Fall Break!

 Wow, what a week! I spent the first half of the break in Florence intending to just relax but that didn't really happen, but it was well spent! I started things off at the Museo del San Marco, which is home to the fresco paintings of Fra Angelico, that I learned about in Art History at RIC. Admittedly when I learned about these at home from photos in textbooks I was not interested in them at all, but seeing them in person completely changed my perspective. The way he handled transitions in light was particularly intriguing, they were so soft. This museum was very small but seeing these paintings made it well worth it. 

Fra Angelico, Annunciation

I spent the next two days at the Uffizi, the most well known art museum in Italy. It is home to the work of Giotto, Botticelli, Caravaggio, and Rembrandt, to name a few of the major artists. There was so much to see that I ended up going there twice over the week and spent a total of 10 hours there, and it was so overwhelming I can't even write about all of it! I had been waiting so long to visit the museum because I wanted to really be able to spent a lot of time there and enjoy it without having anywhere to be.. But in result the painting that was most important to me to see, by Artemisia Gentileschi, was moved to Chicago the day before I got there!!! That was pretty disappointing, however I managed to rekindle my love for it the next day when I went back. Maybe I'll just have to take a trip to Chicago when I get home! I managed to get some good notes/drawings while I was there. I was particularly interested in the drawings by Anton Domenico Gabbiani, the still life paintings of Rachel Ruysch, and the works of  Pontormo and contemporary painter Andrea Martinelli. 

Botticelli, Madonna of the Pomegranate 

Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holofernes. My favorite artist!

I also got to take day trips to Chianti, San Gimignano, and back to Venice. Both towns were set on the tops of hills overlooking gorgeous valleys of  grape and olive fields, and are known for producing fine wines, which I was fortunate enough to sample :) I also got to have a sandwich with white boar meat which is native to the area, and was super fresh and delicious. Certainly like nothing back home!  My favorite of the towns was San Gimignano, which is a medieval city built in the 12th century. I had no idea what to expect of this town, but it was an adorable little place! Even the ride there was stunning.

I went for another day in Venice, (because one just isn't enough!) but this time I went with my friend Heidi. Instead of staying on the main island we went off the beaten path to the smaller islands of Murano and Burano. They were so cute! Especially Burano, which is known for its brightly colored houses. 

I spent the second half of the break visiting Irina, another student from RIC who is studying in Tubingen, Germany; I will have a second entry for this because I have a ton of pictures, and its so different from Italy that I feel it deserves its own post! :) Ciao!