Step into my studio and join me on my journey to paint 'Fiesole'.
In the spring of 2025, I immersed myself in western and eastern composition. Through the reading of various books, I discovered parallels between Edo period Japan and the early Italian renaissance. There were strong similarities in their approach of dark and light, not shadow and light; a mere fact of nature, but the abstract beauty of the balance between the dark and light parts of an object, in both nature and art. The Japanese call this dark-light harmony 'notan'. After studying the works of Japanese masters like Utagawa and Kiyonaga, I returned to Europe where Giovanni da Fiesole, known as Fra Angelico, particularly captured my attention for his compositional insight. Inspired by his mastery I began creating simple black and white studies of his most resonant works, eventually developing a motif that led to the building of the scene shown in the first image. I stuck to a simple but effective black, white, red and green contrast reminiscent of the Utagawa palette.
The above images show my notan studies of various pieces by Fra Angelico, along with my final composition study. These studies are not intended to be beautiful or intricate; rather they serve to help me form an idea of what it is that I'm trying to achieve, and how to get there.
The above image presents the underpainting in burnt umber, with the canvas white remaining visible. This monochromatic approach aids me in assessing the composition on the larger canvas (100 x 100 cm), refining the positioning of each element and deepening my understanding of the notan (the abstract harmony of light and dark).
Here you can see that I realized midway through the painting that the white shape on the chair lacked the strength needed to act as the central presence and focal point, and also created a visual imbalance tipping the whole of the scene to the right. Consequently, I decided to incorporate a strong triangular shape; the stable triangle, used in numerous altarpieces throughout religious art history, symbolizing the trinity and directing the viewer's gaze towards heaven. This adjustment improved the overall strength and balance of the piece.
To conclude this brief presentation, I included two images of the painting being varnished in my garage, along with a close-up detail of the angel on the right. While inspiration for the composition stems from Renaissance Italy, my painting style draws from 19th-century masters, characterized by large, bold brush strokes and a generous application of paint.
