Battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs – Michelangelo
Madonna of the Stairs – Michelangelo
Model of the River God for the Medici Chapel – Michelangelo
Model of the Façade of San Lorenzo - Michelangelo
Origin of Genius – Artemisia Gentileschi
Fortress Drawings – Michelangelo
Noli Me Tangere (2) - Pontormo
Museo Dell’Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo Museum)
Original gothic exterior pieces of the Duomo
Pieta – Michelangelo (for his own tomb)
Mary Magdelan – Donatello
Bargello
David – Donatello (earlier, marble)
(faggy) David – Donatello (bronze)
Baptistery doors competition panels – Bruneleschi and Ghiberti
Bacchus – Michelangelo
Pitti Tondo – Michelangelo
Brutus – Michelangelo
Apollo – Michelangelo
Medici Chapel, San Lorenzo
Academia
4 Slaves – Michelangelo
David – Michelangelo
St. Mark – Michelangelo
Deposition from the Cross – Perugino
Venus and Cupid – Painted by Pontormo, Designed by Michelangelo
Pallazzo Medici Riccardi
Procession of the Magi – Benozo Gozzili
Madonna and Child – Fra Filippo Lippi
Santa Croce
Michelangelo's Tomb
Galileo's Tomb
Ufizzi (I spent four hours there. If I listed everything I saw you would all die a slow death in the process of reading the list)
Highlights: The Donni Tondo - Michelangelo
Pieta - Perugino
Young Bacchus - Caravaggio
Head of a Gorgon - Caravaggio
Annunciation of the Virgin - Simone Martini
The Lippi Room
Onto the Blog...
About every six months to a year, I like to place this little game where I decide to make a game changing decision and commit myself to some new profession. Let's see, last summer I was all about advertising, then it turned to law school, earlier this semester it was some quasi art/advertising career path. Now, drum role please....art historian! This choice is incredibly exciting, reasonable, time consuming, etc. I'm not abandoning the other's though so if anyone can think of one super combination career path that allows me to do all those...you've got my attention.
This last weekend, I was in Florence (again!) for my Michelangelo in Rome class. I once again am completely enthralled by art, what it means, what you can discover, etc.
No worries, I will skip the exact play by play breakdown of the weekend. You have the list, you can see for yourself where I went. These are just some of the highlights.
We began at Casa Buonorrotti, the home of Michelangelo's nephew, Michelangelo. In his attempt to ingratiate himself with his late uncles success, he made the property into a shrine of sorts to his idol. Within this one home/museum, there are both the two most important early works by Michelangelo, the Battle of the Lapyths and Centaurs, and the Madonna of the Steps. Both completely strange and genius. He most likely made these at about the age of 15-17 (no formal training at this point, basically he was just fucking around with a block of stone). There was also a wealth of drawings and prints created throughout Michelangelo's life time. These were particularly fascinating as drawings tend to be much more personal and revealing of an artists psyche. In Michelangelo's case, strange morphed images turn into bodies and faces. He tended to reuse paper years later so dating these items is more than difficult. In any event drawings are rare and seldom seen so this was a real treat. I was particularly fascinated by his concept for fortress designs. They are SO strange but SO cool. I may be doing my final paper on them...
The Bargello: The Bargello was originally the civic and political center of Florence. The Sheriff lived here, the prison and courts were here, etc. We first walked into the most amazing room full of all sorts of ceramics and porcelain dishes. Margarita would have gone wild. This was the china cabinet of her dreams. We then saw one of the most anticipated pieces in my mind, the notoriously faggy and strange bronze David by Donatello. It was only recently put back on display after years of cleaning and restoration. It was AMAZING. I love it. I had to act like the paparazzi though and sneak around with my camera and take pictures really discretely because the guards were on that like white on rice. I managed to get a couple great ones. The other highlight at the Bargello was Michelangelo's Bacchus. This statue was actually made by Michelangelo to be a fake antique. It was sold to a man who fully believed he was buying an ancient Greek statue. At the time he was enraged..then he found it was a Michelangelo and kept it anyways.
The Accademia: This is the third time since I've been here that I have been able to go to the Accademia and see the David. This time by FAR was the coolest because a. I know the most I've ever known about Michelangelo and the David and b. I've decided that the unfinished Slaves are way cooler and spent soo much time looking at them. None the less, if you have never seen the David, it is a life changing experience and must be done. The Slaves on the other hand are much more intriguing and revealing of Michelangelo's skill and approach to sculpting. As we all have heard, Michelangelo himself said that he felt like he was freeing the soul from the rock. However, these unbelievable figures also reveal the way in which Michelangelo looked at the human form. In almost all of them, the torso and musculature are the first part of the body he approaches and are subsequently the most worked. As a result, the heads are still just a block of stone. He was completely enthralled in the way the torso moved, flexed, etc. They are unbelievable. It is a shame that Pope Julius II had to die so early and leave no money for the rest of his tomb to be finished....
Uffizi: Sunday, I went on my own to the Uffizi. Yes I waited in the rain in that stupid line. But, it was totally worth it! If you ever go to Florence, you CAN NOT leave without going here. Even if you don't like art that much... do it! I spent four hours here and seriously teared up twice...no actual crying though. I came to two realizations here. Trecento (12-13th cent.) art is soo beautiful and moving. I used to hate it. However, for some reason, the Simone Martini's and Giotto's were sort of breathtaking. I don't think I ever paid that much attention to them before. Second, I really don't like Botticelli and I don't really understand what all the hype is about. Yes his paintings are beautiful but they are sort of boring, they have no backgrounds or landscapes, and he always used that same damn elongated figure....for someone so perceptive he sure didn't represent reality very well. Yes his style is romantic. But I tend to think the ugly subjects can be more beautiful than the romantic...guess that's just my opinion.
Ok, well if you're not into art this must have been torture for you. So sorry. Any who, this weekend I'm off to PARIS! There I will be meeting the fabulous Leah Bhabha and Lauryn Kulinski. I have yet to think of their nicknames yet but clearly two uber trendy Parisian names are coming soon! It is also my birthday weekend. YES I WILL OFFICIALLY BE 21 AFTER THIS SATURDAY. Margarita and Roberto can rejoice that they no longer have to have any underage children.
Best, Lauren
No comments:
Post a Comment