It was nice to sketch inside of this gallery. I found myself attracted to the fresco on the ceiling in the main entrance. It definitely told a story and with the help of Paquette, I was able to get a small sense of what was actually happening. From her I learned that the eagle was a symbol of victory for the Romans. Later, I plan to research this ceiling and see if it illustrates the founding of Rome.

So yesterday I truely began to understand that religion is the core of this culture. Seeing St. Peter's basilica and the Cistine Chapel in the same day is enough to make a blind man see! Seriously, every inch, around every corner was something beautiful to see. Rome is too much to take in all at once. Even if I wanted to, there is no way I would be able to see everything here. I sat inside of the Cistine Chapel for at least a hour. It was so much to take in, I decided to sketch to attempt to organize my thoughts. There was not one thing I could concentrate on so I chose a portion of the environment and I broke it down into sections. It helped me gain a sense of the work in a structural sense.

I must say that the first day in Rome has been absolutely breath taking. It still hasn't really settled in that I am in one of the most historical relms of art. However, I have had a sense of enormous inspiration. When we visited St. Luigi to see two of Caravaggio's paintings, I couldn't believe the impact of viewing it face to face. It bought  a million questions to mind. With his high contrast of light and dark in the painting and implied lines, it emphasized a feeling of accusation. I found myself battling to determine the focal point between the young man on the far left and what was on the table. To me, it seems that two of the hands pointing leads directly to the man on the right with his head down, but one of the hands on the right leads to the objects on the table. Is there a connection between these two items? If so, what exactly is o the table and what does the implied lines point to? Feel free to comment and tell me what you think.