Cappella Sistina

I have seen the Sistine Chapel twice now. When you go in, you're pushed around by all the tourists around you, and all you hear are the guards yelling, "No photo!" But if you ignore all the other people and just look up, what you see is really quite astounding.

I don't know all the stories or people depicted on the ceiling, but I'm learning, and here's what I've got so far. Michelangelo was called to Rome in 1508, commissioned to paint the Sistine Chapel by the pope. Some of the lower portions had already been painted by other various artists. The subject itself is not only an evolution, the art is as well. Michelangelo tells the story of Genesis backwards, beginning with the Drunkenness of Noah. The final scene, God making light in the darkness, is located over the altar. Phophets, Sibyls, and ancestors of Christ line the walls. Michelangelo produced hundreds of preliminary drawings and then set to work on scaffolding, standing with his head leaning back, not laying down as some believed. After Michelangelo had finished the first section, he stepped down from the scaffolding to view his work from the ground. After that look, he immediately began to increase the scale of his figures. This happens twice. The scale of the God in the Separation of Light From Darkness is massive compared to the scale of Noah in the Drunkenness. 

Of all the Genesis paintings, the most well-known is the Creation of Adam. God's full strength shows through his tunic. Michelangelo's precise hand marks every vein and wrinkle on God's body, marking his power as he calmly looks down to Adam. Adam looks longingly to God. Their hands nearly touch as they reach out to one another. The electricity between the two figures as God pours his love into Adam pulses through their hands, and the weight of the world is held in that moment of reaching. 

There are a few other figures that I find very beautiful. Michelangelo is known for making figures that encapsulate beauty and power through their massive, muscular bodies. An example is the Libyan Sibyl, about to step down from her thone. Michelangelo used a male model for all of his figures, including the females, so the sibyls are extremely strong. The Libyan sibyl's back displays a powerful body, colorful and beautiful. 

The same goes for the Delphic Sibyl. Look at her body, how beautiful she is, and the colors Michelangelo uses. Breathtaking. Sibyls, like prophets, understood how Old Testament events predicted the New Testament coming of Christ. They are the ancestors of Christ who understand humanity's spiritual destiny. 

There are twenty nude youths seated around the Genesis stories that encapsulate beauty and power. They all pose and demonstrate beautiful proportions. I had to point out this one. I don't know who it is, but when you see him in person it's hard to look away. 

Nothing but the real thing will do it justice. The Vatican truly is a remarkable place, and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel is a wonder. I encourage everyone to go there if you ever get the opportunity. 

Austria

Hello hello! It's midterm week! Today was art history, which I love. I think it went well. Anyways, enough of the boring stuff. Pausa primavera (spring break) starts Thursday and I still don't have a plan. I am going to tour around Italy and then fly to Spain and spend a few days there. I am doing this on my own. YES, you heard me. Hopefully I don't get rolled when I'm walking in the street by myself... 

Well I went to Austria a couple weeks ago. First was Vienna, which was a blast! It's a beautiful city for sure. And they have this amazing museum called the Belvedere that I had never heard of. If you ever go to Vienna, hit up the Belvedere! I only wish I had more time there. I saw this there...

Anybody know what it is? The artist's Austrian. Oh and they day before I went to a museum in Florence and saw this...

Good weekend, good weekend. Pretty solid. 

I went on the trip with other students through a tour business called Bus2Alps. I was nervous about going without knowing anyone, but I made friends super fast and I'm so glad I went. The weekend was so full of STUFF, it was crazy. I loved it. Here are some of the pictures I took:

 Vienna, Hapsburg Palace

 Vienna, St Stephen's

the famous Sacher Torte

 we went on a Schnaps tour... =)

 The whole group outside Schonbrunn Palace

Salzburg, St. Sebastian. I always think it's interesting to see how artists portray St. Sebastian, who was tied to a post and shot with arrows, and has been depicted that way ever since. 

 Salzburg

 We went on a Sound of Music tour! Me in the beautiful, foggy mountains of Salzburg

 The cathedral where Maria and Captain von Trapp were married in the movie, The Sound of Music.

 The back of the house with the frozen-over lake where the kids tipped the boat. 

 Where Maria sang, "I Have Confidence!"

 Some of us in front of the gazebo where all the magic happens =)

And we went to an Austrian beer hall with amazing food and beer. It was probably my favorite part of the trip! 

While on my trip to Austria, I found out that my Aunt Jane, one of my mom's sisters, died. It's really hard for me to grasp the situation being so far away. I've been having so much fun in Europe and to have something like this happen just doesn't seem to fit into my list of possibilities. But it did happen. And I'm not there to comfort my mom or my cousins or my grandma or my siblings or anyone. If any of my family is reading this, know that I think about you guys all the time and I miss you a ton. I will miss Jane always laughing and playing with her grandkids, or whipping up something awesome in the kitchen. 

I decided a long time ago that as long as I'm here, I'm going to make the most of every single second and have as many experiences and as much fun as I can. It's my way of making my family proud and accomplishing something for myself. After learning about Jane's death, I'm not going to take anything for granted here. Maybe I'm crazy for going off on my own and spending a ton of money on travel, but I'm not scared, and I'm going to live it up. 

