

Monday, August 16, 2010

Art postage stamps from San Marino

The ˆ1,00 stamp depicts Botticelli's work of art, "The Birth of Venus" (1485-88), commissioned by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici to adorn Villa di Castello in the Florentine countryside. This painting, tempera on canvas (172,5 x 278,5 cm.), hangs in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

The ˆ1,40 stamp depicts "The Tempest" by Giorgione da Castelfranco Veneto. It seems that the painting was commissioned by the Venetian nobleman, Gabriele Vendramin, between 1504 and 1507. The painting, oil on canvas (82 x 73 cm.), hangs in the Accademia Galleries in Venice.

The ˆ1,45 stamp depicts "The Supper at Emmaus", painted in 1601 by Caravaggio, commissioned by the Marquis Patrizi and which now hangs in the National Gallery in London.

The ˆ1,50 stamp represents the 1908 painting by Rousseau (100,5 x 80,5 cm.), painted during the last period of the artist's life, entitled "The Football Players", which is now located in The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.