Back in Tuscany to continue the Piero della Francesca trail that began during last year’s visit to Arezzo with the ‘Legend of the True Cross’ cycle. In Sansepolcro, the town of Piero’s birth between 1415 and 1420, the Museo Civico displays two magnificent works; the ‘Polyptych of the Misericordia’ and what the English writer Aldous Huxley called “the greatest painting in the world”, the ‘Resurrection’.

In 1467, Piero was commissioned to paint the fresco of the ‘Resurrection’ for the Palazzo dei Conservatori di Sansepolcro, the meeting hall used by the chief magistrates and governors of the town. Christ is positioned in the centre of the painting at the moment of his resurrection with the four sleeping soldiers in the foreground. It is believed that the second figure, dressed in brown armour, is a self-portrait of Piero. The landscape in the background depicts the river Tiber, which runs along the border of the town of Sansepolcro. The trees on the left of the landscape have no leaves, whereas those on the right are flourishing, which is said to allude to the renovation of men through the light of the Resurrection.

During World War II, the British artillery, led by an officer named Tony Clarke, were ordered to fire on the town of Sansepolcro, but Clarke knew of Huxley’s essay that described the ‘Resurrection’ as the greatest painting in the world, and defied the order to fire, even though his commanding officer ordered him to “get on with it”, thereby saving the painting.

Piero della Francesca ‘Resurrection’ (1467 – 68)

The Polyptych of the Misericordia, dating from 1445 – 62, is one of the earliest works by Piero. It was commissioned in 1445 by the Compagnia della Misericordia, a confraternity of Borgo San Sepolcro. The central panel depicts the Virgin as Madonna della Misericordia (Madonna of Mercy), who is spreading her cloak around the kneeling donors. The side panels show saints; on the left are John the Baptist and Saint Sebastian, whilst the right has Saint Andrew and Saint Bernardino. Because Piero became busy with commissions from elsewhere, the polyptch was not finished for seventeen years, the central panel being the last to be completed.

Piero della Francesca ‘Polyptych of the Misericordia’ (1445 – 62)

The museum also holds the detached fresco of Saint Julian, originally in the church of Sant’Agostino in Borgo San Sepolcro, which was not discovered until 1954, and of San Ludovico di Tolosa, originating from the Palazzo Pretorio, which shows the saint dressed in a Franciscan habit with a richly decorated bishop’s cope.

Piero della Francesca ‘St. Julian’ (1455 – 60)

Piero della Francesca ‘St. Ludovico di Toloso’ (c.1460)

The museum also contains paintings by other local artists including Pontormo, Raffaellino del Colle and Luca Signorelli.

Luca Signorelli ‘Crucifixion Standard’ (c.1502 – 05)

Jacopo Pontormo ‘Saint Quentin’ (1517)

Raffaelino del Colle ‘Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin’ (1526 – 1527)

Monterchi

In nearby Monterchi is Piero’s fresco known as the ‘Madonna del Parto’, in which two angels hold open the flaps of a tent to reveal a pregnant Madonna dressed in a billowing blue gown, partially open to reveal her swollen abdomen containing the future Saviour. The fresco was originally painted by Piero between 1450 and 1475 for the Church of Santa Maria a Momentana between the villages of Monterchi and Cisterna.

Piero della Francesca ‘Madonna del Parto’ (c.1460)

In Italy, at the (now deconsecrated) church of San Francesco in Montefalco, in southern Umbria, to see the frescoes painted by Benozzo Gozzoli in the mid-fifteenth century. In the central apse there is a magnificent cycle depicting events from the life of Saint Francis.

Benozzo Gozzoli ‘Stories from the Life of Saint Francis’ (1450 – 52)

Benozzo Gozzoli ‘The Birth of St. Francis, the Prophecy of the Pilgrim and the Homage of the Simple Man’ (1450 – 52)

Benozzo Gozzoli ‘The Renunciation of Possessions’ (1450 – 52)

Benozzo Gozzoli ‘Sermon to the Birds and the Blessing of Montefalco’ (1450 – 52)

Benozzo Gozzoli ‘Stigmatization of the Saint’ (1450 – 52)

A further fresco cycle by Gozzoli is in the Chapel of Saint Jerome, depicting, amongst other events, the saint removing the thorn from the lion’s paw.

