Florence July 7th

At 8 this morning, we met Tanya (out tour guide) and headed to the Musei Uffiza. The Uffiza was filled with Rainessance paintings and sculptures. There was work from Michelangelo, Boticelli, Giotto, and other famous artists (sorry if I slaughtered the spelling of their names). The depiction of Venus's birth by Boticelli was there. We analyzed similar painting by different artists to compare the techniques and knowledge of adding depth. The one showing the most depth was by Giotto. The paintings were all a depiction of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus as an infant and angels surrounding them. In Giotto's painting, Mary was set back into a little alcove, and you could see that some angels were standing closer and other were standing farther back, rather than all in one vertical plane. From the Uffiza, we went to the Musei Academia. This museum was also filled with multiple paintings and sculptures from the same time period, but more specifically it contained Michelangelo's David and a series of his unfinished sculptures know as the prisoners. Michelangelo believed that the work of art was already trapped in the block of marble and that it is the sculptors job to free that figure. That is kind of how the prisoners appear and it is so fascinating. Some are more developed than others with hair and contoured muscles, but others are maybe just a shape or limbs and a torso with no head. The prisoners are situated on the right and left side of a long hallway, and at the end of the hallway is David. It is so massive up close and personal. After we reached the David we split with our tour guide and went our own ways. Kylee and I stayed behind and sketched the David. The proportions and facial expression were so difficult to capture in a sketch. Earlier, we had discussed whether or not David had killed Goliath yet when Michaelangelo had done the sculpture. I don't think that he had because his expression did not look victorious. He looked pained, scared, and in turmoil, as if he know what he would have to do and was fighting wit himself about it. That expression was incredibly hard to capture. It was a good sketching experience though. I had never drawn a naked figure before so that was a bit awkward, but it worked out ok. After sketching, we got gelato at Grom, then met with the group at the Baptistry in Piazza del Duomo. The Baptistery itself is called the Baptistery of San Giovanni. It is formed like an octagon, symbolizing the 'octava dies' or eighth day, the day of Risen Christ. We also went through the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. The Cathedral is the result of 170 years of work. the first stone of the facade was laid on my birthday (Sept. 8th) in 1296, which I thought was pretty cool. The building was under the direction of Arnolfo di Cambio. The Duomo is also located here. The inside of the Duomo is beautifully decorated with golden paintings. They represent the 24 elders, angels, Christ, Mary, the saints, and other biblical history. This is seen a lot because many people in the time period were illiterate, so the bible was taught through pictures. We then went across the bridge and sketched around miscellaneous parts of Florence. We sketched a scene by the river, did a 5 min. sketch of a steeple, and had 2 sketching lessons with Brady and Lauren (two students on the trip). Then we decided to climb a ton of stairs to a church that site far above the city. You could vaguely hear monks chanting. We rested in the church for a while then went to a lookout point where you could see the city, river, and countryside. The Piaza del Duomo looked massive (which it is) towering over the city. We walked around the top of the hill for a while enjoying the view. We also got a view that we didn't enjoy so much of a man on a scooter unaware of how short his shorts were :) We met back up in a larger group and headed down the steps to dinner. The restaurant we picked was right next to a stand where people were singing so we got a live show as well. The people here are just so free with their talents and are not at all afraid to display them

in the streets. It's amazing how different cultures can be when we are all basically the same people. Despite the cultural differences, Italy is so beautiful and so easy to get comfortable in!