Drawing in Italy

A cappuccino and drawing the view of San Pietro from the parapet of the 6th century Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome.

A sunny afternoon in the Piazza del Duomo in Florence. 

An evening view of Piazza San Marco in Venice. 

I did a lot of sketching in Italy-- I was grateful to find quiet moments in piazzas or cafes to just sit and draw. It was wonderful. Stay tuned for sketchbook pages from Rome, Florence, and Venice... 

SPQR

This is a project I've been working on as part of a print exchange between the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Edinburgh College of Art.

The concept was for 50 select students and faculty on each side of the Atlantic to construct a pair of boxes with the dimensions of 5x8x1" The material, medium, and contents were completely open, but under the general title of Transatlantic Fun-o-Pack. One box will remain in the permanent collection of each school.

After a couple of false starts, I was still at a loss for what I wanted to make for this show. I've been thinking about Rome lately and after finishing the edition of Roman Faces, I decided to make the box about Rome (which was my last Transatlantic journey...)

The box is a drop lid structure made out of bookboard and covered in fine weave linen bookcloth. The color reminded me of the buildings in Rome. The cover and interior tray are lined with vintage architectural drawings of the Pantheon. 

Each box contains an edition of the small book Roman Faces, a plaster hand (one of several I bought as "relics" in a shop near the Vatican), and a panoramic accordion book of Rome.

The panorama was created by combining half a dozen sketches from my sketchbook. I created a litho plate of the final composition and printed the image in red. The covers are bound in a hand marbled paper purchased in Rome. The overall dimensions of the book are 17 x 5.25" (opened).

SPQR is from the Latin phrase Senātus Populusque Rōmānus or "the Senate and People of Rome", an ancient abbreviation used as the modern emblem for the city of Rome.

 
copyright Kate Castelli 2012

Roman Faces (a tiny book)

The assembly line for an edition of 25 tiny books.

After visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art last week, I went through my sketchbooks and realized how many faces I draw in museums. I filled a dozen pages when I was in Rome, mostly at the Vatican and the Musei Capitolini (see the original post here). So I decided to make a tiny book. Actually I decided to make an edition of 25 tiny books.

Some page selections from Roman Faces

I played around with several different ideas, but I really wanted  to lay out an entire book on an 8.5x11" page. The book would be a simple signature or pamphlet, printed double sided in black and white. I had an entire package of vintage onionskin typing paper. The paper was very light and slightly translucent. I loved the way the drawings were slightly visible on both sides, creating a deep layering effect when they were bound together.

The finished book measures 2.125 x 2.75". It is a single signature with 32 pages and a cover. It includes 30 drawings.


copyright Kate Castelli 2012

They are especially fond of Saints

Some of the more surreal experiences I had in Rome were when I encountered the relics and bones of various saints. It is one thing to go to the Church of Saint Agnese and quite another to see her martyred skull.


They are especially fond of Saints
accordion structure with hardcovers
block-prints on rice paper, sumi ink, and ephemera
4.625 x 17.25" opened

copyright Kate Castelli 2011

Angelus

Ponte Sant'Angelo, Rome, taken with my 35mm Holga

Friday Inspiration: Layers

Rome--

The day I got lost on purpose and sketched.

I want to go back so badly it hurts.

Roman Faces

After visiting the Sistine Chapel, I spent the rest of the afternoon drawing in the Museo Chiaramonti, the Greek and Roman antiquities wing of the Vatican Museum. It was a long vaulted corridor with hundreds of portrait busts and statues of emperors, gods, goddesses, philosophers and plebeians.

I am fascinated by their eternally blank stares.

(sidenote) Everything in the Vatican Museum is obsessively numbers and cataloged. All the portraits were labeled with both a cardinal number and a Roman numeral.

sketchbook pages copyright Kate Castelli 2011

Galleria Borghese

Galleria Borghese, considered one of the finest private art collections in the world.

The Galleria Borghese is the former villa of the powerful aristocratic Borghese family. The house was built in the early part of the 17th Century and the gardens were renovated in the English style in late 18th Century. 

The Borghese Family were patrons of Bernini and avid collectors of Caravaggio. You can soak up the masters as you walk through the gilded rooms-- not only works by Caravaggio and Bernini, but also Raphael, Titian, and Rubens.

The gardens are spectacular with hedge mazes and lemon and orange trees in fruit. The Galleria Borghese is located in the Villa Borghese, an elegant emerald oasis about the size of Central Park. You could hardly tell that you were still in Rome. It was splendid.

sketchbook copyright Kate Castelli 2011

Hadrian and Sant'Angelo

Castel Sant'Angelo

Castel Sant'Angelo is an imposing fortress on the banks of the Tiber. It was originally Hadrian's mausoleum, but was converted into a Papal fortress in the 6th Century and used through the sack of Rome in 1527. There is a secret passageway that leads to the Vatican Palaces.

Ponte Sant'Angelo with the Basilica of St. Peter's in the distance.

Ponte Sant'Angelo is a footbridge across the Tiber in front of the fortress. The original arches of the bridge were built by Hadrian in 136 CE, and later expanded upon as the banks of the Tiber were widened. Bernini added splendid pairs of angels across the bridge in the 17th Century.

Bernini's angels.

Piazza Navona

Piazza Navona boasts a church by Boromini and a fountain by Bernini. (click to enlarge)

Piazza Navona was built on the remains of an ancient Roman Arena and boasts not one but three fountains.

The Chiesa di Sant'Agnese Agone was designed by Boromini and is asymmetrical. The ornate fountain in the middle of the piazza is the Fontana dei Quattro Fumeri, or the Fountain of the Four Rivers. The fountain was designed by Bernini, an archrival of Boromini. One of the figures on the fountain is shielding his eyes from the sight of the church-- Bernini is literally telling off Boromini for all eternity.

(detail) The piazza is bordered by cafes.

The asymmetrical Chiesa di Sant'Agnese Agone (click to enlarge)

 

The piazza was lively and had surprisingly few tourists. I spent the afternoon sitting on a bench being serenaded by street musicians and drawing. An old couple sat next to me for a while doing their crossword puzzles, and I got a cluck of approval as they were leaving.

sketchbook spreads copyright Kate Castelli 2011

San Pietro

St. Peter's Basilica

A view of St. Peter's Square (click to enlarge)

St. Peter's square is magnificent. I stayed near the Vatican City and my first afternoon in Rome I got a gelato and sat in the square in awe. The square encircles you in its arms.

The line to get inside often wrapped around the square in the morning. You have to pass through airport level security before you are allowed into the Papal State. The Basilica is overwhelming. Nothing prepared me for the splendor of the interior (or the vastness). As soon as I walked in my whole being felt different. It was very humbling to be inside one of the most sacred spaces of the Roman Catholic faith.

The square was full of life from dawn until dark and I returned there many times over the week to draw or to just sit with the sun on my face.

sketchbook pages copyright Kate Castelli 2011

Rome

(click to enlarge)

A panoramic view of Rome from atop Capitoline Hill. In the far left corner you can see the edge of the Roman Forum, and the distant basilica of Saint Peter's is the dome second from the right.

Detail of the many basilicas...

 

Rome was simply splendid. I was spoiled with abundant sunshine, delicious food, lots of wandering, and most importantly-- lots of sketching. More to come...



sketchbook copyright Kate Castelli 2011

A Roman Holiday

I'm off on my very own Roman Holiday. I'll be drawing, eating, and soaking up the Eternal City for a week. Arrivederci!