Under Wooden Arches

by Steve Henderson

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Price

$1,200

Dimensions

16.000 x 21.000 inches

Title

Under Wooden Arches

Artist

Steve Henderson

Medium

Painting - Watercolor On Paper

Description

It’s probably safe to say that most people don’t visit Italy to see minimalist skyscrapers of cement and glass, sleek, gleaming and modern. Nor are they there to eat fast food from US-based franchises.

What they want to see is the Italy of history, the places and spaces that have been around for hundreds, sometimes thousands of years – homes and churches, buildings and castles built of stone, trimmed with and adorned by carvings, statues, and paintings, embellished by arches over windows, doorways, entrances and exits.

The artwork, Under Wooden Arches, takes the viewer to a place that celebrates such creativity and craftsmanship – Orvieto, Italy, a hilltop town in Umbria known for its convoluted streets and passageways. A winding thoroughfare through a neighborhood of cobblestoned streets and potted plants is festooned by intricately crafted wooden arches, painted to look like stone. There is a feeling of fanfare as you pass through the arches, and you allow yourself to imagine that you might be walking through a portal, entryway to magical wonder.

There is nothing minimalist about this walkway – there is no shining chrome, no abstract exhibition of steel, no sense of efficiency over elegance, austerity in place of beauty. Someone, at some time, carved these arches, took care with their lines and form, stepped back to confirm that they were symmetrical and in line with one another and, most importantly, beautiful.

It took an artisan of skill willing to take time, to fashion raw materials into an organic and integral part of their surroundings. And while we, in our culture of modernity and efficiency that obsesses about saving time because that saves money, may ask:

“Are these really necessary? Could it not have been done more quickly, with fewer resources, and greater efficiency?”

the answer is, “Sure! But not with such pride and skill, resulting in something beautiful that will please many generations to come.”

Uploaded

January 29th, 2024

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