Florence Day 4

On day 4 of Florence we went to the Pitti Palace which was incredible. The rooms were so highly decorated for the paintings to the furniture and wallpaper. Each room had beautiful ceiling paintings and the paintings we looked at were Raphael's Madonna and Child with St John (Madonna della Seggiola) and Artemisia Gentileschi's Judith. These paintings are well known. I did not actually spend much time in this place as i really wanted to see Donatello David in a different museum so i quickly rushed over there before it closed but sadly missed it by 10 minutes so went and saw the Mona Lisa of Florence, Michelangelo's David. I queued for an hour in the rain and have never really studied this sculpture so had no idea what to expect from it. I was amazed by the marble sculpture mainly due to its monumental size. We couldn't take any photos in any of the major galleries so i do not have one of David. The David is located in the Accademia Gallery and is definitely worth a visit just for the David as the artists ability to create such a monumental sculpture is incredible!

These gates are by Ghiberti and called the Gates of Paradise, is an 8 paneled door, each gold relief sculpture depicting an old testament story such as Cain and Abel and Moses. The gates are fantastic and look so impressive when seeing them for the first time! I loved these gates and they are right opposite Brunelleschi;s Cathedral. After seeing a lot of Florence we left the next day but i had a fantastic time and learnt a lot about Renaissance art which was good for me as i am much more into modern and contemporary art!

Florence Day 3

On Day 3 we went to the Uffizi Gallery, it is like the National Gallery in London, only larger and huge queues, but well worth the wait! We queued for about 2 hours and saw so many artworks. I did not expect to see some of the works i did. I knew i would see the two famous Botticelli, The Birth of Venus and Primavera. Seeing these in real life was amazing but i was much more impressed with the Primavera than the other, The Birth of Venus is such a famous and reproduced image and was impressive to see how large it was in real life but i really loved the detail and iconography which yo can see with the Primavera. I loved it how the Uffizi showed the artworks as some of the works which are the most famous artworks in the world were put in such modest places and sometimes due to just being in a small room with other works which i didnt realise i got such a shock from seeing some works such as the Venus of Urbino by Titian is in a small room and I didn't realize it was in this gallery but extremely happy that it was. Another piece in this gallery which i really wanted to see before coming to Florence was the Battle of San Romano by Uccello. I have seen the version in London and love it and to be able to now have seen two of the three versions was great. All i need to do now is pop to Paris and see the third version in the Louvre. Once you have seen all the rooms and paintings there is a beautiful outdoor terrace which when i was there was the best weather we had all week so we could have a drink in the sun looking over Florence. If you go to Florence you can not miss the Uffizi.

After the Uffizi we went into the hills of Florence to the Piazzale Michelangelo, where we did a 'sound walk' which was walking up to the monastery in silence and listen to Gregorian monks chant religious songs. It was an odd experience but well worth it as it gives you time to listen to the things which you would not normally hear. The Monastery is also at the top of a hill and gives a fantastic view of Florence and watching the sun set over Florence is another must do!

Florence Trip Day 2

In Florence on day 2, Monday morning, we visited the Brancacci Chapel which contained the famous frescoes by Masaccio, Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Tribute Money, as well as others. Fillipino Lippi did some works in this chapel, Disputation with Simon Magus and Crucifixion of St Peter. The chapel was beautiful and had amazing artworks all over the ceiling and walls.

After seeing this chapel we to the Duomo in the day and found that it was rammed with tourists which did show how big the cathedral was on the inside. The cathedral was designed by Brunelleschi and is a must see in Florence. It is free to get inside and look around but 3 euro entrance into the crypt which i do no recommend as it shows you broken pots and skulls but there is no captions to anything in Italian or English so hard to understand what is actual remains of the crypt and whats not. The outside of the building is decorated in beautiful polychromy of mainly greens and pinks and the large clock tower to the right of the cathedral!

