‘The Towers of San Gimignano’ by Douglas Connelly (1958)

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A Tuscan landscape featuring the towers of San Gimignano, Italy, at twilight. California artist DOUGLAS CONNELLY uses the “chiaroscuro of … Read more A Tuscan landscape featuring the towers of San Gimignano, Italy, at twilight. California artist DOUGLAS CONNELLY uses the “chiaroscuro of nature”—the effects of vanishing light experienced outdoors—to model the skyline of the famous medieval hill town. Thirty-five miles south of Florence, San Gimignano served as a relay point for pilgrims traveling on the Via Francigena between Canterbury and Rome in the Middle Ages. Competition among the town’s patrician families led to the construction of more than seventy tower houses, some reaching heights of over 50 m. Fourteen of these monuments to their rivalry survive to this day. In an original frame built from recycled wood. See less