The Galleria dell’Accademia is located in the San Marco quarter of Florence and, outwardly, is not especially an impressive building.  However, once inside, you will find yourself holding your breath at the beauty in the main gallery.  This main gallery holds the strong and powerful figures of Michelangelo’s Four Slaves and St. Matthew.  All five sculptures are unfinished and the figures seem to be struggling to release themselves from the marble surrounding them.  However, these figures are not what the viewer sees at first glance when he enters the gallery.

At the far end of the long hall, in a specially designed apse-like space, is the magnificent Michelangelo David.  This monumental figure is so inexpressibly beautiful that you simply cannot breathe when you look upon it.  No photograph nor replica can give you the feeling of strength, youth and beauty that the actual real sculpture does.  Michelangelo was only 26 when he began working on David and it took him three years to complete the statue.  David seems to be poised to go into battle with Goliath, although some experts feel that it is David after he has conquered Goliath contemplating his victory.

Whatever interpretation you wish to give it, the David is a glorious representation of youthful beauty.

A Visit to the Fondation Beyeler

About 8 years ago I visited my mother at a small pension in the town of Spiez, Switzerland, located on Lake Thun.  Although a very small town, the nice thing about Spiez is that you can get wonderful train service to almost anywhere in Switzerland, and one day my mom decided that we MUST go to Basel to visit the new Beyeler Museum.  Her special reason for wanting to see it was that it had been designed by the Italian architect, Renzo Piano, who collaborated with Richard Rogers to design the controversial Pompidou Centre in Paris.  So off we went for an approximately onef-hour train ride to Basel, followed by a short tram ride to the Berowerpark.

The Fondation Beyeler which opened to the public in 1997 was built to house the art collection of the Basel art dealer and collector, Ernst Beyeler.  The building is modest and modern with reddish colored walls.  I was told that the red is porphyry (a very hard rock) from Patagonia, Argentina.  Two very large bay windows give onto the park, and the whole feeling is one of serenity.

The Beyeler collection includes some primitive art sculptures and about 200 paintings and sculptures from the Post Impressionist to Cubists.  One room is devoted to pictures and sculptures of Alberto Giacometti and another to the British artist Francis Bacon.  However, you can also find the pop-art of Rauscheberg, Rothko and Liechstenstein along with some Cezannes, Van Goghs, Monets and Picassos.

There is a fine and elegant restaurant in the garden where we ate a very good lunch before taking the train back to our little pension in Spiez.  A pleasant trip in all!

See L’Orangerie for the Monet Lilies

L’Orangerie is a charming Second Empire styled building at the end of the Tuileries Gardens.  Whenever I visit Paris it is one of my favorite haunts.  If the weather is good, it is a pleasure to stroll through the Gardens themselves and then end up at this small but lovely museum.

Originally built to as a greenhouse for the Tuileries Palace, it was turned into an exhibition gallery in the early 20th century to house the art collection of Walter-Guillaume.  There is an elegant horseshoe wrought iron staircase which takes the visitor to the first floor galleries to the Walter-Guillaume collection of Impressionists.  There are several Soutine tortured portraits and still lifes, a Picasso, and a Modigliani.  There are also some good examples of Renoir, Derain, Matisse, Henri Rousseau and Sisley.

But the highlight of L’Orangerie are the two large oval rooms on the ground floor with a series of paintings by Monet made in his garden at Giverny.  These are eight gigantic panels of Water Lilies, called the Nympheas, presented to the museum in 1927.  It is breathtaking to stand in the center of these rooms and simply turn from one panel to the next to observe the depth of colors and tones.  If you are fortunate to be there all alone, you can really enjoy the lilies without the annoyance of flash cameras (which are forbidden, but tourists use them anyhow).  I go back there every time I can get to Paris.

A Phoenix “Point of Pride”

The Heard Museum was founded in 1929 by Dwight and Maie Heard to house their own personal collection of Native American art.  Begun as a small private museum, it has greatly expanded and states as its “mission”:  education of the public about the heritage and living cultures and arts of Native peoples of the Southwest.  It is now recognized internationally both for the quality of its collections and its educational programming.

I had never heard of the Heard until I visited relatives in Phoenix, Arizona, about ten years ago.  One of the sights of Phoenix that they particularly wanted me to visit was this museum.  The building itself is a lovely, spreading, sand colored edifice built on the Mexican hacienda style with lovely arches, pavilions and courtyard garden.

Most of the collection objects are from the 19th and 20th centuries, but since this is a “living” museum, contemporary Native American art is constantly being added to it.

The Barry Goldwater Collection of historic Hopi kachina dolls and the huge collection of contemporary Native American jewelry especially impressed me.

In addition to all of the above, the Heard Museum is the home of the annual World Championship Hoop Dance Contest which is generally held in the month of February.

