Giorgio Vasari and Filippo Lippi are among the giants of the Renaissance, that extraordinary explosion of culture in Florence in the 15th and 16th centuries, and are waiting just for you at the Watermill.
Okay, let’s be clear! All our Watermill bedrooms are named after famous artists and our two suites (self-contained apartments) are called The Vasari Suite and The Lippi Suite. And due to cancellations, both are suddenly free for Randy Hale’s inspiring watercolour course this June. They are ideal for a couple, or two friends sharing, but we are happy, at this stage, to let them out for single occupancy.
As for The Vasari Suite, l Giorgio Vasari, who lived and worked in Florence in the 16th century, was another of those great multitalented Renaissance men: painter, architect and town planner, as well as writer and historian. His most famous for his book, Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects, the first book on art history, in which he lauded Michelangelo as the apotheosis of artistic development.
He painted (with others) the inside of the dome of Florence cathedral, wonderful frescoes in the palazzo vecchio; he built the uffizi, creating a unique Renaissance street with unified architecture, the first regularised streetscape in Europe. Oh, and the Vasari corridor, linking above street level the palazzo vecchio with the Pitti place, so his Grand Duke, Cosimo 1 de’ Medici, wouldn’t have to mix with the hoi polloi on his way home.
And he built the Fish Loggia, one of my (many) favourite buildings in Florence.
The Vasari Suite at the Watermill has an elegant sitting room and a double bedroom, with views over the mill cascades and the river Rosaro. It is ideal for a couple, or two friends sharing. And for Randy’s course, we are happy with single occupancy.
The Lippi Suite is actually named after Filippo Lippi and his son Filippino Lippi, painters in the mid-15th century. Filippo, a monk with a scandalous private life, was a sublime painter and, incidentally, taught Botticelli. Filippo’s Madonna and Child with two Angels (below) is one of my favourite paintings. I particularly like the smile of the angel on the right.
Filippo’s son, Filipino, was, among other things, responsible for some wonderful frescoes depicting the life of St Peter in the Brancacci Chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence. Below you can see his Vision of St Bernard, in the Badia Fiorentina in Florence. I love the faces of the young people on the left-hand side of the picture. Like his father, Filippino has imbued them with plenty of character.
The Lippi Suite has an elegant sitting room and two bedrooms: a larger double one and a smaller single. (Filippo and Filippino!). There are views over the Riverside gardens and the river Rosaro. As I said, it is ideal for a couple, or two friends sharing, but we are happy for it to be used by a single person during Randy’s course.
And what about our present-day painting maestro, Randy Hale?
Randy is an exciting watercolour painter from Colorado in United States. As well as his workshops in the USA, he has taken painting groups all over the world. After a successful business career, he returned to his first love, watercolour painting. (He was taught by James Green, an early proponent of the California School of Watercolor.) But his true passion proved to be to be in sharing his knowledge: enjoying the excitement of travel with fellow painters, helping them to create expressive paintings to enrich their experience. One of his students said: “He knows his stuff and he knows how to teach! Best watercolor instructor I have ever had!†Another said: “Randy demonstrates clearly and effectively. He offers information constantly and shares his knowledge and techniques without hesitation. He’s an excellent artist and instructor and he offers clear and positive help.â€
Randy Hale
11-18 June 2022 Vasari and Lippi suites left
Watercolours
To learn more about Randy and his course at the Watermill, please visit his 2022 Profile Page.