How Sandy Little Barrel conquered the artistic world
The life and inspiring works of the artist who gives his name to your room: 3: Sandro Botticelli *** We’ll bet you’ve never heard of Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni…
Category Archives: Painting
Sofonisba Anguissola: Youthful vitality and feminine ambition
The life and inspiring works of the artist who gives her name to your room: 2: Sofonisba Anguissola*** This delightful family portrait, of her three younger sisters playing chess, was…
Monet and Renoir: the genius and the hot-water bottle
We call our Watermill courses ‘convivial creativity’ and we believe that creativity is often a communal, collaborative affair. There is individual genius, of course, but for it to flourish fully…
Leon Battista Alberti: A Renaissance polymath – inspiring others by showing and telling
The first of our artists whose life and times are celebrated in Watermill bedroom names: 1. Alberti*** Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) was an extraordinary Renaissance polymath: architect, artist, author, mathematician,…
Irresistib-eel!
Yes, when Flavio Terenzoni, our gardener, brought in the pumpkin and the sinuous squash, and when painting tutor Crystal Beshara arranged them in an artistic still-life, Bill couldn’t resist…
The laundry door. A remarkable blend of historic information and contemporary function
You may recollect that a few weeks back we told you about Watermill guest Doug Freerksen’s fascination with ancient artefacts at the Watermill, particularly some of the doors. Doug, from Oak…
Lest we forget: everyday reminders of past terrors on our Florence doorstep
Embedded in the pavement by the front door of houses next to our apartment building in Florence are half a dozen small square brass plaques which force us to remember…
An offbeat glance at openings at the Watermill
Doug Freerksen is an artist, designer, sculptor and, like us, a passionate restorer of old buildings. Doug, from Oak Park, Illinois, in the United States, has been involved in the…
This Watermill bedroom is named after a strange old bird
Continuing our notes on the early Renaissance artists after whom our Watermill bedrooms are named*, today it’s the turn of Paolo Uccello. Uccello (1397-1475,) was a pioneer of the use…
Putting genius into perspective
Not content with creating the stupendous dome of Florence cathedral, the architectural miracle of its time (or, indeed, of any time), Filippo Brunelleschi also invented (or possibly, reinvented) Linear…
How to make the most of your landscape painting workshop
What is landscape painting? Landscape painting is one of the oldest and most cherished traditions in the visual arts. The term refers to artwork that depicts outdoor scenery such as…
Si monumentum requiris, circumspice*
Celebrating Italian artists who inspired Watermill bedroom names: 3: Brunelleschi The Watermill’s bedrooms are named after famous Italian artists* and we thought it would be fun to tell you more about…