Works of Art Photography for National Gallery of Art – CASVA

CLIENT

National Gallery of Art – CASVA -Washington D.C.

ADDITIONAL INFO

Project Coordination: Professor L. Pericolo – University of Warwick, Coventry, UK

LOCATION

Rome, Italy.

PHOTOGRAPHER

Riccardo Budini

CATEGORY

Architecture – Works of Art – Cultural Heritage

YEAR

Jan. – May  2013

Case Study: photographs of  paintings, frescoes, architectures and details from different locations in Rome.

“Riccardo Budini executed splendid photographs of works of art for us in Rome. We would like to aknowledge his talent , patience, dedication and courtesy”

Elizabeth Cropper, Dean, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts
National Gallery of Art

Preface of Lives of Domenichino and Francesco Gessi, London, Harvey Miller Publisher, 2013

I was assigned an extensive project consisting in taking 22 photographs of architectures, paintings and frescoes from different locations in Rome. It was the first experience with the client – The National Gallery of Art – Center for Advanced Study in Visual Art – Washington D.C. Given the prominence and demanding nature of the assignment, one of the primary goal was not to deceive client’s expectations and hopefully to outmatch them.
After the first discussions and brainstorming, the deadline was fixed in 4 months.
A good part of the work consisted in preliminary planning: retrieving dozens of contacts, obtaining authorizations from competent authorities, dealing with bureaucracy and outsmarting it, whenever possible. A map was set-up and its database shared with the client in order to track real time progress and geolocate all data.
Precise information on some of the works of art was not available and an investigative work was necessary to locate them and to reach their holders. Some other works were not accessible for safety reasons or for restoration work. Eventually access to all the required locations has been granted.
The shootings of paintings and frescoes have been completed in order to maximize details, resolution and faithful color rendition. To get the expected results, the gear used and provisional harnesses reached a consistent weight and footprint, which imposed further planning to commute across the narrow and traffic interdicted streets of the Roman historical center. Size of some tall paintings and the high position of the same, posed further challenge to the operations.

The professionalism and courtesy of the coordination team has been outstanding. The overall experience helped me to refine my approach to art. Capturing every detail of a work of art allows to slowly get an intimate relation with it and discover unexpected findings.
The photographs have been used for archiving purposes and were published in Cropper and Pericolo 2013 – critical edition of Cesare Malvasia’s Felsina Pittrice, Lives of Bolognese painters, volume thirteen, Lives of Domenichino and Francesco Gessi, London, Harvey Miller Publisher

All photos and text: Riccardo Budini / Looma

Samples of High Resolution Photographs

 

Other Samples

  • G.B. Ruggieri Santa Caterina da Siena and Santa Maria Maddalena, fresco of the intrados, Church of Santa Caterina da Siena a Magnanapoli, Bonnanni Primi Chapel. Photo: Riccardo Budini / Looma for NGA CASVA

    Works of Art photography - frescoes
  • G.B. Speranza, Annunciation, fresco of the barrel vault, Santa Caterina da Siena a Magnanapoli, Bonnanni Primi chapel. Photo: Riccardo Budini / Looma for NGA CASVA

    Works of Art photographer in Rome, Italy
  • G.B. Speranza Assumption, fresco of vault, Santa Caterina da Siena a Magnanapoli, Bonnanni Primi chapel. Rome, Italy. Photo: Riccardo Budini / Looma for NGA CASVA

    G.B. Speranza Assumption, fresco of vault, Santa Caterina da Siena a Magnanapoli, Bonnanni Primi chapel
  • Lives of Domenichino and Francesco Grassi book with two of the photographs produced. Photo: Riccardo Budini / Looma for NGA CASVA

    Works of art photography for publishers
  • Lives of Domenichino and Francesco Grassi book with photographs produced. Photo: Riccardo Budini / Looma for NGA CASVA

    Frescoes
  • Lives of Domenichino and Francesco Grassi book with two of the photographs produced. Photo: Riccardo Budini / Looma for NGA CASVA

    Works of art photography
  • Metric elevation photograph of the main portal of Palazzo Lacellotti is compared with the drawing of Domenichino. The perfect matching between the two was an unexpected finding. The drawing has been sliced to make planes depth match along the two different projections (parallel to central).  Rome, Italy. Photo: Riccardo Budini / Looma for NGA CASVA

    portal of Palazzo Lacellotti, Drawing of Domenichino
  • G.B. Ruggieri,  St. Andrew and St. Erasmus, frescoes,  St. Andrew and Bartholomew in Laterano church, Rome, Italy. Photo: Riccardo Budini / Looma for NGA CASVA

    G.B. RUGGIERI, St. Andrew and St. Erasmus, frescoes, SANTI ANDREA E BARTOLOMEO IN LATERANO
  • G.B. Ruggieri, Jesus visits the Temple, detail, fresco in Santa Maria sopra Minerva church, Rome, Italy. Photo: Riccardo Budini / Looma for NGA CASVA

    large works of art photography