Lover’s Bridge in Verona - An Original Oil Painting by Matthew Holden Bates

“Lover’s Bridge in Verona” oil on canvas 180cm x 80cm ©️Matthew Holden Bates - All Rights Reserved

Most of the time I like to paint cityscapes of my adopted home, Firenze in central Italy. Once in a while I get an idea in my head to paint another place, usually a place I go on vacation, to change things up a bit. I got it in my head to make a Roman Cityscape, so I got on a train and went to Rome for the day. I must have taken a couple hundred photos that day, all with good intent. When I got back to the studio I was really surprised to find that not one idea I got from my day in Roma was any good. There was something about the massive architecture that just looked too heavy to reproduce, so I scrapped the whole idea. Later that Summer I was on vacation, we went to Lake Garda in Veneto, a stunning place for sure, but it was the last day in Verona (which is where we were going to take the train back to Firenze) where I finally found my Roman painting. The original Bridge has been flooded and worn down over the millenniums and the good people of Verona have done a wonderful job maintaining the original concept of the Roman Bridge. The marble sections are from the Roman epoch and the rest is filled in with red bricks which offer a beautiful contrast.

I also love to paint bridges. There is something magical about the different states of the composition, the two sides united by a grand idea to defeat the mighty river. The river which flows and the architecture which stays put offering passage to the little people.

The painting was designed with the Fibonacci series in mind. "Lover's Bridge in Verona" Uses a design technique which utilizes the Fibonacci sequence. The painting has dimensions which are 180cm x 80cm. By breaking up the width into two parts we get 50cm + 130cm with the height being 80cm, we get three consecutive Fibonacci numbers, 5, 8, 13. By doing this the overall design of the bridge fits naturally into the famous Fibonacci spiral. We also get two Fibonacci rectangles on the sides of the painting and a perfect square of 80cm x 80cm in the middle between the two Fibonacci rectangles.

You can read a blog post I wrote about the use of the Fibonacci series on Steemit here:

https://steemit.com/art/@matteopaints/fibonacci-the-golden-ratio-design-theory

“Lover’s Bridge in Verona” Fibonacci design graphic

This painting is a perfect example of how long it takes for a good idea to manifest. I thought I would get my Roman painting in Rome, and I ended up finding it in another city.

If you enjoy my artwork feel free to follow me on Steemit @matteopaints , resteem this post, and visit my official website:

http://www.mattbates.net

I look forward to reading your comments!!🤓