Art, Art, Art

Before I came to Italy, I had probably an average amount of interest in Art and Art History. I had heard of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo and the other big names of the Renaissance, but I didn't really know very much about the their stories and was hardly able to identify any of their works, besides the Mona Lisa and the Sistine Chapel, of course. So when I began my Storia dell'Arte course last November, I was prepared to learn a lot. We started out with ancient Greece and the "classical" architecture of that time. It was really fun then to go to Greece and see for myself the types of structures I had studied. I loved being able to look at an ancient Greek temple and be able to distinguish which period it was built in based on the decorations on the capitals of the columns.

But it wasn't until about two weeks ago, when we got to the Renaissance in my class, when my interest suddenly intensified. I was struck by the realization that I am living in the very city where that period was born, and so many of the paintings that we look at on the projector screen in class are in churches and museums merely a 15-minute bus ride away. On top of that, I started reading (and am still reading) a fantastic book about Michelangelo and the painting of the Sistine Chapel. Reading it has given me a view of what the artists of the Renaissance were really like. It must have been such a fascinating time in history to be living, because everything was changing.

So with this newfound thirst for knowledge, I have decided to make the most of being in Florence, and am on a church/museum rampage. I went inside the Duomo for the fourth or fifth time, but this time actually paid attention to the architectural details. I've been to the Uffizi to see all the paintings by Giotto, Botticelli, da Vinci, and Michelangelo, among others. I've been to the Bargello Museum to see the famous sculptures by Donatello, Michelangelo, and Giambologna. I've been inside the church of Santa Maria Novella to see the amazing crucifix of Giotto, the "Trinita" by Masaccio, and the Tournabuoni Chapel frescoed by Ghirlandaio (Michelangelo was one of his apprentices; he is a new favorite artist of mine!) I've been to the church of Ognissanti (which means "all saints") to see some other works by Ghirlandaio. I've seen Michelangelo's "David." I've been to the church of Santa Croce to see Galileo's tomb, designed by Vasari. I've seen the famous statues under the loggia in the Piazza della Signoria, including my favorite, "The Rape of the Sabines" by Giambologna. And these are just a few of the many places yet to see in the city. Everywhere you turn there is art, art, and more art.

So although I still have more places to see and more to learn in class, already I am thankful that I have been able to learn what I have. I believe being able to have knowledge of the past and appreciate it for what it was allows us to also appreciate the present. And that is another one of the many things that Florence has taught me.


P.S. I have put some photos of the pieces of art that I was talking about on my Picasso album for anyone who is also interested in Art History!