Wednesday, March 27, 2013 0 comments

The Only Church for a Courtesan



            What is a Courtesan? Well, Courtesans are prostitutes, but they are a bit different from the typical prostitute. Courtesans were private lovers of noblemen during the 16th Century and usually were valued at a higher price because of their natural beauty. They are so beautiful that many men would want them.  Usually the only ones who could afford a Courtesan were the wealthy. The question is what would they have to do with the Caravaggio walk with Lauren, our docent? Well, we visited the only church which allowed Courtesans to enter and say their prayers. This church was the Church of St. Agostino.

            This church was really unique because it was intended to be more of a female’s church where, even Courtesans, were allowed to attend. The Courtesans, along with other females, were placed in the front of the church during mass because their beauty would distract the men.   This kept the men from turning around during services.  There is something very interesting in this church that everyone should go and see, Caravaggio’s Madonna of Loreto/ Madonna of the Pilgrims (the painting has two names).  It is located in the Cavalleti Chapel. Caravaggio is a painter who worked quick but loved to gamble and waste away all the money he earned.   Churches did not like his paintings because they were realist paintings that had nothing to do with religion. He made people in the streets pose for him and showed the dirty feet of the beggars, even St. Marie who he depicts in some of his paintings. What’s special about his Madonna of Loreto painting is that the model was his lover. This lover is also a Courtesan named Maddalena Agnoletti, Lena for short, and in the painting she is holding a child whom many say is their son. Yet, the real question is why the church decided to keep this painting. The reason why is because the church is a church for women and they wanted everyone to feel welcomed. Even the famous Courtesan of that time, Fiammetta Michaelis who is the lover of Cesare Borgia went to the Church of St. Agostino.
-Susan
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The Mystery of the Pointer


                                                                                                       

                  
                  If you can, try to find the light from this Caravaggio masterpiece. In this picture, at least one of these seven characters should have a familiar face. I’ll give you a hint; he’s the one man extending his entire arm as if he was pointing at someone. Yes, on the far right, Jesus Christ is the man pointing to the men who seem to be either gambling or simply doing their taxes which is where we find the location where the light seems to be eliminating from. Not the window but Jesus, but who is Jesus pointing to? As you can see through the painting, the figures in the painting itself are also confused on who he might be addressing. Is it the man with his head down to the table or perhaps the man pointing to himself? Even some scholars haven’t truly revealed who Jesus is pointing at exactly but we have strong reason to believe that one of these five men is St. Matthew. That is the name of the painting. 

                Lauren, who was our docent today, believes that the child directly in front of Christ is in fact St. Matthew based on the facts that Caravaggio has drawn Matthew before with similar facial features that the child shares. Yet Lauren also explained that part of Caravaggio’s genius comes from how he wants people to perceive his paintings for themselves. So there might not be a direct answer on who Jesus might be pointing to and that is what makes Caravaggio so innovative in my eyes. Just from this painting alone, Caravaggio has made himself my favorite painter. One thing is for sure, I love a challenge, and this painting says to me that I have to solve the mystery of who Christ is pointing to. If I would have to guess, I would eliminate the man with the sword on the right, the man pointing to himself and the man directly behind him, and finally the man blocking Christ’s torso. So that leaves two figures, the child and the man with is head to the ground. Now as I stated before, the light is coming from Jesus and it seems as if Jesus is pointing at the man with his head down to possibly get his attention and to ultimately show him the “light of Christ”. But this is just my perspective and  there are so many other theories. so I strongly encourage you to see  this Caravaggio painting if you ever come to Rome. It is in the  church of San Luigi dei FrancesiJoin the mystery and develop your own theory and maybe you can find the light.  
-Devin
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The Art of Metal




            Metal is such a common material that most people just take for granted.  Luca, our docent on the Made in Florence walk, took us to a metal “world” where we saw, first hand, how accessories were made. We learned that no two accessories are the alike. The Craftsmen must have a very steady hand if he or she wants to enter this field of work.

            There are only two types of metals that are used to produce the goods in Carlo Cecchi’s little secluded shop, steel and copper.  Hidden in the backstreets of Florence, his shop is quietly hidden next to a small outdoor market where only locals shop. His shop is likely one of only a few that still creates these metal goods by hand.  There is so much that goes into this particular metal work. First, the craftsmen must have a visual so that they can chisel the design onto very thick steel. After the design is transferred, a thin piece of copper is placed on top so that the picture is stamped onto the copper. There is a machine in this step of the process because it’s impossible to stamp the design by hand. The final product then goes to another metal craftsman to polish or weld. The finished product could be a picture frame, purse, or other jewlery accessorie.

