01 Painting of the Canals of Venice by the artists of their time, with foot notes. #46

Martin Packford, United Kingdom

Theodore and The Lion

Oil on board

39.4 H x 39.4 W x 0 in

Private collection

Theodore and the Lion refers to the two columns outside the Palazzo Ducale, named after two patron saints of Venice.

The Column of the Lion and the Column of St. Theodore of Amasea, now located in Piazzetta San Marco, are examples of works coming from the East. They come out of the Venetian participation in the Crusades, concluding in the Sack of Constantinople in 1204. While their origins are uncertain, they represent the city as major landmarks in the region of the Doge’s Palace. The columns themselves seem to come from Constantinople. The Lion of Venice is an ancient bronze winged lion sculpture in the Piazza San Marco. It came to symbolize the city — as well as one of its patron saints, St Mark — after its arrival there in the 12th century. The sculpture surmounts one of two large granite columns in the Square. It has had a very long and obscure history, probably starting its existence as a winged lion-griffin statue on a monument to the god Sandon at Tarsus around 300 BC. At some point came to represent the “Lion of Saint Mark”, traditional symbol of Saint Mark the evangelist. The figure standing on the western column is St. Theodore of Amasea, patron of the city before St Mark, who holds a spear and stands on a crocodile (to represent the dragon which he was said to have slain). It is also made up of separate pieces of antique statues, including a crocodile, a torso and a head. The statue on the column is a copy with the original being kept in the Doge's Palace. More on The Columns of the Lion and St. Theodore

Martin Packford,'s work is primarily concerned with finding a harmonious balance between a clear representation of real locations with a spontaneous and gestural painting process.

Martin's paintings have been privately bought or specially commissioned by clients both nationally and internationally. He currently lives and works in Bristol. 

"I am a contemporary landscape painter interested in the technique of painting and the method of using expressive and gestural brushwork to create something that transcends the scene represented into something more visual exciting and emotionally charged. The main focus of my paintings are scenes that depict large groups of people or that have a certain energy that can be expressed rather than just merely reproduced". More on Martin Packford

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, And visit my Boards on Pinterest

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