| Castel del Monte color pencil on paper 11 " x 17 " |
Santa Maria in Aracoeli
color pencil on paper 11 " x 17 "
color pencil on paper 11 " x 17 "
Welcome to my web page, dedicated to the
display and description of my original
artwork and writings.
My name is José Grave de Peralta, and I
am a Cuban-born artist residing in Rome,
Italy.
display and description of my original
artwork and writings.
My name is José Grave de Peralta, and I
am a Cuban-born artist residing in Rome,
Italy.
| home about the artist oil paintings fresco paintings panels and murals black & white works pastels, colored pencil, and gouache portraits classes writings art restoration newspaper clips Roman writings TOURS of Rome contact artist |
| Toroazul Painting and Fine Arts |
José Grave de Peralta
| Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 37:21-24) pastel on paper (25" x 19") Private collection |
As you enter my web site and view more of my artwork and writings up to now, feel
free to contact me and ask me about my work. Click on any of the various categories
and art techniques listed in the left-hand column of this HomePage . . . and enjoy
your visit.
free to contact me and ask me about my work. Click on any of the various categories
and art techniques listed in the left-hand column of this HomePage . . . and enjoy
your visit.
The above page from one of my Roman sketchbooks
shows the focus of a recent outdoor drawing lesson I
conducted near the elegant 17th-century dome by
Francesco Borromini for the Church of St. Ivo alla
Sapienza, near Piazza Navona and the great Caffe St.
Eustachio. While analyzing and drawing this dome in
elevation with my student, we looked for the way its
hexagonal and spiral mountain geometries could best
be represented through simple lines. Meanwhile, I
quietly recalled what an architect friend of mine at the
University of Miami would call "the lessons of
Rome," involving the role of ornament in architectural
design and the urban skyline. Borromini's elegant
spiral lantern for the church dome, when seen against
the sky, brings out what Edmund Bacon teaches in his
shows the focus of a recent outdoor drawing lesson I
conducted near the elegant 17th-century dome by
Francesco Borromini for the Church of St. Ivo alla
Sapienza, near Piazza Navona and the great Caffe St.
Eustachio. While analyzing and drawing this dome in
elevation with my student, we looked for the way its
hexagonal and spiral mountain geometries could best
be represented through simple lines. Meanwhile, I
quietly recalled what an architect friend of mine at the
University of Miami would call "the lessons of
Rome," involving the role of ornament in architectural
design and the urban skyline. Borromini's elegant
spiral lantern for the church dome, when seen against
the sky, brings out what Edmund Bacon teaches in his
The two images below come from my Artist's Sketchbook. The first one
features the Church of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli, located on the
Campidoglio, one of the legendary Seven Hills of ROME. . . . .
features the Church of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli, located on the
Campidoglio, one of the legendary Seven Hills of ROME. . . . .
The second of these sketchbook studies was also drawn on-site, but on the
promontory location of Emperor Frederick II's octagonal castle in the
region of Puglia.
promontory location of Emperor Frederick II's octagonal castle in the
region of Puglia.
These pencil drawing were executed during one of my walks or visits to
Saint Peter's Basilica, where in fact the staff and caretakers usually do not
let one draw for too long! The sketches feature, on the left, a view of the
basilica's main nave, and on the right, a study of the marble slab made of
porphyry, also seen in context n the left side image, on which King
Charlemagne supposedly knelt when he was crowned head of the Holy
Roman Empire by Pope Leo III in the year 800 A.D. (This porphyry slab
stood in the Old St. Peter's --built by Constantine in the 300s A.D.-- and it
is familiarly known as The Wheel , or, in Italian, la Ruota). I owe my
interest in these views of the pavement of Saint Peter's also to Bacon's text,
which speaks about how a building "meets the ground" !
Saint Peter's Basilica, where in fact the staff and caretakers usually do not
let one draw for too long! The sketches feature, on the left, a view of the
basilica's main nave, and on the right, a study of the marble slab made of
porphyry, also seen in context n the left side image, on which King
Charlemagne supposedly knelt when he was crowned head of the Holy
Roman Empire by Pope Leo III in the year 800 A.D. (This porphyry slab
stood in the Old St. Peter's --built by Constantine in the 300s A.D.-- and it
is familiarly known as The Wheel , or, in Italian, la Ruota). I owe my
interest in these views of the pavement of Saint Peter's also to Bacon's text,
which speaks about how a building "meets the ground" !
1970s text, The Design of Cities, regarding how a building meets the sky. So
many of our modern buildings' box-like forms, Bacon argues, do not honor in
any way the element that the sky that they penetrate supposedly embodies --
the place or home of the immortals and the divine.
many of our modern buildings' box-like forms, Bacon argues, do not honor in
any way the element that the sky that they penetrate supposedly embodies --
the place or home of the immortals and the divine.
One so-called lesson of Rome, I
think, involves the rediscovery of
sacred symbol and ornament as
key elements of design.
think, involves the rediscovery of
sacred symbol and ornament as
key elements of design.
| The Terrace of the Infinite pastel (19" x 25") 2010 CLICK here to read about this piece. |