Benozzo Gozzoli ‘Scenes from the Life of Saint Jerome’ (1452)

The church also contains a delightful ‘Nativity’ painted in 1503 by Perugino and a ‘Crucifix’ from the late-thirteenth – early-fourteenth centuries by the Maestro Espressionista di Santa Chiara.

Perugino ‘Nativity’ (1503)

Maestro Espressionista di Santa Chiara ‘Crucifix’ (late 13th – early 14th centuries)

In Vence, in the Côte d’Azur region of the south of France, to visit the Chapelle de la Rosaire, also known as the Matisse Chapel. Henri Matisse designed and decorated the chapel for the Dominican sisters in Vence in gratitude for the care given to him by his nurse, Monique Bourgeois, who became Sister Jacques-Marie, after he had received major surgery in 1942.

La Chapelle du Rosaire

Matisse began the chapel project in 1948 and spent four years designing it and producing all the artworks, including the stained-glass windows, drawings on huge ceramic panels, furnishings and even the vestments worn by the priests.

Interior of chapel

A museum adjacent to the chapel contains all Matisse’s preparatory drawings and models for the building, as well as the brightly-coloured vestments which are still used for services in the chapel.

Vestments made to designs by Matisse

At the Issigeac International Music Academy for a concert by the excellent Piatti Quartet. Prizewinners at the 2015 Wigmore Hall String Quartet Competition, they now perform at festivals and concerts throughout the world.

Their programme this evening consisted of a first half that began with Mozart’s String Quartet no. 16 in E flat major, the third of the so-called Haydn Quartets. It was followed by a superb performance of Mendelssohn’s String Quartet no. 6 in F minor. This was extremely expressively played, with all the anguish, sadness and agony that Mendelssohn felt when writing it in 1847 as a homage to his beloved sister Fanny who had died just a few months before. It was to be Mendelssohn’s last composition, for a few months later he also died.

The second half was more cheerful, with Dvoraks ‘American Quartet’ in F major, which he wrote in 1893 during his time in the United States. It was very well played and enjoyed by the audience whose applause brought a well-deserved encore.

Piatti Quartet

Mozart ‘String Quartet no. 16 in E flat major’ K428; Mendelssohn ‘String Quartet no.6 in F minor’ opus 80; Dvorak ’String Quartet no. 12 (American) in F major, opus 96.

In Dijon, the capital of the Burgundy region of eastern France, to see the monumental sculpture known as the ‘Well of Moses’ (‘Puits de Moïse’), the masterpiece of the Dutch artist Claus Sluter. It was constructed between 1395–1403 for the Carthusian monastery of Chartreuse de Champmol, built as a burial site by the Burgundian Duke Philip the Bold.

‘Portrait of Philip the Bold’ (17th-century copy of a late 14th-century painting)

The structure was originally located in the central courtyard of the main cloister and consisted of four parts – the well, which was about four meters deep, the large hexagonal base, adorned with figures of prophets and angels, a terrace which sat on top of the pillar possibly containing the figures of a ‘Calvary’ scene, and a tall slender cross which rose from the centre.

Drawings of two possible reconstructions of the Well of Moses (copyright Eileen Greene, 2000, (left) Tom Bilson, 2006 (right))

Reconstruction in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon

Unfortunately, damage, mainly due to exposure to the weather, has meant that the cross has not survived and there are only fragments of the Calvary, now kept in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon. What is still intact is the hexagonal base with its sculptures of the six prophets who had foreseen the death of Christ on the Cross (Moses, David, Jeremiah, Zachariah, Daniel and Isaiah).

Claus Sluter ‘Well of Moses’ showing David and Jeremiah (1395 – 1403)

Also in the Musée des Beaux-Arts are casts of the busts of the prophets and angels, so these can be examined at close quarters.

