The reason for the silence around here, is because I've been travelling. I'm back home now. It's blowing a
gale and the rain is torrential. Working outdoors on my planned cityscape
projects, just isn't an option. So instead I'll enjoy remembering some of the wonderful art-time I had in Italy!
I'm sticking just some of my physical
art mementoes at the back of one of my sketchbooks. The whole Italian experience, which began as a casual unplanned doodle, seemed to turn into a
perfectly balanced and magnificently intuitive work of art.
The only organizing we
did, was to reserve hotel rooms for our first and last nights in
Pisa, and to pre-hire a car. The rest of the time we just winged it.
After flying into Pisa our
first delight, on reaching the hotel, was to be told we'd arrived
on a special day. All museums, galleries and shops were to be open
almost all night. There were also street markets and open-air
concerts. Unbelievably for us, there was a Picasso exhibition five
minutes from the hotel along by the river.
The Palazzo Blu d'Arte e Cultura is an intimate venue, with a labyrinth of galleries. As is usual, we weren't allowed to take photographs. There was
a limited selection of postcards to take away, which had to suffice.
The exhibits consisted of etchings, linogravures, tapestries,
ceramics, drawings and paintings. It was the first time I'd seen any
of Picasso's work, other than in books, television or online, so it
felt very special.
One of the first pieces that drew us
was an etching, The Frugal Meal. You couldn't help but feel the
poverty and misery of existence expressed in the piece. It was
created in 1904 during Picasso's Blue period, when he was living as a
struggling artist in low-rent accommodation in Montmartre, Paris.
I think the other painting shown
here is a self-portrait. So far I haven't been able to find any
references online. The probable explanation being that it's normally
in private hands. I liked it very much; the intensity of those
black eyes; slightly feminine double face; the composition of light
negative space that to me conveyed the transfer of creation from his gaze
to the canvas and easel. And especially the sensitivity of the
fingers holding the brush. I'm sure there's much more to see. If
only it were possible to spend more time just looking.
It was a great privilege to see
these paintings from private collections; Still life with guitar
1921 and Seated Nude 1942.
There
was an interesting collection of large linogravures, which came from
the Picasso Museum in Barcelona. It was possible to follow in detail
the process, starting from realistic portraits of his lover Jacqueline, which were then
transformed by reworking the linoleum over time. As
a single-minded painter, it almost made me excited at the prospect of
studying print-making at some point in the future.
I
especially appreciated the drawings. The bull series was a lesson in
itself; initially the studies were realistic and gradually became
more pared down and abstract until the whole essence of the creature
was contained in and around a few perfect lines.
So
much! I would love to have spent more time there, but we had just one
night, and the following day after a very swift walk to the Leaning
Tower and Duomo, we drove to San Gimignano.
SanGimignano lived up to all expectations and I could fill pages with
our overall experiences; the place, people, food. But as this is an art blog, you're just going to have to take my word that in other ways we had an amazing time!
We
were struck by the way the buildings of the old town and art have been so beautifully
conserved; a vast amount of money has been spent. Like with most of
the places we visited, it soon became clear we'd picked a good time
of year. In the summer the place would have been heaving with
tourists and the experience would have been totally different. As it
was, we had space and time to wander the streets, galleries, museums
and Duomo with the best of autumn weather. And whilst there were
obvious signs of modern life, it wasn't too difficult to half-close
your eyes and imagine yourself back in time.
My
travelling companion and I were happy to spend several hours
examining the extensive collection in the Palazzo Comunale (Town
Hall), which stands in the central Piazza del Duomo next to the Torre
Grossa. Amazingly we were the only visitors. The building itself
was originally built between 1289 and 1298 on the remains of an
earlier building, with several extensions made during 14th
and 15th centuries.
The
main building was used as the home of the Podesta, the administrative official, and also the
meeting hall for the Town Council. The upper two floors house the
Civic Museum with the painting gallery on the third level. We
requested some form of written guide, but only a single sheet of
photocopied information was available. Nevertheless
it was a great experience and we saw some magnificent art of the
13th to 16th centuries. Every bit as good as
that at the Ufizzi a few days later and better in a way, because
there were no railings and we were able to get up-close and personal.
We
stayed in the centre of the town for a number of days. Here's a view
from one of our rooms. Hopefully we'll have the opportunity to return to this
beautiful part of the world before too long. Next time to stay for
longer and I plan to have my painting suitcase in tow.
And
so to Florence. Our hotel was on the north bank of the Arno, facing
one of the outdoor copies of the David on the opposite bank. We were
determined to see the original at the Galleria del Accademia, but
that came later. First the Uffizi.
From
all I'd read, the queues most of the year to enter Vasari's Uffizi
museum were long and not for the faint-hearted. So imagine our
delight when we walked straight in and got our tickets. Our timing
was perfect!
There was just so much to absorb. Too much, in fact, and eventually we had to stop as we were in danger of over-dosing. Even then I was sorry to
somehow miss seeing any of Caravaggio's work, which I'm
particularly curious about. Plus I came away with the conviction
that I will try to return for extended periods, at the appropriate time to study certain areas of art history as part of my degree course.
There
were many postcard images I could physically have taken away, but chose just
two; a Bronzino portrait of Lucrezia Panchiatichi and a section of
Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. Lucrezia because she's portrayed so
beautifully and I could study both the technique used on the
textiles, and the drawing of the hands for a very long time. And the
Venus because of it's connection with Cyprus. The locals are very
proud of her. Personally I find the original rather insipid and
disappointing. This postcard flatters, I think.
For
some reason I don't get excited about classical sculptor; I think in
childhood it all got confused with sad cemetery visits and
monuments...hard to shake. However, I make an exception in the case
of the David. There's nothing dead about him.
I
first saw him years ago in London, but at the time, didn't realise he
was a copy. My reaction to the real thing was the same this time as then.
With the first glimpse of his majestic towering figure high up on his
plinth, breath just some how escaped me. His presence and beauty is almost overpowering.
Getting
as close as I could, this time I was immediately struck by the
proportions of the legs, hands and head. I think there's some kind
of reverse perspective going on, in that Michaelangelo has distorted
certain features in order to make him look right as a whole, knowing that the
piece was intended to be viewed from below. But to me the
right hand, which is lower down, does look too huge in relation to
the feet for example. Maybe it's me. I tried to find a decent
full-length image, but this one of the fabulous face seduced me
instead.
I have other memories from our Italian adventure; Laura the lost poet, Giotto and his man, the soulful Antonio, waltzing to Piaf, the mysterious citadel, screeching Violetta and sweet Alfreddo, not forgetting the BEST 'greasy spoon' in the whole of Tuscany.......maybe another time.
The Palazzo Blu d'Arte e Cultura is an intimate venue, with a labyrinth of galleries. As is usual, we weren't allowed to take photographs. There was
a limited selection of postcards to take away, which had to suffice.
The exhibits consisted of etchings, linogravures, tapestries,
ceramics, drawings and paintings. It was the first time I'd seen any
of Picasso's work, other than in books, television or online, so it
felt very special.
My
travelling companion and I were happy to spend several hours
examining the extensive collection in the Palazzo Comunale (Town
Hall), which stands in the central Piazza del Duomo next to the Torre
Grossa. Amazingly we were the only visitors. The building itself
was originally built between 1289 and 1298 on the remains of an
earlier building, with several extensions made during 14th
and 15th centuries.
