The centre of the painting is represented by the hills that can be seen beyond the window and the slender astylar cross held by Saint John the Baptist, foreshadowing Christ’s crucifixion on Mount Golgotha. On the right, the Madonna holds the Child on her knees, while on the left we can see St John the Baptist and St Catherine of Alexandria, identified by the wheel of martyrdom. In this small painting, made in oil on panels around 1505, we find a perfectly balanced composition. Giorgione’s painting technique is described as “ tonal ” or “ atmospheric “, and not by chance: in The Tempest, the masterful use of colour brings out every detail of the scene, and the whole painting seems to be imbued with the still, electric atmosphere that comes before great storms. It is unclear whether there is a relationship between the two characters, an element that adds to the mystery of the work. On either side of the composition we find two figures: in the words of art collector Marcantonio Michiel (1484 – 1552) “ una cingana e un soldato “, a gypsy woman, breastfeeding her child and looking restlessly at the viewer, and a soldier. In the foreground, ancient ruins recall the past and the inevitable passage of time.
A lone heron on a roof seems to be observing the black clouds, heavy with rain. In the background we see some city buildings, bearing the coats of arms of Padua and Venice and struck by the somber glow of the first lightning bolt. The painting depicts a rural landscape that reminds of the countryside around Padua, immersed in the gloomy atmosphere before a storm. On the occasion of the release of Giorgione’s monograph written by Giovanni Carlo Federico Villa for Menarini’s Art Volumes, the Renaissance art historian leads us to discover the paintings of this incredible artist with two Menarini Pills of Art videos : The Tempest and The Virgin and Child with Saints.Īn aura of mystery surrounds not only the person of Giorgione, but also one of his most famous works : The Tempest, painted in oil on canvas around 1505. He was active on the Venetian painting scene for about ten years, but he had a deep impact on art as a whole, marking the beginning of the artistic style of the ‘ Maniera Moderna ‘. 1478 – 1510), was one of the most important exponents of the Venetian school and one of the most mysterious figures in the history of painting: very little is known about his life, the attribution of his works is difficult, and even the meaning of his paintings gives rise to discussions among art scholars. Giorgio Zorzi da Castelfranco, known as Giorgione (c.
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