The staircase in painting is an unusual theme that has interested some artists: to Rembrandt and Dipre for their symbolism, to Hubert Robert for their aesthetic appearance ...
3. a religious emblem, a status symbol
a symbol of the progression towards knowledge, of the ascension towards knowledge
a symbol of the connection between heaven and earth, of the contact between man and God
6. a marble staircase...
Mary at the age of three years climbs the 15 steps of the temple in Jerusalem.
The girl is received by the high priest Abiathar.
Giotto di Bondone
Scenes from the Life of the Virgin. Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple
Scènes de la Vie de la Vierge Marie. La Présentation de la Vierge au temple
1304-1306
Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua
7.
8.
9. A stairs, the link between two scenes ...
While Jesus is brought before the High Priest Annas, Peter remains in the courtyard
where a servant-girl recognizes him as a friend of the accused: his raised hand indicates
the words of denial.
Duccio di Buoninsegna
Maestà. Christ before Annas and Peter Denying Jesus (scenes 8-9)
Maestà. Le Christ devant Anne et le Reniement de Pierre
1308-1311
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Siena
10.
11.
12. One of the most enigmatic and fascinating works of the Italian Renaissance ...
a wide terrace,
a lake shore,
Mary enthroned,
two unidentified female figures,
four children playing,
Job and St. Sebastian.
St. Joseph (or St. Peter) and St. Paul,
a man with a turban perhaps symbolizes an infidel,
a poetic landscape,
buildings, animals
and
Anthony the Great, descending the stairs to meet the Centaur
Giovanni Bellini
Holy Allegory or Sacred Allegory
Allégorie chrétienne, aussi connue comme Allégorie sacrée
1490-1500
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
13.
14.
15.
16. Salome in a magnificent dress in the fashion of the French princesses,
two mourners,
the executioner, handing over the head on a golden charger
and
John's inert body lying at the foot of the stairs
Rogier van der Weyden
The Altar of St. John, right panel
L’Autel de Saint-Jean, panneau de droite
1455-1460
Staatliche Museen, Berlin
17.
18.
19.
20. The English ambassadors have delivered a letter which requests the hand of Princess Ursula
in marriage to the crown prince.
Ursula informs her father of her conditions for accepting the marriage,
seated at the foot of the stairs,
the old governess stares out into space, as though she knew what a tragic ending this royal
wedding contract would lead to.
Vittore Carpaccio
Legend of Saint Ursula. Arrival of the English Ambassadors
La légende de la vie de sainte Ursule. Arrivée des ambassadeurs anglais
1495-1500
Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice
21.
22.
23.
24.
25. a monumental staircase
and
a large octagonal building …
Slim silhouettes of men, one of them breaking his branch on his knee;
is one of the suitors who did not take the rejection well
When Mary reached a marriageable age she had many suitors; all of them showed
up with a branch, but the one Joseph was holding miraculously blossomed.
Pietro Perugino, Le Pérugin
Marriage of the Virgin
Le Mariage de la Vierge
1501-1504
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen, Caen
26.
27.
28. The staircase by its spiral treatment, plays a central role in this painting:
the steps begin on the side of the Virgin's parents to then make a turn, a conversion ...
Mary's gesture, expressly underlined by the shadow, marks that a "turning point" has
been reached.
Nicolas Dipre
La présentation de la Vierge au Temple
The Presentation of the Virgin Mary
1500
Musée du Louvre, Paris
29.
30.
31. The Staircase of Knowledge of the School of Athens ...
Raphael
School of Athens
L'École d'Athènes
1509
Stanza della Segnatura, Palazzi Pontifici, Vatican
32.
33.
34. at the top of the stairs the priest and his assistants await the tiny figure of Mary …
Titian, Titien
Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple
La Présentation de Marie au Temple
1534-1538
Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice
35.
36.
37.
38. Joseph holds the hand of his son as he takes him up the steps to visit the dying Jacob ...
Pontormo
Joseph in Egypt
Joseph en Égypte
1515-1518
National Gallery, London
39.
40.
41.