Pisa

Hello,

It's Thursday night of the third week of school and I am very tired. But I have been wanting to make a new post about what I've been up to. School has been going really well. I like my teachers and they like me, and I think everyone's kinda surprised that I can draw. I like surprising people! Before I left, people asked me if my classes were going to be in English, and I didn't even know! Now I can tell you that the answer is yes and no. My classes are filled with people from all over the world, so there are a lot of languages flying around in class, but usually my teachers will explain in Italian and then explain again in English. But this isn't always so: my illustration teacher knows about ten English words. It's really entertaining to try to talk to each other! She's amazingly talented though, and you can learn just by observing her. In one of my classes, I am the only American. I am not looking forward to this because almost the entire lesson was Italian and then my teacher gave me the gist of it at the end. I felt like I was missing out. But I am taking a Printing on Textiles class with a woman who moved to Italy from Wisconsin, so it's really nice to talk to her =)

Homework has been fairly mild so far, and hopefully it will stay that way because I have lots of trips planned. I am going to Vienna & Salzburg in a few weeks, Scotland in March, Munich and the Amalfi Coast in April, and hopefully England for spring break. CAN NOT WAIT.

A few weeks ago, I went with a bunch of friends to Pisa. We saw the Duomo (cathedral), Baptistery, Campanile (bell tower), and Campo Santo. Of course everyone has heard of the famous leaning tower of Pisa. I was really surprised how much it leaned! It was the last of the building to be built and it leans because of weak subsoil and poor foundation. The building was left unfinished for a century and then the upper floors were built with one side taller than the other to compensate for the lean. Of course we all took the standard tourist pictures:

The Duomo was absolutely beautiful. The pictures don't nearly do it justice. Every inch of the space is embellished and filled with history. I don't know a lot about it, other than construction began in 1093 and in 1595 there was a fire that destroyed much of the medieval art. Possibly the most famous piece of art in the duomo is the pulpit, designed by Giovanni Pisano. There is also a very beautiful mosaic over the apse completed by Cimabue that I really love. 

The Baptistery is the largest in Italy. The Campo Santo was amazing. It means 'Holy Field' and it is a huge cemetery build on sacred soil. It contains a huge number of sarcophagi, sculptures, and wall frescoes. In WWII, the roof and many of the sculptures and frescoes were destroyed by a bomb. The whole thing was stunning, truly! And there was a small shrine with bones and other relics, which reminded me of the one in Carey. I love shrines!

Until next time!

Classes & Travel

I've been in Florence over a week now. School starts tomorrow and I am really excited. I can't wait to have projects and start learning again. I haven't been in school since the summer! I will be taking six classes: Collection, History of Italian Renaissance Art, Fashion Illustration and Color Techniques, Intro to Pattern Design, Clothing Samples (sewing), and Italian Language. Hopefully I won't have classes on Fridays, because then I can travel! This company called Florence for Fun came to visit the school and they are a group of a bunch of young people who take students on trips all around Europe. They gave us a huge list of trips we could go on, and I want to go on every single one! It's a problem. Here's the list:

Interlaken

Prague

Budapest & Vienna

Vienna & Salzburg

Nice & the French Riviera

Munich

Amalfi Coast, Capri & Pompeii

Dalmation Coast, Croatia

Corfu Island

They are all 3-day trips, which is why I refuse to have class on Friday! Each trip costs between 200-250 euro. How am I supposed to pay for that?? It's cruel, really. haha.

They also take day trips within Italy to Chianti, Venice, Milan, Tuscany, Verona, and Cinque Terre. These trips cost from 45-75 euro. Everything is so expensive here. It's making me nervous!! I'll post in a few days once I've started classes. Wish me luck!

Benvenuti a Firenze!

I have been in Florence for 3 days now. It's almost midnight here, which means it's about dinner time in Ohio! Today was my first day of orientation with some of my classmates and we walked around a lot and saw many beautiful things. It may seem perfect here, but it's actually really cold! I definitely should have brought warmer clothes. There is an Italian law that only permits heaters to be on 8 hours a day, so our apartment is quite frigid. Oh well, it's all part of the adventure =) Here are some pictures I took today:

 It's been great weather so far. Very sunny! But cold.... haha

 There is a separate building that the Accademia Italiana has across the Arno River for studio classes and stuff, and this is the view from the roof. That's the Duomo, which means Cathedral.

 Roommates! L-R: Aleksandra from Russia, Sarah from Massachusetts, Kaitlin from Connecticut, and me. 

 This is the Santa Croce. I don't really know anything about it yet, but when I do I'll let ya know =)

 Can I just say that my jaw drops every time I walk down the street because the men look so dang good. Seriously. They dress up in jackets, blazers, tuxes, peacoats and stuff to go out in. So impressive!!!! I guess it's not just the men who dress up and look great, but the difference between American menswear and Italian menswear is crazy. I'm SURE I will post more about that again =)

All of the buildings are lovely and have painted shutters. Very charming. 

So I flew from Detroit to Paris and then from Paris to Florence. On my first flight I sat next to a mom and her daughter (10) and son (4) from Lebanon. Her kids were precious! The daughter speaks Arabic, English, and French. Kinda embarrassing for us. And we listened to Shakira on her ipod. Pretty Awesome. And THEN, I was shocked to get on my plane from Paris and find two famous fashion photographers on board. I was so nervous and I was geeking out.....They're in Florence to view Pitti Uomo (all the menswear collections). BTW they were Scott Schuman (AKA the Sartorialist) and Tommy Ton. I wish I would have been able to talk to them more but at least I was brave enough to say hi! I am really good at finding famous photographers. When I was in New York this spring, I met Bill Cunningham, a street photographer for the New York Times. One of the best moments of my liiiife. I definitely need to learn how to take pictures of people on the street like he does so that I don't look like a creep. haha. Please leave me comments, ciao!