Snowball fight!!! This will be a picture heavy post. All the paintings in this post are from Torre Aquila also known as the Eagle Tower. The paintings are from the late 14th Century/early 15th Century - probably between 1392 and 1407 based upon records of the time. The room is filled with a allegory of the months theme. When you first step in, the first thing you see is January, or the snowball fight.
It was really quite difficult to get good photos only because of the angles. All of these paintings start roughly at 8 feet from the floor. Also, each of these paintings were done in a mix of fresco and oil - it's why some figures look fine and others look faded or blurry.
Slight better angle of the snowball fight. Click on any of the photos to make them bigger!
More of the snowball fight. I just like snowball fights. Sorry.
February is above a window. March was destroyed in a fire where a wooden staircase now stands. Luckily, it was the only month to be destroyed.
The Spring/Summer wall.
The far wall show July and August.
August, with the lady clad in black, is at the back wall and on the right are October, November, and December.
Slightly better overall view of October-Dec frescos.
November going into December
Slightly better look at the December Fresco.
This is one of the lower walls. I forget what was originally there but, in the late 16th C, everything on the lower section got painted over and they were going to put up portraits. However, only a sketch was ever completed.
April
The upper part of April. One of the points the tour guide pointed out is that everything is not to the realism scale but to the ideological scale. Humans are shown in enlarged detail - with nobles being larger that serfs. However, even the serfs are larger than trees,plants, and even buildings. It's because humans are more important that all the other visible works of God's creation. (That's why the horses look so tiny in the next picture!)
April going into May.
Detail of the oxen and horses helping on the farm in April.
Mostly May with May flowers.
Upper May scene.
Most of the June scene.
Here, I was trying to get a better photo of the lovely garments in the June scene. I mean, look at the lady with the blue and red striped gown!
The parade of people in the June scene. The bishop is in the red gown being escorted by a priest in the pink gown.
Upper June scene.
No matter what, I couldn't get a good angle for the July scenes.
Lower July scene
Top of the window going from July into August.
Closer look at the lady with the striped gown in the June scene again because stripes!
Corner of the room going from August into September.
Lower August scene.
Upper August scene.
September.
Close up of the figures hunting in September.
Upper September scene.
October and wine making!!!!
Close up of the ladies sampling the grapes in October.
Close up of the wine making process
August through November
November through January
Another view of the Snowball fight in January
November and December.
December.
This was one of the better preserved examples of the patterns on the lower wall. It was painted in a motif that is common to fabrics as well at the time.
More snowball fight. :-)
Upper January
This is a bad photo of the February that was above the window. It shows a jousting match with the spectators.
A loan blacksmith in the corner of the window for the February scene.
Better photo of the February scene.
Much better close up of the couple in July. Notice his parti colored garments!
Another better photo of July
And ending with the awesome snowball scene.
Hopefully, I'll get the rest of the photos up in the next week! Sorry this is taking so long.
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