Ok I must admit. This museum was not necessarily exciting for me, but I felt it was more foundational with the pieces of art work that were in the exhibit. Even though I was as amped as I was with the Biennale and Peggy Guggenheim, I found some works to resonate with my artistic sense. So, I created some sketches of what caught m

OMG!!!!!!! What a shock! Could not believe the legendary artist work in this museum. I don't think I had ever truly known about this woman and therefore I did not know what to expect. One thing I can say is that not have known her before, but I know now how important she was in the discovery of the presently famous artists. Literally when I saw Jackson Pollock's work, I though to myself "that can't be real...this must be a replica." The closer I got to the paintings, the more I realized that they were original and it blew my mind! Seeing these types of work in person are NOTHING like looking a picture. I was on cloud 9. Never would I have thought, that I would be standing in front of the artists' work that have inspired me so much

So I've been gone for a while and I'm finally able to catch up. I'll do my best to keep things in order, but I've seen so much that its all become a blur. Venice is absolutely the most beautiful and unique city I have ever seen. The way of transportation is amazing because it's all by boat!....Definitely an interesting experience and I found Venice to have a very intimate setting. Although I was caught up in the strikingly attractive city, I was amped to see the Biennale! Just thinking of the possibilities of what I would see gave me butterflies. However, what I didn't know was how my breath would be taken away from other venue

Florence is much nicer to my feet than Rome. In other words, I love the intimate setting of this place. Today I went to see the famous golden doors and the interior of the dome. The size of these buildings are unbelievable...literally breath taking! Ms. Liz recommended an amazing restaurant called "Zaza's" and I must say that my risotto and moscato made my taste buds go crazy! Bennell and I had a nice dinner. All in all today was an amazing experience and the night made it even more interesting.....wink wink

Waking up on the second day in Florence was refreshing. Going to see David was astonishing in the highest level of incredibility. The definition in his arms and the proportions of his body were, in my eyes, PERFECT! I still can not digest that someone was ever capable of creating something so beautiful.
After drooling over David, I enjoyed the Ufitzi Gallery. Some of the artists work in that gallery, I saw in my art history classes and it was almost too much for me to handle. Pictures do these pieces no justice.

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.