Uffizi, laundry, and Firenze wrap up.
I got up at 5am today to pack and make sure I made it to the Uffizi by 7 to wait for tickets since the whole reservation thing wasn't working out. Switching Hotels everyday, since I was sliding in under the radar for the one open room for one day each time, wasn't great either but everything has worked out so far.
I met an interesting Icelandic artist in line who spoke pretty good English. He asked me if I had been here before and if I was coming back. My answer was, of course, that I expected to get through the entire museum today. Since I had made it through the Louvre in 6 hours, I didn't expect this would take me more than 3 or 4. He was shocked at this breakneck pace, 'You know what one thing you want to see, you see it and you're done eh? No coming back.' I don't really know how to explain it any other way, but I've seen a lot of beautiful things in my life and I do enjoy them a great deal. But I see no reason why you should limit yourself to X number of beautiful things in a day, nor do I understand the great significance people attribute to different Egyptian sarcophagi. "Oh really, this one has a shaft of wheat in his hand, and the other one has a scepter. Wow that really is profound."
I look at museums and relics like the Olympics, I'm not interested in pretty good or nice. If your not amazing, you're wasting my time. So I told him, "I don't really care for icons or anything before the 15th century. Artwork without perspective does not impress me as a rule of thumb." To which he replied, 'Don't you think you should give them more of a chance? I like to let a piece of art really sink in, get a real feel for it. . . but no, you don't.' I guess I've exposed myself to too much excess and decadence that I'm just not impressed by it any more. I've sat on a slick and sheer cliff face on a granite slab of rock with an entire rive pouring over the side just 18 inches from me, while hanging onto a an errant tree, with a sound so deafening that the roar almost drowns the thought of the 3,000 foot fall that may await below you. My feet, and fingers still tingle when I think about it. Or the sunsetting on the rocks of a Canyon or the trees of a coastal forest, these things enthrall me far more than most paint on a canvas can ever hope to.
There was one very impressive painting by Leonardo di Vinci, as well as Giorgio Vason - Ritratto di Lorenzo il Magnifico, Giorgione/Gorgio Barbaellie, Gattamelata - Portrait of Equerry, all of which I would've liked to see a little better and more closely. I was quite impressed by Luca Signorelli's Crucifix with Mary Magdalen, but I have a few problems with the Uffizi.
#1 Terribly lit - The pieces, if they are lit at all, are generally lit poorly. A poor choice of intensity or color (washed out, discolored, or given poor contrast), from a poor direction, or otherwise incompetently lit. This of course is a bit better than some pieces which are in total darkness.
#2 No labels - Theres a lot of work, some of it impressive, that is simply unlabeled. It'd be nice if was labeled in several languages ideally, but at least one I consider mandatory.
Other notes from the Uffizi:
Caligula looks like a snot nosed kid in need of a bit of a light throttling.
Nero clearly had a fat guy complex.
Cosmo di Medici the first evidently had a patchy beard, which proves that no mater your personal shortcomings you can either work them into strengths or thrust them into the world such that they accept it and turn it into a strength for you.
Oh, and apparently doing "environmentally friendly" laundry in Firenze costs €8 per load. Are you with me when I say "Fuck the world"? Eh, eh? Any takers?
I met an interesting Icelandic artist in line who spoke pretty good English. He asked me if I had been here before and if I was coming back. My answer was, of course, that I expected to get through the entire museum today. Since I had made it through the Louvre in 6 hours, I didn't expect this would take me more than 3 or 4. He was shocked at this breakneck pace, 'You know what one thing you want to see, you see it and you're done eh? No coming back.' I don't really know how to explain it any other way, but I've seen a lot of beautiful things in my life and I do enjoy them a great deal. But I see no reason why you should limit yourself to X number of beautiful things in a day, nor do I understand the great significance people attribute to different Egyptian sarcophagi. "Oh really, this one has a shaft of wheat in his hand, and the other one has a scepter. Wow that really is profound."
I look at museums and relics like the Olympics, I'm not interested in pretty good or nice. If your not amazing, you're wasting my time. So I told him, "I don't really care for icons or anything before the 15th century. Artwork without perspective does not impress me as a rule of thumb." To which he replied, 'Don't you think you should give them more of a chance? I like to let a piece of art really sink in, get a real feel for it. . . but no, you don't.' I guess I've exposed myself to too much excess and decadence that I'm just not impressed by it any more. I've sat on a slick and sheer cliff face on a granite slab of rock with an entire rive pouring over the side just 18 inches from me, while hanging onto a an errant tree, with a sound so deafening that the roar almost drowns the thought of the 3,000 foot fall that may await below you. My feet, and fingers still tingle when I think about it. Or the sunsetting on the rocks of a Canyon or the trees of a coastal forest, these things enthrall me far more than most paint on a canvas can ever hope to.
There was one very impressive painting by Leonardo di Vinci, as well as Giorgio Vason - Ritratto di Lorenzo il Magnifico, Giorgione/Gorgio Barbaellie, Gattamelata - Portrait of Equerry, all of which I would've liked to see a little better and more closely. I was quite impressed by Luca Signorelli's Crucifix with Mary Magdalen, but I have a few problems with the Uffizi.
#1 Terribly lit - The pieces, if they are lit at all, are generally lit poorly. A poor choice of intensity or color (washed out, discolored, or given poor contrast), from a poor direction, or otherwise incompetently lit. This of course is a bit better than some pieces which are in total darkness.
#2 No labels - Theres a lot of work, some of it impressive, that is simply unlabeled. It'd be nice if was labeled in several languages ideally, but at least one I consider mandatory.
Other notes from the Uffizi:
Caligula looks like a snot nosed kid in need of a bit of a light throttling.
Nero clearly had a fat guy complex.
Cosmo di Medici the first evidently had a patchy beard, which proves that no mater your personal shortcomings you can either work them into strengths or thrust them into the world such that they accept it and turn it into a strength for you.
Oh, and apparently doing "environmentally friendly" laundry in Firenze costs €8 per load. Are you with me when I say "Fuck the world"? Eh, eh? Any takers?