            Three dimensional objects have a bit of a different system to make. First a clay model is made by the Artistisan. These metal guilds have a neat trick. A guild is just another name the Italians use for the professional group.  The metal guild would be a metal working class or in the metal profession. The neat trick is that the clay is coated in copper and heated to a certain degree. There would be a whole in the middle for the clay to melt out of and then liquid copper would be filled into the space inside a particular shape. This is the way a metal worker is able to create three dimensional objects. Of course this isn’t the end. The metal still has to go through another process where the design and polishing are completed.

            What I learned from this process is not only how to make the actual metal product, but understanding why anyone would do this type of work. As I said, someone who wants to pursue this career must have a steady hand which is acquired through years of training. There are many brand names that have interest in this trade.  People cherish these possessions.  Anyone who is a part of this job very well could be the creators of products sold from brands like Gucci, VIGANT, Christian Dior, Nina Ricci, Sotheby’s, and even Rene Reveur Paris, which just happen to all be big customers of Carlo Cecchi.    
-Susan
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Another First For Me


                                                                     

         Today was a day full of first experiences, but they were those experiences that one would never think about until it actually happens. Today I not only entered the birth place of the Renaissance, the wondrous city of Florence but I also saw my first castle. Weird right? Who would have thought I would ever see a castle in my lifetime? It's almost like I am living my own little fairytale.

        This was no ordinary castle though. This castle was just as big as Hogwarts from the Harry Potter movies. I am not kidding; this castle looked like it was straight out of the first Shrek movie where the huge dragon lived. The castle is named, Palazzo Vecchio and is today used as the town hall for the city. This tall Romanesque building towers over the whole piazza with its big medieval watchtower that is almost 10 stories high and is designed with family flags and a one handed clock which I hope tells the right time. It is also directly located to the right of the Uffizi Art gallery. I kid you not; this castle gave off the vibe that one would get if they were watching the show Merlin or even Game of Thrones with the whole brick laid upon brick type of architecture. If there were to be a war where dozens of medieval knights just came out of nowhere because they wanted their land back, this would the castle hide in.
Hogwarts has nothing on Palazzo Vecchio.
-Devin
Tuesday, March 26, 2013 0 comments

New City, New Tongues


                                                                                                            
                                    We had an all around interesting day today. As soon as I thought I was beginning to get a sense of Roman history, architecture, and even the native language, I felt as if I was bomb-rushed by a whole new side to the Roman culture. It is almost like every small city-state of Italy has made their own mark on the country and in fact, that is exactly what we learned today.

                  Our first walk started off a little rough. As soon as we arrived at the metro stop where we were supposed to meet our docent, Tom Rankin, we were surprised to not see him at first. It was actually kind of funny because while we waited for him for an entire hour, we later found out that he was there at the station waiting for us, but even with the small little mix up at the beginning we managed to have a very fun walk.  I like to think of our walk today as an excavation. Tom took us to the ancient ruins of Ostia  and I have to say, it was so much bigger than in the pictures. At first thought, I assumed Ostia Antica would just be a small little village off the coast, but it turns out that the little village I envisioned was actually an entire full fledge city with a cemetery and imperial forum. I liked it a lot because Tom allowed us to explore the sight and discover the city on our own. It genuinely allowed me to enjoy the city for myself.
                  A few hours after that, we met our next docent, Andrea, for a language workshop at a small bar in Monti and apparently time was, once again, not in our favor. We met Andrea at the bar but apparently the bar owner was running a bit late and we stood outside of the bar for close to ten minutes and we practically had the first part of the session outside. Needless to say, the owner showed up and we continued the session inside. Before I continue can I ask you something? Do you think there is only one way to speak Italian? Well, long-story-short, NO. There are many different ways to speak the language and each way can depict where and what part of the country you are from. I never would have thought of that at all without the insight of Andrea. In a way, English is also the same way. We have forms of slang, obscenities  and even accents, but what brings all of these different styles of one language together is one common root that they share.   This root comes from the history of the culture. Who would have thought that even though we are separated by over a thousand miles across the ocean, even though our dialect is different, the way Americans and Italians speak can still be so similar.
-Devin

 
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