Taddeo wants to start right away on a massive panel. He wants to paint the Crucifixion. He has a vision
of the Resurrection. I want him to learn how to make a brush. To use the soft hairs from Gianna’s white
hog, not the stiff black hairs from wild boars. I want him to crush burnt almond shells to make a rich
black. To grind chicken bones into powder for a primer. (He can find some under the table.) I want to
tell him— Before you can paint a panel, you’ve got to make one. Use the easy wood— poplars, linden,
willows. I want to take him into the forest. I know where there’s a seep in the hillside. If he scrapes it,
he will find seams of many colors— ocher, rose, sinopher. If he wants to paint crowns, he must learn
how to hammer gold into a leaf. For his sky, he will have to crush lapis lazuli. If he wants to paint
paradise, he must first find a pig.
Read Selected Poems
from "I wanted to Paint Paradise"
written in the voice of Giotto di Bondone (c.1266-1337)