Thursday, June 13, 2013

Limone


Day Five, building bonds
Never break ties
In this way I thrive
in my zone, like shots from baselines
I stop go, move through palazzos
Seeing feats that are oh so colossal
Chiseled from marble so 
screw Picasso
I'm on a sojourn 
asking for truth
Wonder why it burns?
In the glass is the proof
A la casa di Dante Alighieri
Killing tracks with the fruit of life
that's what I call a bury
Gotta boost my dairy, milk the beat
boost my fromaggio
Until I tap dance my feet to a stage
in the Bellagio
I'll make everything catchy,
from la-de-de to la-de-do
Until it shakes the city's crypt
that's what i call a body blow


Italian Soundtrack by C.A pt 5:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TErySTMbFlk


Today I have been awoken to the power of the Firenze card. When I purchased it a month back, I thought to myself:" Is this necessary? I'm sure I'll only visit the main museums." Now that I see the swathe of historical buildings, big and small, I realize that there is much more to a city than its highlights. 
 I managed to spend over 4 hours in the Galleria degli Uffizi. In hindsight that's impressive, particularly because at least 1/3 of the museum was being renovated and was closed to the public. I have to say that I fell in love with the works of Caravaggio(1571-1610) on display. He had a major influence on Rembrandt with his dramatic use of lighting and his realistic observation of the human state. My particular favorite was Caravaggio's "Bacchus."

This jpeg does a disservice to the sumptuousness and variance in tone across the piece. Bacchus is very often depicted as wild, almost maniacal with his mirth. This version depicts a somber Bacchus, established in his ways but by no means, out of control. He extends a shallow goblet of wine with his left hand, inviting the viewer to join him. Featuring the common, dark backdrop of Flemish painting, Caravaggio uses that base lack of light to play on the softness of the illumination, coming from the upper right corner. Seeing it in person ,several reflections are apparent, one being Bacchus' face in the wine and the other of the artist in the stem of the glass.




One of the other standouts, though similar was Gherardo Delle Notti's "Supper with Lute Player"
Again a jpeg pales in comparison to reality. Gherardo's real name was Gerrit van Honthorst-he earned the nick name "Gerard of the night scenes" due in part to the popularity of this work and others similarly dark. Another painter utilizing dramatic lighting, his use of chiaroscuro is a direct influence on Rembrandt. I love the little scenes Gherardo captured in the whole of the work.The sight of the man on the right eating a large glob of food with no hands, brings a smile to the old woman, a soft judgment from the woman and hilarity to the man in the foreground. However, over the shoulder of the ,man in the foreground is our title character: The Lute player. He is lost in the eyes of the lady sitting next to him, no doubt serenading her-oblivious to the world around them. It's quite a bright candle.





Finally, my third favorite was Guido Reni's-"David with Head of Goliath"


This is not only another example of my fondness for soft lighting in oil paintings, but a prime example of an artist conveying multiple messages.An androgynous-looking David, one breast bared as in many semi-nude paintings of women, leans against a column while contemplating Goliath's severed head. Why is he so calmly looking at his grisly handiwork? Here's why. David, as so often in poetic painting, is an alter ego of the artist who has just executed his painting. Keep a lookout for puns in art; they are very common. Indeed, here's another. The head (without the body) symbolizes not only David's painting but his masterpiece because, in Italian, masterpiece is capolavoro or literally head-work. David as the painter is contemplating his work of art.



To change up the pace, I'll showcase one of the all-time classics of western art, Boticelli's "Birth of Venus"





Botticelli depicts the mythical scene of the birth of the Greek goddess of love and beauty, Venus. Floating atop a cockleshell, recently borne from the foam of the sea, Venus is lead ashore to her sacred Cyprus by the breath of the wind goddess, Zephyrus, accompanied by his wife, the flower goddess, Chloris. Eagerly anticipating the goddess’s arrival, the nymph Pomona stands on the shore’s edge, ready to swath the newborn, more powerful goddess, cloak in hand. This painting shuns the trend at the time of assuming scintific realism in the work. Venus is the largest figure, even though she is not the closest, the trees are all the same width, the position of Chloris' knee is anatomically impossible. Botticelli adds to the mystical feel of the painting as he refuses to follow the scientifically correct rules of perception.





1 comment:

  1. Hey Chris,

    Since we all went to the other side of the world and tried some new and interesting things, by the time we all returned to the United States, we desperately tried to capture the imagination of our journey through media. That's not an easy task, but you've created a large amount of imagination when it comes to talking about Italy. You have also prepared the entire presentation with your own voice; you mentioned on the trip that you like rap music and writing your own lyrics, which you've also included in this presentation. You even show a large amount of information about Italian Comedia, while listing everything about the subject in a short amount of space. This means you have a wide variety of information to share, but also you chose to tell your side of the adventure with your own voice, making it seem like Italy is closer even when its on the other side of the world. Having discussed everything about the experience, you end your blog on the acceptance of Italian language, as it would impact professions like acting or any field in the creative arts. We can all accept that going the distance or traveling to another part of the world can be challenging, but also trying to decide what it is to be ourselves in the face of external beauty like a painting or a work of art. Italy seems so long ago, but trying to remember the last time we were young, is what makes an experience enjoyable.

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