In the last ten years, in fact since I was there, the Museum has expanded to include two more sites:  one in Scottsdale, Arizona, and another in Surprise in the West Valley.  The original Phoenix site is a popular and well attended museum.

Piazza San Petro

Designed by Michelangelo after the original architect, Bramante, had died, this piazza is a wondrous impressive sight of classic beauty and symmetry. Bernini’s encircling columns on each side of the piazza stretch out like welcoming arms, and St. Peter’s Cathedral or Basilica stands as a commanding edifice topped by Michelangelo’s dome. If you are not there on a Sunday, when the piazza is full of devout believers awaiting the Pope’s blessing, the piazza is a lovely quiet place to contemplate the genius of the Renaissance popes and their artists. It is so large that the tourists wandering in to go into the Cathedral do not crowd or worry you.

The Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel

The Vatican Museums are so extensive that to go through them takes a whole day. Not all of the displays are really worth spending that amount of time. As a result, and understanding that many tourists do not want to see everything, the museum has 4 tours: A,B,C and D. These are arranged in accordance with length. All of them end up in the Sistine Chapel which is the place you definitely do not want to miss. Therefore, it is best to pick the “A” tour, which is the shortest, and then spend as much of your time as you can in the Sistine Chapel. The ceiling, Michelangelo’s masterpiece accomplished in 4 years, is absolutely awe-inspiring. Everyone is familiar with the famous centerpiece: God and Adam almost touching fingers, but there is so much to see in all of the ceiling that one visit is never enough. A most wonderful description of Michelangelo’s trials, tribulations, sorrows, anger and triumph while painting the ceiling are depicted in Ross King’s well-researched book “Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling”. First visit the chapel and then read the book.

Teddy Roosevelt’s Home

Sagamore Hill, built by Teddy Roosevelt in 1894 and 1895, became his permanent home until his death there in January, 1919.  He built it believing the area to be healthy for children (he had six), and during his presidency it was nicknamed “the Summer Whitehouse”.  For more than 30 years, Sagamore Hill was one of the most talked about homes in America.  Particularly, people would talk about the man never too busy being president to be a devoted father.

The house itself is a Victorian rambling structure made of frame and brick.  It has 23 rooms on three floors and is kept, today much as it was during its use by the Roosevelts.  Although Teddy Roosevelt died in 1919, his wife continued to live at Sagamore Hill until her death in 1948.  In 1950 the house and its 83 acres of land were purchased by the Theodore Roosevelt Association who, in turn, gave it to the American people as a gift in 1963.  There is a guided tour through the house which is interesting, showing Roosevelt’s hunting trophies, books, paintings, flags and furniture all very much reflecting the spirit of Teddy Roosevelt.

The extensive grounds, consisting of gardens and arboretum overlooking Oyster Bay, are delight to wander through.  Because of their beauty, they are a favorite spot for wedding pictures, and the Sunday that I was there, a long line of limousines disgorged brides and grooms and photographers.  However, the place is large enough to walk through without encountering the wedding photo ops at every turn.  The Sunday I was there, we had a very nice brunch at the cafe/restaurant on the grounds and, of course, we took a turn through the gift shop.  In short, Sagamore Hill, an American Heritage Site, is a charming place for a Sunday trip.

A 13th Century Palazzo

The Palazzo del Bargello was built in the mid 1200’s as the residence of the chief magistrate of the city of Firenze (Florence).  It was then turned into a police station where many instances of torture took place in the center of its majestic courtyard, and where guilty prisoners were often thrown to their death from the roof top.

The palazzo is a beautiful, austere example of medieval architecture which is not easy to recognize because it is located on a very narrow street immediately opposite a large 10th century church called the Badia.  Today the Bargello is a museum housing some absolutely magnificent Renaissance sculpture.

Michelangelo at the Bargello

One of the main reasons that I love Firenze is that it totally oozes Michelangelos, and the Bargello is one of the places to see some of his great works.  There is a most impressive, lifelike bust of Brutus, so handsome that you can fall in love with him.  There is also a drunken Bacchus and a gorgeous medallion relief of the Virgin and Child with St. John.  Tourists who whiz through Firenze do not usually get to the Bargello for Michelangelo.  They see the more famous of his works:  David, the Medici Tombs.  But these smaller Michelangelos are pearls and not to be missed.

Also at this museum is the not to be missed Donatello bronze sculpture of David.  It is not as impressive as the monumental Michelangelo David, but beautiful in its own way.  On the same floor as the Donatello, there are some charming works of art by the Della Robbia family.

The museum is not a large one, but it is well worth a visit when touring Firenze.

Formerly an elegant 19th century railroad station, this beautiful and graceful building is now an attractive museum.

