Pretty Fly for a White Guy
"I had to change our plans, I had to change our itinerary," said Professor Mauro Mussolin in his usual Italian-accented splendor, "because so many of you wanted to - see this. I must ask you, please, it is very important, why you, why Americans are so crazy about this? You are absolutely nuts. Everyone is crazy about David."
Field trips are great. Field trips to Florence are better. The Art History class took off today, having all finished our final papers in the wee hours of the morning, meeting the professor outside the cathedral two hours away by train.
We visited Florence's famous Pitti Palace first, which is exactly like every gaudy palace you have ever imagined. Crystal chandeliers, rooms with textured green or blue or red wallpaper, countless gold-framed paintings up and down every wall. The backyard, better known as the Boboli Gardens, is the blueprint for every other palace garden that came after it (those of France and also Buckingham Palace). In a word, it is fancy. It defines fancy.
From there it was to the Academia, the first building ever constructed with the intention of displaying a masterpiece. Though several doors now block the entryways, passers-by used to be able to look in from the street and see the masterpiece framed by several doorframes. You know the guy. Pale, naked, and staring vainly at nothing, his slingshot draping over his left shoulder and down his back. Did you know he's huge? David was originally going to be displayed on a high platform in front of windows (I can't remember if it was in a church or not), so Michelangelo purposefully made his hands, feet, and head bigger as to not lose their outline in the backlighting. Now they just look too big. At the time, it was the biggest piece of marble to be worked upon. Celebrate by buying a watch or a bookmark or a pen or a postcard or a shirt or a random piece of cardboard for your pocket or a tote bag at the end of the hall, labeled "DAVID MANIA - 500 Anni." A cool thing about the hall that leads up to him (on your walk through the museum, you'll see him quicker than you think): it is lined with unfinished works of Michelangelo, half-emerging out of the front of the giant stones, fuzzy and without detail.
The coolest place I have ever turned in a homework assignment was at the feet of David, where I handed over 6 pages on the Basilica di San Francesco in Siena.
Rome is tomorrow, so I will to bed. Wish me luck.
Field trips are great. Field trips to Florence are better. The Art History class took off today, having all finished our final papers in the wee hours of the morning, meeting the professor outside the cathedral two hours away by train.
We visited Florence's famous Pitti Palace first, which is exactly like every gaudy palace you have ever imagined. Crystal chandeliers, rooms with textured green or blue or red wallpaper, countless gold-framed paintings up and down every wall. The backyard, better known as the Boboli Gardens, is the blueprint for every other palace garden that came after it (those of France and also Buckingham Palace). In a word, it is fancy. It defines fancy.
From there it was to the Academia, the first building ever constructed with the intention of displaying a masterpiece. Though several doors now block the entryways, passers-by used to be able to look in from the street and see the masterpiece framed by several doorframes. You know the guy. Pale, naked, and staring vainly at nothing, his slingshot draping over his left shoulder and down his back. Did you know he's huge? David was originally going to be displayed on a high platform in front of windows (I can't remember if it was in a church or not), so Michelangelo purposefully made his hands, feet, and head bigger as to not lose their outline in the backlighting. Now they just look too big. At the time, it was the biggest piece of marble to be worked upon. Celebrate by buying a watch or a bookmark or a pen or a postcard or a shirt or a random piece of cardboard for your pocket or a tote bag at the end of the hall, labeled "DAVID MANIA - 500 Anni." A cool thing about the hall that leads up to him (on your walk through the museum, you'll see him quicker than you think): it is lined with unfinished works of Michelangelo, half-emerging out of the front of the giant stones, fuzzy and without detail.
The coolest place I have ever turned in a homework assignment was at the feet of David, where I handed over 6 pages on the Basilica di San Francesco in Siena.
Rome is tomorrow, so I will to bed. Wish me luck.
posted by Jon at 8:38 PM
3 Comments:
Reading this entry made my day!
theres a care package on its way, well its been on its way for about two weeks now. please let me know when you get it, its definately a "CARE" package
luv always - rachel
It was going to be on the Campinali or belltower of the florence cathedral. The same place that Donatello's first David was intended to go but never did. Booya
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