Busts of the Prophets and Angels in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon

The tombs of Philip the Bold, his son, John the Fearless and John’s wife, Margaret of Bavaria have been moved from the Chartreuse de Champmol and are also now in the Musée.

Tombs of the Dukes of Burgundy

At the Städel Museum, Frankfurt, to see the exhibition ‘Renoir Rococo Revival’. Rococo painting underwent a revival in the nineteenth century, despite once having been considered frivolous. Renoir was aquainted with the style of Rococo artists such as Antoine Watteau, Baptiste Siméon Chardin, François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard from his time as a porcelain painter in his home city of Limoges. His art later shared Rococo’s interest in certain subjects such as promenaders in the park and on the riverbank and the garden party. He also admired Rococo’s loose style of painting and its bright palette, both of which would influence him as well as other Impressionist artists.

The exhibition showed around 120 works by Renoir and his colleagues Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet and Berthe Morisot as well as examples of the Rococo art that inspired them.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir ‘In Summer’ (1868)

Jean-Baptiste Greuze ‘La Vertu Chancelante’ (c.1775)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir ‘The Promenade’ (1870)

Antoine Watteau ‘L’Embarquement pour Cythere’ (1717)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir ‘The Swing’ (1876)

Jean-Baptiste Pater ‘Pastoral Festivity’ (c.1725 – 35)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir ‘The Thinker’ (1876 – 77)

Antoine Watteau ‘Rosalba Carriera’ (1721)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir ‘After the Luncheon’ (1879)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir ‘Woman with a Fan’ (c.1879)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir ‘Bathers with Crab’ (c.1890 – 99)

François Boucher ‘Diana after her Bath’ (1742)

At the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, Germany, to see the superb permanent collection which ranges from the early fourteenth century to contemporary art, including many paintings of international renown.

Fra Angelico ‘Madonna and Child with Twelve Angels’ (c.1420 – 30)

Robert Campin (Master of Flémalle) ‘The Trinity’ (c.1428 – 30)

Robert Campin (Master of Flémalle) ‘The Bad Thief on the Cross’ (c.1430)

Jan van Eyck ‘Lucca Madonna’ (c.1437)

Rogier van der Weyden ‘Medici Madonna’ (c.1453 – 60)

Hans Memling ‘Portrait of a Man wearing a High Red Cap’ (c.1470 – 75)

Sandro Botticelli ‘Simonetta Vespucci’ (c.1475)

Raphael and workshop ‘Portrait of Pope Julius II’ (1511 – 12)

Bartolomeo Veneto ‘Idealised Portrait of a Courtesan as Flora’ (c.1520)

Jan Vermeer ‘The Geographer’ (1669)

Claude Monet ‘The Luncheon’ (1868)

Max Liebermann ‘Free Period in the Amsterdam Orphanage’ (1881 – 82)

Ferdinand Hodler ‘Portrait of Hélène Weiglé’ (1888)

Pablo Picasso ‘Portrait of Fernande Olivier’ (1909)

Emil Nolde ‘Christ in the Underworld’ (1911)

Edvard Munch ‘Jealousy’ (1913)

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner ‘Nude with Hat’ (1910, modified in 1920)

Otto Dix ‘The Artist’s Family’ (1927)

In Baden-Baden, a beautiful belle-epoque style spa town in western Germany. Baden-Baden is a World Heritage Site and is a gateway to the Black Forest, an expanse of hills, lakes and forests that speads over 6,000 square kilometres.

Our host for eight days is the German documentary film maker, Harold Woetzel, whose numerous films include ‘Mozart in Mannheim’. His delightful house is a scenic walk away from the centre of Baden-Baden via the famous Lichtentaler Allee.

View of Baden-Baden from Mount Merkur

Lichtentaler Allee

It was also a wonderful opportunity to relax and walk around the forest area as well as to visit some of the picturesque towns in the area.

