I never considered being an art major in college, but I've met a few tour guides who certainly did their homework. I've never even really been a big "masters" art fan, but somehow being here in Italy has turned me into more of a love of art, and Florence is the biggest contributor of this new found love.
This day in Florence was quite busy and brain draining. So much to see and learn and so little time. Let's start with the Galleria dell'Accademia (Accademia Gallery). The biggest reason to go to this museum of art is to see the extraordinary statue of David by Michelangelo. It is huge. I have to say I was truly inspired by the brilliance of the artist - that Michelangelo could turn one slab of marble given to him by construction workers working on St. Peter's in Rome into this poetry of sculpture. Our tour guide talked about the nuances of the sculpture, like the veins in his hands showing that he was gathering strength and being restrained at the same time. That's the kind of stuff they study as art history majors! Anyway, it was incredible. It was very crowded when we arrived, but somehow we made it all the way up to the very front to get some really good pictures.
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| The man himself - Michaelangelo, in his later years. He lived to be 89 years old. |
As I learned more about Michelangelo I became more impressed with him as a man. Yes, he was a brilliant artist, but he appears to be a bit of a humanist also. The Medici family took him in to foster his abilities as an artist, but at a later time he didn't really like the Medici's probably because of their political views and power. And Michelangelo was true to what he believed was the right thing when it came to his art. One time the Pope asked him to change something on one of his sculptures and Michelangelo replied, "As soon as you change the way you are running the church I will change my work." Needless to say, Michelangelo also had a falling out with the church. I believe he could not stand corruption and saw it all around him.
The next two pictures are from Michelangelo's collection called "Prisoners." He named them so because they are forms trying to escape the prison of the marble. Brilliant.
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| This is the only Prisoners sculpture with a face. |
Another really interesting part of the Galleria dell'Accademia was the Music Museum. We basically rushed through it due to having a time commitment to move on, but it was pretty cool to see some old pianofortes.
And some other cool instruments . . .
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| A Stradivarius tenor viola made by Stradivarius for the Medici family (see crest) |
The Galleria dell'Accademia was once a hospital for women. There was a small "terra verde" fresco of the hospital in the Gipsoteca Bartolini hall, a hall full of plaster casts for students to study sculpture of the masters.
On the same tour we had the chance to get on a bus and drive up into "the country" to the Piazzale Michelangelo. In the big parking lot there stands a giant statue of David and sometimes people think it's the real one and start snapping pictures. It's kind of funny. But that's not the best part of the piazzale. People go there for the views - the absolute best views of Florence.
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| The famous Ponte Vecchio, but look at the other bridges down the river. |
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| The town of Fiesole, which I got to see on another tour. Lots of villas |
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| See where the city ends and the country begins? You can also see some of an old city wall. |
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| Beautiful Florence |
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| The Cathedral of Florence with it's magnificent Duomo, and the bell tower. |
The view is spectacular and so this stop is mandatory on any visit to Florence.
Speaking of the cathedral and the Duomo, that was part of the afternoon tour. We actually got to go inside and see it's inner beauty as well.
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| The beautiful Duomo from the inside . . . |
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| . . . and up close. Gorgeous. |
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| Love the 24-hour clock and the stained glass windows. |
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| This is on the other side of the cathedral, including the bell tower. |
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| I didn't get a good picture of the baptistery, so this came off the Internet. |
The Baptistery is one of the oldest buildings in the city, constructed between 1059 and 1128. It is renowned for its three sets of artistically important bronze doors with relief sculptures. The south doors were created by Andrea Pisano and the north and east doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti. The east doors were dubbed by Michelangelo the Gates of Paradise. (I told you I had art history lessons all day!) The doors, by the way, are not the originals. To protect the original panels for the future, the panels are being restored and kept in a dry environment in the museum of the Duomo's art and sculpture. Some of the original panels are on view in the museum (which I did not get to see), and the remaining original panels are being restored and cleaned using lasers in lieu of potentially damaging chemical baths.
The Italian poet Dante and many other notable Renaissance figures, including members of the Medici family, were baptized in this baptistery.
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Kind of creepy, I know. These weren't the only heads sticking out of the door like this, but these are the
heads of the two men who constructed the doors.
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What can I say about the Uffizi Gallery except that it is huge and full of incredible art. Uffizi means "offices" so this building was once a set of offices. There is no way I could take such a great picture, but I wanted to show the extent of the size of this art gallery.
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| Outside, in the loggia, we saw a dozen sculptures, some original, some not. This one is original (we saw a copy in another museum. It is called "Rape of the Sabine Women" based on an event in history. |
Once inside, the art history, technique, nuances, and secrets class began. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable AND passionate about her subject. I will spare you all but the important details as I cannot possibly remember everything she said!
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| We were greeted in the very first hall with this very unique ceiling of wood and paintings. |
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| Beautiful art depicting the marriage of Mary & Joseph. I love the colors! |
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| Birth of baby Jesus - again the colors and the frame. |
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| Saint Nicolus! You will know it's St. Nick because his hand is always out holding something - generosity. |
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| Beautiful trompe l'oeil ceiling of birds and branches of trees. |
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| Painting by Lippi. Who are his subjects? Read the story! |
Okay, good story time. Fra Filippo Lippi
was a Florentine painter in the second generation of Renaissance artists. Filippo Lippi was born into a
very large and poor family in Florence. After the death of both his father and
mother, the young Filippo was raised by an aunt for some years; later she
placed him with his brother in the convent of Carmelite monks at Santa Maria
del Carmine.
In 1432 Lippi left the monastery after having painted some
frescoes in the church and in the cloister. According to the Renaissance
biographer Giorgio Vasari, who wrote a
lively and fanciful profile of the painter, Lippi was abducted with some
companions by the Moors on the Adriatic, held as a slave for 18 months, and
then freed after he painted a portrait of his owner. It is known that in 1434
the artist was at Padua.
In 1437 Lippi returned to Florence, protected by the powerful Medici family, and was
commissioned to execute several works for convents and churches.
In 1442 Lippi had been made rector of the church of San
Quirico at Legnaia. His life, however, became constantly more eventful, and
tradition has given him the reputation (borne out in great part by documents)
of a man dominated by love affairs and impatient of methodical or tranquil
conduct. His adventures culminated in 1456 in his romantic flight from
Prato—where he was painting in the convent of the nuns of Santa Margherita—with
a young nun of the convent, Lucrezia Buti. From 1456 to 1458 Lippi lived with
Lucrezia, her sister, and a few other nuns. Lippi’s conduct, together with his
apparent inability to fulfill contracts in time, got him in trouble. He was
arrested, tried, and tortured. It was only thanks to the intervention of Cosimo
de’ Medici that Lippi was released and allowed to renounce his vows. The pope
later gave permission for the former priest-painter and the nun to marry, and
from this union was born a son, Filippo, called Filippino, who was to be one of the most noted Florentine
painters of the second half of the 15th century.
The above painting is of Lucrezia and the child on the bottom right is said to be Filippino. And the son on Lucrezia's lap is said to really be a girl. And who knows who that is that is photo bombing this painting. But it's a good juicy story of scandal.
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| I can totally relate to this sculpture!! |
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| This is Michelangelo's only recorded panel painting. It is of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. The little boy center right is John the Baptist. I can't remember who the heads are that are poking out of the frame, but they are creepy. |
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