COMPOSITION IN THE ROUND SERIES

Composition in the Round

A modern take on the Italian Renaissance art form of tondo

There it was, staring at me from the rack of handmade paper in the art store. A perfect, handmade piece of watercolor paper in the form of an 8-inch diameter circle, complete with deckle edges all around! I wanted so badly to buy it — but it somehow seemed a little too “crafty” to me. I circled around the store (no pun intended) and came back for a second look. It jumped into my hands and I promptly paid for it so as not to change my mind and have regrets when I got home.

It sat in the studio for a few days, in fact, it is still there, I have not yet painted anything on it. But I will, I plan to have an online workshop on the art of the form of tondo!

Adoration of the Magi, by Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi (1395–1455) — painter (Italian)Born in Italy, Mugello, Vicchio. Died in Italy, Rome.

What exactly is tondo?

I knew I had seen really important paintings done in this format before, so I googled “round paintings in art history”. Lo and behold, I discovered the Italian Renaissance term tondo.

A tondo (pl.: tondi or tondos) is a Renaissance term for a circular work of art, either a painting or a sculpture. The word derives from the Italian rotondo, “round”. The painting above, Adoration of the Magi is by Renaissance Master Fra Filippo Lippi. It is a…