Gengenbach

Ottenhofen

In Strasbourg, the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the European Parliament. The city’s historic centre is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is also home to the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, a spectacular Gothic structure that is one of the world’s largest. The construction of the cathedral began in 1015 and it was completed in 1439. It is so large that it can be seen all across the plains of Alsace and as far off as the Black Forest. It was described by Goethe as a “sublimely towering, wide-spreading tree of God.”

Strasbourg Cathedral

The city’s Musée des Beaux-Arts is located in the Palais Rohan, the former residence of the prince-bishops and cardinals of the House of Rohan. It houses a fine collection of old master paintings, including works by Giotto, Botticelli, Carlo Crivelli, Filippino Lippi, Hans Memling and El Greco.

Giotto di Bondone ‘Crucifixion’ (c.1319 – 20)

Simon Marmion ‘The Christ of Pity’ (c.1460)

Botticelli ‘Virgin and Child with Two Angels’ (c.1468 – 69)

Hans Memling ‘Polyptych of Earthly Vanities and Heavenly Redemption’ (c.1485)

Raphael ‘Portrait of a Young Woman’ (c.1520)

El Greco ‘Mater Dolorossa’ (c.1590 – 1600)

Canaletto ‘View of Santa Maria della Salute, from the entrance of the Great Canal’ (c.1727)

In Colmar, in the Alsace region of north-east France, to see the Isenheim Altarpiece in the Unterlinden Museum. Colmar is an ancient town and was recorded as being the location of an assembly held by the Carolingian Emperor Charles the Fat in 884. It was granted the status of a free imperial city by Emperor Frederick II in 1226. It has a fascinating history; amongst other things it was the birthplace of Auguste Bartholdi, the creator of the Statue of Liberty which France gifted to the United States of America in 1886. Colmar has an extremely well-preserved old town, with numerous architectural landmarks.

Little Venice area, Colmar

The Unterlinden Museum contains a major collection of medieval and early Renaissance art, in which Martin Schongauer, who was born in the town in 1448, is particularly prominent. Other artists represented include Albrecht Durer, Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Holbein. There is also a modern collection with works by artists including Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger, Georges Roualt, Pierre Bonnard, Robert Delaunay and Otto Dix.

Martin Schongauer ‘Retable d’Orlier’ (c.1472)

Hans Holbein the Elder ‘Portrait of a Woman’ (c.1515)

Lucas Cranach the Elder ‘Melancholy’ (1532)

However, the most spectacular work in the museum and the reason for my visit is the Isenheim Altarpiece, painted by the German artist Matthias Grünewald in 1512 –1516 for the Monastery of Saint Anthony in Isenheim near Colmar. The monastery was known for its care of plague sufferers as well as for the treatment of skin diseases, such as ergotism.The crucified Christ is depicted on the altarpiece with such a disease, indicating to sufferers that he understood and shared their affliction.

The altarpiece is a complex structure, with two sets of wings, meaning that three different configurations could be displayed. Except on holy days the wings were kept closed which meant that the usual view would be of the crucifixion, with Christ on the cross, his body covered with sores. The side panels depict Saint Sebastian pierced with arrows on the left and Saint Anthony on the right.

Mathias Grunewald ‘Isenheim Altarpiece’ (1512 – 16) view with wings closed

When the outer wings were opened for particular holy days, especially those concerning the Virgin, four different scenes were revealed: on the left is the Annunciation set in a chapel, in the centre are a concert of angels and the Nativity, whilst the right-hand panel shows the Resurrection.

Mathias Grunewald ‘Isenheim Altarpiece’ (1512 – 16) view with outer wings opened

When the inner wings are open, sculptures of Saints Augustine, Anthony and Jerome are visible, with Christ and the twelve Apostles below. These are flanked by paintings of, on the left, the Visit of Saint Anthony to Saint Paul the Hermit, and on the right, ‘Saint Anthony Tormented by Demons’. Saint Anthony has been beaten to the ground by the monstrous creatures but his appeals to God for help are answered by the arrival of angels.

Mathias Grunewald ‘Isenheim Altarpiece’ (1512 – 16) view with inner wings opened