The Counterattack of Michelotto da Cotignola at the Battle of San Romano, c.1455, by Paolo Uccello
When I lived in London, I remember visiting the National Gallery and staring endlessly at one of the three paintings that comprises Uccello’s The Battle of San Romano. Since then, I have seen the other two (at the Louvre in Paris and at the Ufizzi in Florence). I keep postcards of all three on my inspiration board, but this one – the Counterattack of Michelotto da Cotignola at the Battle of San Romano, from about 1455 – remains a standout for me.
When I was recently asked by a young couple to address the floors in their apartment with anything except carpets (in any way, shape, or form), I was left with little choice but to work directly on the floor. The living area, dining area, and a small study area are all part of the same very large room, and I needed to punctuate the large space and delineate the smaller spaces with something on the floor.
The clients are lovers of all things Italian, so this was a perfect opportunity to somehow use the Uccello paintings that I have loved for so long. I was thinking about taking color schemes from the paintings, but decided that was too obvious. Then, I was looking through one of my now favorite books – Clara Schmidt’s Decors Geometrique – and I came across an image of this very painting and a geometrical analysis of the flag in the foreground. That was it. I got in touch with decorative artist Dean Barger, and we worked with the flag and its analysis, and translated it into our own language.
In the end, it is a sort of pinwheel inspired by Uccello and the classic geometry of circle segments, here expressed as variations on triangles that are conatined within and comprise hexagons.
From this apartment, one can see the entire East Village, Lower East Side, and even to Brooklyn on a clear day.
The light is intense, the windows are many, and we wanted to create something that felt grounded, intimate, and cozy. Hence the ebonized floor with painted carpets, and the walls and ceiling wrapped in a single unform color, custom mixed from Donald Kaufman.
We did the “painted carpets” on an ebonzied floor with artists pigments and silver leaf. The dining area (to the left in the above photo) features an all-over design, on top of which a vintage Saarinen oval table will sit, with horeshair-uphosltered chairs from the 1940’s around it, and an amazing moderne console and Tommi Parzinger urn lamps, all beneath an amazing Venini chandelier. Below is the room waiting for the table and chairs.
After we finish furnishing the apartment, we will be layering in some amazing artwork, including this amazing photograph by one of my favorite artists, Abelardo Morrell:
Abelardo Morell’s Santa Maria della Salute with Scaffolding in Palazzo Bedroom, 2007
I am looking particularly forward to seeing the way the inverted dome of the Santa Maria della Salute works in the background of the Venini chandlier.
Look out for more images of this project as we move through the next few months.