Poor internet connections kept us from blogging last night. That was really too bad as it was another awe inspiring day. We left Rome in the morning and arrived at our hotel in Florence around 11. We dropped our luggage and headed into town to see two museums: the Accademia and the Uffizi. The first Sunday of the month Italian museums are free to the public. While this is great for our budget, it also meant that we were unable to reserve tickets and therefore would be standing in line to wait for an entrance time.
The streets of Florence along the way were brimming with excitement. There were markets around every corner - mostly booths with leather goods, a specialty of Florence. The line for the Accademia, where we went first, looked endless. However, it moved remarkably quickly and we were inside viewing the David in no time.
Surely there are other important works of art in the Accademia and somebody with an actual art background would consider us just part of the unwashed throng but we were there to see 5 sculptures. Michelangelo's unfinished "Prisoners" are an excellent counterbalance to the David. It is unknown whether his prisoners were intentionally unfinished or just abandoned partway through. It almost doesn't matter as they give an excellent look into the creation of the finished pieces. In the prisoners, one can see raw chisel marks and partial forms. The guides tell us that Michelangelo felt his hands were an instrument of God and that his work was to release the figure from the marble block surrounding it. That sounds precisely like the kind of sappy sentimental rubbish that might allow a museum to display a bunch of half finished works. It also sounds like the kind of misunderstood artist drivel that Michelangelo would have believed about himself. However, it is impossible to look at the figures and see anything other than their muscles tensed with the struggle to free themselves from the marble confines surrounding them. They truly look as if they will step forward and cast off their marble cocoons at any moment. There is a feeling of movement in the solid stone.
At the end of the hall, under a specially lit dome is perhaps the most famous sculpture in the Western world. We have seen countless images, replicas, and mockeries. It is hard for anybody to stumble upon this statue without prior knowledge. The hype around this artwork is especially high. Yet... It is truly incredible.
Unfathomable that such soft skin and lifelike musculature could be carved from stone. The detail of the knuckles and cuticles is remarkable. The list of fine detail is endless. But it is the whole rather than the parts that truly fascinates. There is confidence and innocence, strength and vulnerability, action and contemplation all at once. We spent a great deal of time admiring David from every angle.
We strolled across town, stopping to admire the Duomo, Ghiberti's brass doors and the statues of the Orsanmichelle.
We arrived at the Uffizi to see another long line. This one also moved fairly fast and within 40 minutes we were headed up the stairs to the Medicis (formerly) private collection of ancient Greek and Roman art. Our favorite rooms contained works by Botticelli and Raphael. Johnny particularly has become a fan of Raphael (although in the picture below, he is taking in a da Vinci painting). He was excited to see in person several paintings that he had previously read about. The Uffizi also offered a great view of the Arno River and the Ponte Vecchio.
We made our way back through the many markets and winding streets, and the boys got a kick out of the many extremely small cars that they saw! (I think the first picture is actually from Rome.)
We were art-ed out and happy to relax for a few hours in our hotel which had once been a Franciscan Convent though I think the hot tub was installed after the conversion. We had a terrific dinner in a local restaurant where they made fresh pasta in the window.
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