42. An old man seated at a table in front of a window, his head bowed and his hands
folded in his lap,
an old woman tending a fire in an open hearth
and
a partially vaulted interior that is dominated by a wooden spiral staircase.
Rembrandt, Harmensz. van Rijn
Philosopher in Meditation
Le Philosophe en contemplation, longtemps appelé aussi Philosophe en méditation
1632
Musée du Louvre, Paris
43.
44.
45. An eavesdropper as a protagonist ...
a stairs,
a lady of the house, richly clad in a fur-trimmed red velvet jacket, and with an empty wine glass
in her left hand,
and
a maidservant being seduced by a man and thus neglecting her duties
and
the viewer directly involved in the scenario, and even become an accomplice …
Nicolaes Maes
Eavesdropper
L’oreille indiscrète
1657
Dordrechts Museum, Dordrecht
46.
47.
48.
49. At the gate of the Temple of Jerusalem a lame man begging for alms ...
Peter fixes his eyes on him, "Silver and gold I do not have; but what I do have I give you:
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.”
and
the men who go up and down the stairs of the temple cross each other and question each
other with their gaze
Nicolas Poussin
Saints Peter and John Healing the Lame Man
Saint Pierre et saint Jean guérissant le boiteux
1655
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
50.
51.
52. A spiral staircase amid stars and golden rays …
William Blake
Jacob's Ladder, or Jacob's Dream
L'échelle de Jacob ou Le rêve de Jacob
1799-1806
The British Museum, London
53.
54.
55. Gigantic spiral ...
spiral staircase, the Scala Regia "Royal Stairs", rising through the principal floors
Hubert Robert
Staircase in the Villa Farnese at Caprarola
Escalier tournant du palais Farnèse à Caprarola
1764
Musée du Louvre, Paris
56.
57.
58. An atmosphere of the solemn and sublime evoke the feeling of silence and rapture.
the motionless surface of the water
and
the boat with the white wrapped figure behind the coffin …
the view through the stairs does not penetrate into the dark interior.
Arnold Böcklin
Island of the Dead, third version)
L'Île des morts, troisième version
1883
Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin
59.
60.
61.
62. at the foot of a staircase ...
a man in a brown cape,
a woman in a blue dress
and
and lips that touch
Francesco Hayez
The Kiss
Le Baiser
1859
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan
63.
64.
65. A medieval Danish ballad which tells the story of Hellelil, who fell in love with her personal
guard Hildebrand.
Her father disapproved of the relationship and ordered her seven brothers to kill the young
prince.
A narrow, curved staircase
and
a romantic moment from the story before the terrible end, the final meeting of the two lovers.
Frederic William Burton
Hellelil and Hildebrand, the meeting on the turret stairs
Hellelil et Hildebrand, la rencontre dans les escaliers de la tourelle
1864
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
66.
67.
68. A staircase leading to the metal bridge that spanned the river and joined
the two sides of the town.
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh
Arles, 13 October 1888
“The Trinquetaille bridge with all these steps is a canvas done on a grey morning,
the stones, the asphalt, the pavements are grey; the sky, pale blue, the figures,
coloured; and there is a sickly tree with yellow foliage.”
Vincent van Gogh
Le Pont de Trinquetaille
The Trinquetaille Bridge
Octobre 1888
Private collection Collection S. Kramarsky
69.
70.
71. a sky crossed by wispy clouds,
flags fluttering,
an elegant woman,
man raising his hat,
the façade of the Grand Hotel
and
the central staircase with figures that seem to admire the spectacle of the tide
Claude Monet
Hôtel des Roches Noires. Trouville
Hôtel des Roches Noires in Trouville
1870
Musée d'Orsay, Paris
72.
73.
74. The Empress solemnly descends the staircase dressed in a red tunic …
in the background, on the balustrade, the statue of a she-wolf,
in the foreground, two guards -with whom Messalina also hung out - and who will be in charge
of ending her life, not because Claudius cared that she was sleeping with the others,
but because he was accumulating too much power.
Messalina's red dress is said to symbolize the passion and bloody death that awaits her.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Messalina Descends the Stairs Lined by Female Figures
Messaline descend l'escalier bordé de figurants
1900-1901
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles