Heart of Italy in 9 Days
Our 20th Anniversary Trip
Art Lessons at The Uffizi
Admittedly, our knowledge of art history was only slightly better than our knowledge of the Etruscans. Thankfully, our tour guide at The Uffizi was very good at imparting the basics - here's what we learned:
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Mary is always wearing blue
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Blue was a VERY expensive pigment
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John the Baptist always wears brown fur
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The artist often painted himself in the crowd
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The face of the person who commissioned the painting was always looking outward
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Paintings were often done on wood
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Real gold foil was used for the color gold. This was cheaper than blue.
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Round paintings given to a wife by a husband signify the desire to procreate
Teenage Attitude... & Greatness
Our very favorite story of the entire trip was of Leonardo Da Vinci and this painting. Having teenagers ourselves, we can see how this entire saga unfolded. Leonardo deciding to change the plan because he liked his idea better, taking too long and drying up the ink, getting creative and inventing oil paints so he could finish before the next day started. And then getting fired for not following directions and possibly for showing up the teacher. Even better is the detective work done to prove out the story! And, after having a few hours of art history under our belts by this time, we could even tell that the small angel's face was different and better. Way to go, Leonardo!
Michelangelo the Painter
A close second in favorite stories is the one of Michelangelo and this painting. As the story was told to us, Agnolo Doni commissioned this painting to give to his wife, and was incredibly unhappy with the way Michelangelo portrayed the Holy Family. Doni refused to pay the agreed $2M fee, and Michelangelo took his painting back. After having second thoughts, Doni tried to buy it back, only to find Michelangelo had doubled the price. Doni paid the increased price and gave it to his wife. We liked this story and painting so much that one of our few souvenirs from this trip is a Christmas ornament of this painting.
Michelangelo the Sculptor
The David is impressive. The fact that the body muscles are anatomically correct, that it was proportioned to be seen from below looking up, that Michelangelo's style of sculpting didn't use "blueprints" all add to the wow factor. Seeing several of his unfinished sculptures really helped articulate for us the difference between Michelangelo and everyone else. Releasing the sculpture from the block of marble and not having a defined plan going into a project is so foreign to me that I am in awe of his talents.
