t noticed a peculiar detail painted in the Last Judgement, nor had any contemporary critic. One of the saints represented in the fresco is Saint Bartholomew displaying his own… Read More Pietro Aretino & Michelangelo/4
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