Each image
has a background. In the paintings, the subjects can stand against a monochrome
or a gold background. Sometimes, the subjects are represented in an
architectonical or a natural surround. Sometimes natural elements are painted
as backdrops of sacred figures or they are real landscapes.
When the gold background was abandoned, artists often continued to paint a gold textile behind their subjects.
Rocks are a symbol of hardness and aridity; therefore, they evoke the desert a place for meditation. A rock or a cave characterize the iconography of penitent saints.
Saint Jerome (Around 1482) by Bartolomeo MontagnaMuseo Poldi Pezzoli
Landscape gradually became the stage for the representation, where the artist set a scene or an episode. Otherwise the landscape appeared, unexpected through a window.
The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria (1520 circa) by Bernardino LuiniMuseo Poldi Pezzoli
In the 18th century, the travelers who came to Italy to see its towns and artworks wanted to take home a memory of what they had viewed. A new genre was born, the veduta (views), and Canaletto and Guardi were among the best painters of this genre.
Prà della Valle in Padua (1741 - 1746) by Giovanni Antonio Canal called Il CanalettoMuseo Poldi Pezzoli
