Duomo Project / May 11th Quick Update

Duomo Project / Work in Progress

Hey everybody! Just a quick update today, I started in on some of the intricate decoration, and I wanted to share it with you! I am beginning to see that I chose well which part of the facade to paint. The lower sections are all elaborate dedication to all of the rich and famous families that contributed to the building of the facade. I know because I already painted the bottom of this section in a painting I made a few years back named “Entering the Duomo”:

“Entering the Duomo” oil on canvas - 100cm x 125cm ©️Matthew Holden Bates

If you look closely you can see all of the family coat of arms and symbols, every panel has got one, some smaller, some larger. I had never taken it in just how much advertising was going on on the lower sections of the Duomo. If you look at this next detail closely you can see that it has nothing to do with any family crest:

Duomo Project / wip Detail

I wonder what they designers were going for, this design is up in the air, way too high to appreciate. I am still trying to understand their motivations and exactly what these designs represent. If you know anything about the making of the Duomo’s facade, please write me a comment! 🤓

This post is part of an ongoing series of the ‘Making Of’ this painting. If you would like to see the other posts in this series here are the links:

Day One
Day Two
Phase 1 Complete
First Week of Painting
Further Work San Matteo
San Matteo Detail Work
Beginning Marble Inlay
Continuing Work on San Matteo Niche
Duomo Project / May 7th Update

Thanks for stopping by, if you would like to see more of my artwork you can follow me on Steemit @matteopaints , and visit my website: http://www.mattbates.net . Upvotes are always appreciated, resteems and comments are what makes us a community!

A presto, until next time 👋😀 Matteo