Evangelist Windows of a House at the Ponte del Forner, San Cassano, Venice
About this artwork
This building was described by Ruskin as: 'a noble house in which the spandrels of the windows are filled by the emblems of the four Evangelists, sculptures in deep relief, and touching the edges of the arches with their expanded wings'. The contrast between the animal symbols of the Christian Apostles with their spread wings, flying free, and the double bird cage trapping a living bird, hung out of the door, brings a certain sadness to this image. The photographer achieves a compositional balance with the three empty plant pots, precariously placed on a board on the railing.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Carlo Ponti (about 1822 - 1893) Italian
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title:Evangelist Windows of a House at the Ponte del Forner, San Cassano, Venice
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date created:1850s
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materials:Albumen print
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measurements:25.20 x 34.90 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Gift of Mrs. Riddell in memory of Peter Fletcher Riddell 1985
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accession number:PGP R 164
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gallery:
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subject:
Carlo Ponti
Carlo Ponti
Carlo Ponti had studied photography in Paris in the 1840s. In 1852, he obtained a license to produce and sell photographs in Venice. He ran the first of the big photographic businesses in the city, producing albums with architectural views of Venice. Ponti became known as the inventor of camera...