Horses of master Martin

Salvete Omnes,

 Surviving works of master Martin Schongauer (circa 1450-1491) present the wide panorama of the artistic skills of one of the most skilled artists of the Northern Renaissance.

Master Martin was famous for the renderings of the Virgin Mary and numerous saints.

But we will just concentrate on his horse iconography -

from the print- Christ bearing the Cross -

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2nd print -
battle of Clavijo circa 844 Ad, during the Reconquista - exceptional combination of master Martin artistic skills and his knowledge of horse and its body (considering the time period, i.e., XV century.

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Santiago or Saint James of Spain 

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Adarga shields and lances of the Moorish warriors

enjoy 

Valete  

Adoration of Magi - Art Institute of Chicago

 Salvete Omnes,

continuing on the subject of the Epiphany and Adoration of  Magi in the pre-modern arts, a tondo by Raffaelo Botticini (1474-died after1520) from the Art Institute of Chicago. 

this tempera was painted circa 1495 and reflects equestrianism of the Florentine, Tuscany, and northern Italy styles and preferences for horses and tack. 
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enjoy

Valete

Condottiere - Horseman from Santa Anastasia , Verona - International Gothic

 Salvete Omnes,

this evening we will canter quickly to Verona, where inside the Catholic church of Santa Anastasia there is a funerary monument to Cortesia Serego (1335-386AD), a condottiere captain in the Veronese army.

Cortesia II Sergo, his son, ordered the monument to be sculpted  by Pietro di Nicolo Lamberti and painted by Michele Giambono.

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San Crisogonom, an armored horseman astride a destrier,  painting by Michele Giambono

enjoy 

Valete

Bronze Horses from MET

 Salvete Omnes,

so we have entered the last month of this 2025.  Christmas is almost around the corner, and the San Silvestre/New Year.
In 2023 I posted a short entry on the Maciejowski Bible (now also sadly known as the Morgan Bible) and the knightly aquamanile from the fabulous museum in NYC  aka MET.

From MET come these XV century Imperial bronze vessels aka aquamanile. 

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and the second horse 

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enjoy

Valete

Horses from XV century San Sebastian piantings

 Salvete Omnes,

Spanish panel - Saint Sebastian and Saint Fabian

Panta rhei -said Heraclitus. So  August 2025 is ending, king of colder and rainier than ususal.
I always enjoy the XV century European art, especially paintings. 
Saint Sebastian (protector or defender against plague etc, patron of archers and athletes) was a popular saint of the Catholic Church during the period, many altar pieces had been painted during that great century, when Europe moved from chivalry to global exploration (reaching the Americas and South and Eastern Asia).

German altar painting from Nuremberg, 1487AD

a chestnut with a star & stripe, and a snip on its face (three socks are visible) , and a grey in a background. Horses have no forelocks

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Master of the Holy Kinship the Younger painted this retable. 

grey horses, and one sorrel on the opposite side

German painting - perhaps  the very end of the century

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Andrea Previtali - Saint Sebastian with a donor in a background

the donor is portrayed   training  his dextrarius , destrier being a  grey horse, while another destrier bay or chestnut horse held in the background by a groom.

enjoy

Valete

Easter AD 2025

 Salvete Omnes,

Raphael Santi's Resurrection , currently in Brazil 

it is a beautiful Sunday - Easter Sunday 

happy Easter - wesolego Aleluja, Chrystus zmartwychwstał! Prawdziwie zmartwychwstał  - Χριστὸς ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη! 

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and a very interesting 1420s (XV century) northern German painting of Crucifixion, unknown master

. we can observe wide (woven?) cinches,  richly decorated bridles and tack,  dyed-leather large pommel and cattle saddles with skirts, rowel spur, long-leg ridding with heavy stirrups, and their riding attire of  the period. The gray stallion has his forelock gathered and tied up (Eastern or steppe fashion).

enjoy

Valete

Adoration of Magi - Gerard & Domenico

 Salvete Omnes,

today is the Feast of Epiphany - and I would like to share the following particular details from some XV century Old Masters' paintings showing the Holy Family and the Adoration of Magi.

 

 Northern Renaissance painter Gerard David - Adoration from MET

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another Adoration of Magi by Gerard David - from Munich Altepinakotek 

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another Adoration of Magi by David, from Brussels.

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and from the south of the XV century Europe -  Italian Old Master Domenico Ghirlandaio 
Uffizi Gallery

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Cappella Tornabuoni - 

saddle pommel and its adornments 

Adoration of Magi from Museo degli Innocenti , Florence

. Cappella Sassetti , Florence

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Happy Epiphany

Valete