Santa Trinita Revisited - An Original Oil Painting by Matthew Holden Bates

"Santa Trinita Revisited" Oil an Canvas - 180cm x 60cm - Private Collection
© Matthew Holden Bates, Firenze, Italy, All Rights Reserved

This bridge, in Firenze, has had a major influence on my life, I am drawn to it. This is the second painting in a life long series of three major works spanning 15 years. The bridge was destroyed by the Nazis as they were retreating from the Allied forces in WW2. Florentines were so upset about this that they fished out all of the stones from the Arno river and rebuilt the bridge exactly as it was before. The Florentine stone masons from that time were still able to recreate the Architectural Masterpiece which was designed by Bartolomeo Ammannati, the original bridge was constructed from 1567 to 1569. There is some speculation that Ammannati was inspired by his aging friend, Michelangelo, especially in the curve of the the underside of the bridge.

This painting was a lot of fun to make, also a very large canvas, almost 2 meters across. Here are the details to study up close:

"Santa Trinita Revisited" detail

Look in the back of the above detail, and you can see the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) in the background. If you look behind the lady you will see some modern looking windows on the bridge. I was curious about how there could be such modern windows on such an old bridge. It turns out that Benito Mussolini invited Hilter to visit Italy, before the war, and for the event Mussolini cut out the wall and had the windows put in so that Hilter would enjoy the view of the Arno river on his visit. Of all of the bridges that span the Arno, the only bridge that was not destroyed by the Nazis was the Ponte Vecchio. Maybe Hilter wanted to preserve a piece of his legacy by saving the bridge. Just a thought.

"Santa Trinita Revisited" detail

"Santa Trinita Revisited" detail

"Santa Trinita Revisited" detail

I am often looking to add a signature to my paintings which is non invasive, a trick I picked up from Richard Estes. It also makes for a fun game to find the Easter Eggs that I put into the composition. In this painting I signed it in the lower right as a bit of Graffiti. It is also a reminder not to take all of the details all so seriously.

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http://www.mattbates.net

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