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St. Mark

Pietro Antonio Novelli

  • St. Mark 2
  • St. Mark 3
  • St. Mark 4
Basic information
ID
Ж-842
Author
Pietro Antonio Novelli
Name
St. Mark
Date of creation
c.1762
Technique
oil painting
Material
canvas oil
Dimensions (height x width, cm)
65 x 46.5
Additionally
Type
painting
Genre
religious
Plot
Saint Mark
Provenance
Collection of Lviv City Gallery
Exposition
Potocki Palace
Information about author
Author
Pietro Antonio Novelli
Artist's lifetime
1729–1804
Country
Italy
Biography
Pietro Antonio Novelli (1729–1804) was an Italian painter and engraver, a student of the Venetian painter Jacopo Amigoni. The master gained popularity as the author of frescoes and altarpieces throughout Northern Italy. In 1768, he became a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice. The artist moved to Rome in 1779, where he worked for over 20 years. In 1804, at the end of his life, Pietro Antonio Novelli returned to Venice.
Object description
The painting from the collection of Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery is an artistic interpretation of the image of St. Mark, one of the Four Evangelists and a disciple of Peter the Apostle. Mark is regarded as the founder of the Church of Alexandria, which became one of the most important episcopal sees. He is honoured as the patron saint of Venice. In 829, his relics were transported from Alexandria to Venice, where the Basilica of St. Mark was built. In the iconographic tradition, which attributed to the Evangelists some elements borrowed from St. John the Theologian's vision (Revelation 4:7), Mark is depicted with a lion, a symbol of power and royal dignity of Christ (Revelation 5:5). The spirituality of the image, the affirmation of the triumph of the spirit over the flesh, the expressiveness of the painting, and deep drama are all features of the "St. Mark" canvas. The mastery of space and the emergence of forms as if from the infinite vortex of the universe draw the viewers' attention. The key features of the work are the plastic "openness" and the contrast of the diagonals. Thus, the figure of the Evangelist is leaned back on the "passive" diagonal, whereas the "active" one is outlined by an unfolded scroll and a hand with a pen. Typical of Pietro Antonio Novelli's artistic style is expressive but soft painting, with holistic, as if full of inner radiance, golden-ochre colouring. The composition is executed with a broad, pasty, and sketchy-like brushstroke, which suggests that it served as a preparatory material for a fragment of a larger monumental work.
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

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