a reflection from my recent pilgrimage to Rome
Art historians and tour directors are always talking about how great it was when artists finally figured out perspective. When there could be a background finally, and objects in the background, and people. A road receding. Trees.
But I think there’s something to be said for the way in Medieval paintings all the golden angels and saints with their stiff, bright golden halos are stacked up on the sides and arranged around the bigger, brighter golden figure of Mary with the baby Jesus, like in a children’s book or an art project with felt cutouts or paper clouds and paper trees glued down on the same flat surface, but brighter and more golden. Everything on the same plane. The saint right next to a bird. God on top of the flower.
Anything can happen.