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read it, see it
Jul. 27th, 2006 06:07 pmWe used our 10:15 reservations and waltzed right into the Accademia yesterday morning. Firenze's Accademia, unlike Venezia's, is very small and mostly constructed to house the David and Slaves. Despite this, it takes a while to go through, as spending time with these works is necessary.
You can read in any book that the David is 14 feet tall. That doesn't really tell you anything. It's a number. This is a big darn statue.
Vicki's favorite angle.
We had our time, then went across the square to the tiny San Marco Convent, home of dozens of Fra Angelico's frescoes. Angelico was a Franciscan monk who was very talented and humble. His work is very light, airy, with great use of color. He had a huge annunciation scene at the entrance to the cells that was just stunning. Real gold glitter in the wonderfully colored wings on Gabriel, great sense of space, a just lovely work. It was a pretty cool monastery, but not photogenic, nor were photos allowed.
We had lunch at a great little rosticceria nearby, then some folks went to Fiesole but I was totally exhausted. I went back to the room and slept right through an afternoon thunderstorm! We finally took advantage of the pool, which was totally amazing. Just what I've been craving since Venice. We managed to find some good dinner on our own, too.
Crazy framed menus!
Another night on the hard beds in this hotel, and we were off to the Uffizi Gallery for loads of Bottecelli. One cool thing I learned about Bottecelli's works is that they typically have many interpretations, typically including one pagan and one christian. The Birth of Venus, for example, can be read as an annunciation scene. Bottecelli is well-known for being rather pleasant, but in person these works are very large, and much stronger than you'd expect. There's a reason the Birth of Venus (aka "That gal on the shell") is so well-known, and it's that in person, it's really moving. Great works lose none of their power with familiarity.
The Uffizi courtyard looking toward the Medici palace.
I stuck with the tour past the Botticelli room and into the rest of the Uffizi, which was pretty large, and had surprises scattered throughout. I was treated to Tiziano's The Venus of Urbino, which is heartbreaking. We saw a lot of Tiziano's work in Venice, his hometown, but this is definitely him at his best. The impossible softness of both composition and color is masterful.
We were in the Uffizi for about 4 hours, which sounds short but will nearly kill you. Art is hard! The first floor had a huge Leonardo exhibit, but it was very hot and I was too hungry to stay long. I breezed through it, sadly. Managed to get lost coming home, so by the time I found the hotel again I was stumbling with exhaustion. I grabbed Nick and went to the nearest trattoria quickly. Unfortunately, eating between 14:00 and 17:00 is really rare, as most italians are enjoying a siesta at that hour. We barely got service, but that was alright, as my pizza came quick and was delicious.
We've the rest of the day off to enjoy the slow drying of today's thunderstorm. Every day so far, at around 15:00, the sky pours rain while the city siestas. It makes the evenings cool, which is great. Here's to keeping it up. I've got clean laundry again, 8 euros later, and tomorrow is full of sculpture to see.
You can read in any book that the David is 14 feet tall. That doesn't really tell you anything. It's a number. This is a big darn statue.
Vicki's favorite angle.
We had our time, then went across the square to the tiny San Marco Convent, home of dozens of Fra Angelico's frescoes. Angelico was a Franciscan monk who was very talented and humble. His work is very light, airy, with great use of color. He had a huge annunciation scene at the entrance to the cells that was just stunning. Real gold glitter in the wonderfully colored wings on Gabriel, great sense of space, a just lovely work. It was a pretty cool monastery, but not photogenic, nor were photos allowed.
We had lunch at a great little rosticceria nearby, then some folks went to Fiesole but I was totally exhausted. I went back to the room and slept right through an afternoon thunderstorm! We finally took advantage of the pool, which was totally amazing. Just what I've been craving since Venice. We managed to find some good dinner on our own, too.
Crazy framed menus!
Another night on the hard beds in this hotel, and we were off to the Uffizi Gallery for loads of Bottecelli. One cool thing I learned about Bottecelli's works is that they typically have many interpretations, typically including one pagan and one christian. The Birth of Venus, for example, can be read as an annunciation scene. Bottecelli is well-known for being rather pleasant, but in person these works are very large, and much stronger than you'd expect. There's a reason the Birth of Venus (aka "That gal on the shell") is so well-known, and it's that in person, it's really moving. Great works lose none of their power with familiarity.
The Uffizi courtyard looking toward the Medici palace.
I stuck with the tour past the Botticelli room and into the rest of the Uffizi, which was pretty large, and had surprises scattered throughout. I was treated to Tiziano's The Venus of Urbino, which is heartbreaking. We saw a lot of Tiziano's work in Venice, his hometown, but this is definitely him at his best. The impossible softness of both composition and color is masterful.
We were in the Uffizi for about 4 hours, which sounds short but will nearly kill you. Art is hard! The first floor had a huge Leonardo exhibit, but it was very hot and I was too hungry to stay long. I breezed through it, sadly. Managed to get lost coming home, so by the time I found the hotel again I was stumbling with exhaustion. I grabbed Nick and went to the nearest trattoria quickly. Unfortunately, eating between 14:00 and 17:00 is really rare, as most italians are enjoying a siesta at that hour. We barely got service, but that was alright, as my pizza came quick and was delicious.
We've the rest of the day off to enjoy the slow drying of today's thunderstorm. Every day so far, at around 15:00, the sky pours rain while the city siestas. It makes the evenings cool, which is great. Here's to keeping it up. I've got clean laundry again, 8 euros later, and tomorrow is full of sculpture to see.