Spend a Day in an RR Station without Taking a Train

Visitors to Paris invariably head for the Louvre, but the Louvre is so big that it frightens me.  I don’t know where to go first, and I easily become confused.  So I head for the Musee d’Orsay.  This beautiful former railroad station was inaugurated as a museum in 1986.  Even if you don’t like art, it is worth your while to go through the building to see how, overlooking the Seine and across the river from the Louvre and the Tuileries, this former RR station was transformed into a museum.  It is probably my favorite Paris museum.

I always head for the upper level, where looking out the windows one gets a lovely view of the Seine, and where you find the galleries with the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists.  In addition to gorgeous Van Goghs, Renoirs, Cezannes and Monets, the Orsay has a marvelous collection of Degas sculptures: his ballet dancers and race horses.  I can stand for hours at a time contemplating these delicate bronze sculptures - figures that seem to have been arrested in full flight or movement.

After going through the galleries of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, you can get a bite to eat at the Orsay’s pleasant cafeteria, rest your feet for awhile, and then go on to the terrace where you can wander through the Rodin sculptures.  If you still have some strength left in your legs, the ground floor of the museum holds artworks from the Classic-Romantic era, but my favorites are the Impressionists.

Most visitors to Prague miss this gem of a museum.

The Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts

Tourists visiting Prague generally go for the National Museum of Arts and the Clementinum (the National Library), but most of them never even hear about the Museum of Decorative Arts.  Although it is listed in all the guide books, and it is located close to the Smetena Museum and the old Jewish Quarter, it is one of those places that ordinary tourists simply don’t have time to see.

I was fortunate enough to have been advised by a friend who lives in Prague to be sure to get there.  Firstly, she told me, there will not be a lot of people inside, and you can see all the exhibits without fighting a crowd.  Secondly, she added, from the toilets one gets the best-ever view of the old Jewish Cemetary!  Well, she was right in both respects.  I got there around 10:30 a.m. and was the only visitor, although a few more showed up later.  The museum’s permanent exhibits are on the first floor which means climbing two flights of monumental stairs.  But once you have made the climb, it is definitely worth the effort.  There is a very large, long rectangular room with old, old tapestries hung along the walls while down the center is a huge glass enclosed display of fashions for brides and grooms beginning with the 1700’s and going all through to the 1940’s.  The materials on the bride and groom mannikins are magnificent, many of the older ones having been completely handmade.

For porcelain, glass and crystal lovers there is a large room holding magnificent displays of old Czech crystal table ware and decorative pieces and gorgeous sets of porcelain from all over Europe including Delft and Limoges.  However, my favorite room was the one that held all kinds of old clocks, watches, sextants, compasses, etc.  Many of them dated as far back as the 13th century and all of them were absolutely fascinating and wondrous to behold.

On the ground floor of the museum there are two large rooms for temporary exhibits.  The day I was there, they were showing handblown glass figures, some of them huge, by two contemporary Czech artists - all of the figures were either creepy crawly things like beetles, bees, spiders, etc. or fish.  Although the blown glass was really beautiful, creepy crawlies are not my cup of tea, so I went through the two rooms very quickly.  If you are in Prague and have the time, visit this 17th century palazzo-style building that holds the Museum of Decorative Arts.

Set in a little town in Tuscany, Italy, is one of the greatest masterpieces of
Renaissance art.

Piero’s Pregnant Madonna

In the upper Tiber Valley, not far from the townships of Arezzo and
Sansepulcro, lies the tiny village of Monterchi.  Monterchi is one of those
Tuscan midieval towns with its Centro Historico (historic center) built on a
hill for protection against encroaching enemies.  It looks like an island in the
center of the valley.  There is nothing terribly unusual or mind-boggling about
this charming town.  However, it is home to one of the greatest masterpieces of
Renaissance art:  The Madonna del Parto (the pregnant Madonna) by Piero della
Francesca. 

So, we are not really talking about a museum here.  This fresco by Piero was
originally found in the Monterchi cemetary chapel.  But in 1992-1993 it was
given a thorough restoration and then placed in a small building, formerly a
school building.  The school building has two rooms.  The first, on entering,
contains information about the fresco and about the artist.  The second and
larger room holds the fresco.  It stands in the center, protected by glass and a
low railing.  And upon first seeing it, my reaction was a soft “ahh”.

The Madonna is standing, dressed in a vibrant blue dress.  (I later read that
Piero used lapis lazuli for this blue color.)  She has one delicate hand resting
on her swollen belly.  Her head is slightly tilted to one side, and she has a
very pensive expression on her face.  The painting emanates quiet and calm.  You
just want to stand there, look at it, and breathe in the calm atmosphere.  What
is she thinking, this lovely, pensive Madonna?  The answer is open to the
interpretation of the observer.

If you are traveling in Tuscany, don’t miss the jewel of Monterchi.  It is
worth a detour.

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