After looking at the cathedral we went for a drink at the Caffe Giubbe Rosse, which is where the Futurists set up their first meeting in Florence. It was really cool to be in a place where such a large art movement had their first meeting to discuss the promotion of there movement. The futurists were in the early 20th century which was where art really began to go off in all different directions. The cafe was quite expensive so only had a drink and went elsewhere for lunch!

Then we went to what i think is possibly the most famous fresco in the world, definitely in Florence, which was at the Santa Maria Novella, Masaccio's Holy Trinity, this piece definitely lived up to expectations as i have studied for many years and I was more excited to see this piece then any other piece in Florence so was very glad this was on our itinerary. Giotto's Crucifixion was also very impressive but I do not know as much about this piece as i do the trinity. The way how Masaccio manages to capture the perspective withing the architecture does make look like you could climb into the painting.

Florence 10 March-14 March 2013 Day 1

As an LJMU history of art student, we took a 5 day trip to Florence. The home of Renaissance masterpieces. The days were filled with trips to museums and chapels. Florence is a beautiful city and can not be done in 5 days but we gave it a good shot! On day 1 we arrived in Florence at around 4pm after a long day of travelling so decided to rest and then go sight seeing at night. Florence is beautifully lit up at night even if all the museums were closed. The Duomo was lit up and could be seen from all around the city. The view from our hotel room captured the view of Florence perfectly!

Glam! The Performance of Style

This exhibition is possibly the blockbuster exhibition of the Tate Liverpool for 2013! From mainly looking at fine art in galleries such as Manet's and Turner's to making fashion a more respected part of the art world by showcasing a whole movement of style and pop culture. In the exhibition there is fine art such as David Hockney's 'Mrs Clark and Percy' and Marc Camille Chaimowicz 'Celebration'. The reason why its so different to any exhibition i have seen before is because of the layout and the use of music, which is from an artwork but also the display of outfits and use of vinyl cases on the wall, which many people would see and probably have the exact cover at home. This is due to the exhibition being about pop culture and will have a sentimental feeling to visitors who lived throughout the era which it is showcasing (1970-75). To others who were not around at the time it gives an exciting incite to what the time was like. The exhibition focus's on Glam! in the UK as well as the US so Warhol pops up a few times in this exhibition with works such as 'Women in Revolt' which is the poster for his film about the women's liberation movement. I attended the exhibition on the private view and Tate went all out for this view by having a bar and make up studio as well as a dance floor for anyone brave enough to take to it. Whilst i was there, no one took up the challenge of being the first on it! The exhibition was very busy and felt that i was moving round very fast as i was constantly in a queue so i feel i will return to the exhibtion to get another look! Glam! has been open since the 8th February 2013 and ends on the 8th May 2013 so plenty of time to go and see the exhibition!!

Corner House

The Corner House is Located in Manchester and is an art gallery as well as a cinema. In gallery 3 there is a film installation by Rosa Barba. Rosa Barba is a Berlin based artist and has held exhibitions all around the world ranging from the Tate Modern in London to the New Museum in New York. The piece which is in the Corner House at the moment is called Subconscious Society, 2013. Barba is commenting on how analogue technology is already passing and the its the digital revolution. The film shows a group of people who are performing strange actions in a disused room where they assemble objects or move in sequences. The film has been filmed on one of the last Fuji stock shipments which is echoing the fading of the analogue technology. the film will showing until Sunday 24th March 2013.

Exhibition Research Centre: Jacques Charlier

The French Artist Jacques Charlier has an exhibition at the brand new LJMU Exhibition Research Centre which opened on the 30th January 2013. It is also the first exhibition Charlier has had in the UK. Jacques Charlier was very big in the northern European art scene and influenced many artists with his conceptual ideas. The photographs which have been taken in auction houses and art shows show spectators conversing and looking at the art. What i think the artist has achieved is taking notice of the ordinary and i never saw the scenarios which the photos are of as a social event. When i look at the photos i see spectators looking at the art works but i also see a large social aspect to going to an opening of an art event. The exhibition is very interesting and is open until the 1st March 2013.