A Life, Lived

Travel Tuesdays - Ravenna

On the weekend I had signed up for a virtual tour of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Emilia-Romagna is a region in northern Italy, extending from the Apennine Mountains to the Po River in the north. It's known for its medieval cities, rich gastronomy and seaside resorts. The capital, Bologna, is a vibrant city with an 11th-century university and arched porticos lining the streets and squares of its medieval core. Ravenna, near the Adriatic coast, is famed for its brightly colored Byzantine mosaics. 

When our guide introduced herself she said that she lived in Ravenna.

Of course that got me thinking about those gorgeous mosaics that I have been lucky enough to see twice.

For this edition of Travel Tuesdays I am going back to Ravenna to look at these fabulous mosaics again.

The Hill We Climb

Yesterday was an emotional roller coaster.

First up was the euphoria of watching Trump leave Washington. Heck, even Jake got into the action and followed the chopper as it flew away from the White House.

The ceremony itself was intense. Not the least because of the undercurrent of uncertainty after the January 6th insurrection.

There were lots of inspiring moments - the first black, SE Asian woman sworn in as Vice-President and Biden's address were both impressive. Lady Gaga singing the national anthem. All impressive.

Nothing blew me aware more than a self-assured 22 year old who took the podium to recite the poem she had written as the youngest Inaugural Poet Laurette.

There have been many well-known Poet Laurettes but none are as likely to be remembered as Gorman will certainly be.

None of her predecessors faced the challenge that Gorman did. She set out to write a poem that would inspire hope and foster a sense of collective purpose, at a moment when Americans are reeling from a deadly pandemic, political violence and partisan division.

As she recited “The Hill We Climb,” in front of the Capitol in the bright sunlight, her voice animated and full of emotion, Gorman described her background as a “skinny Black girl, descended from slaves and raised by a single mother,” who can dream of being president one day, “only to find herself reciting for one.” She spoke about the weight of loss that the country has endured, in verses that reflected the fragile state of the country.

The poem and its delivery was a stunning success given the reaction it received. So many on social media were talking about the way it made them feel. I can't help but reflect upon the importance of Arts education in schools.

Hope

I was out for a walk today and someone had gone a bit wild with their knitting. The tree in front of their house was decorated colourfully with symbols of hope.

Travel Tuesday - Philadelphia

Given last Friday was Valentine's Day it seemed appropriate to post this pic from Philadelphia for Travel Tuesday this week.

Robert Indiana debuted the design for his famous sculpture as a painting in 1964. After constructing the aluminum piece, Indiana lent it to the City of Philadelphia as part of the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976.

LOVE remained in John F. Kennedy Plaza, which has since become known as LOVE Park, for two years.

The sculpture moved briefly to New York until a local businessman bought it and donated it to the City of Brotherly Love.

An iconic image synonymous with Philadelphia, the piece’s likeness has been recreated on items ranging from postage stamps to jewelry.

A Mixed Bag of Art

Because Thursday had been such a day on the go we hadn't made any really significant plans for Friday. In fact, we had no plans at all.

For breakfast we went to a restaurant near the apartment that had been recommended by two of my friends plus the tour guide the other day. It was deserving of the recommendations!

Next up was some shopping - there were two of London's better chocolate shops nearby and with Easter coming it made sense to purchase some treats.

Later we headed out to the Whitechapel Art Gallery. This small gallery focuses on modern art. The Whitechapel Gallery was founded in 1901 to bring great art to the people of east London. The Gallery’s history is a history of firsts: in 1939 Picasso’s masterpiece, Guernica was displayed at the Whitechapel Gallery on its first and only visit to Britain; in 1958 the Gallery presented the first major show in Britain of American abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock; and in 1970 and 1971 the first shows of David Hockney, Gilbert & George and Richard Long were staged to great acclaim.

The major exhibit featured groups of artists and architects working together to envision the future. It was a modern iteration of a similar exhibit from 1956. Anther exhibit told the story of when the gallery held the first exhibition of Jackson Pollock's work outside of the US. There were also two video art installations.

After leaving the gallery we wandered Brick Lane - a street we had heard a lot about from everyone we spoke to who knows this area of London. It was easy to see why: eye-popping street art, street food markets, vintage finds and cutting edge designers, it’s everything that makes East London such a vibrant wonderful place, distilled into a thin cobbled street that’s seen more action over the last 100 years than possibly anywhere else in town. This street has seen waves of immigration which has caused it to develop such an interesting mix of things - at one time this was home to poor Jewish immigrants - hence the two dueling bagel shops sitting side by side at the end of the street. Now there is a large Muslim population giving rise to a mosque and middle eastern restaurants. In between there was a wave of Bangladeshi immigrants - this group gave the street its nickname 'curry lane'. The end result is a fascinating mix of everything.

Oh yes, along the way we found another chocolate spot.

The clothing market near us was in full swing. We wandered through but we weren't looking at the clothing instead we were looking for the food trucks that Paul had read about. There were about 20 and they served up just about an type of food that you could think of. We both got a chicken katsu wrap and headed back to the apartment to eat them.

It had been a lot of wandering around but we weren't done yet. After a nap we were talking about heading out for a drink and somehow that morphed into a visit to the National Gallery. The gallery is open late on Fridays so we headed there. We only saw about a third of the exhibits but it was a great bookend to the est of the art we had seen during the day.

One thing about London - there is always something to do and no matter how hard you try, it is difficult to do more than scratch the surface.

 

Stavanger Kunstmuseum

The Stavager Kunstmuseum (or fine arts museum) was originally started when a small group of local art lovers got together to pool their collection. It eventually grew into a public museum of fine arts. The museum is located on the west side of the lake across from the hotel.  The museum has an extensive collection of more than two thousand works by Norwegian and international art from the 1800s to the present day. Works by Lars Hertervig constitutes a center of gravity, with more than 70 watercolors and oil paintings. Other Norwegian artists from 1800 - and 1900's are represented Kitty Kielland, Edvard Munch, Christian Krogh, Eilif Petersen, Knut Baade, Olaf Lange, Carl Sundt-Hansen and Harriet Backer.

Last Thursday there was a key note speaker at the end of the day. I had already seen this presentation in the summer and when I ran into the speaker at the airport she told me not to come on Thursday because I'd be bored. Having seen Maggie speak before I knew I'd not be bored but it did provide an opportunity to take a short walk and visit the art museum.

The weather had shifted and it was getting foggy.

The town had built a pedestrian underpass underneath the busy street. One of my observations of Norway is that they had planned the city with both pedestrians and cyclists in mind.

At the other end of the underpass you come out on the tranquility of the lake surrounded by pathways, forests, gardens, and art installations. I was a bit surprised with this small pond. I'm not sure what was so special about oit that these two pairs of ducks were nesting there rather than in the big lake 20 feet away but such is the mind of a duck apparently.

The gallery consists of a large glass dome which forms the guest facilities and two wings on other side which house the displays. Like many galleris most of the collection is in storage due to space limitations.

One of he exhibits featured a local artist who found fame in his lithographs and etchings. Olav Lange studied in Paris, at Académie Julien (1897—1901), and lived in Munich and Dachau from 1903 to 1943. His years there were interspersed with sojourns elsewhere. During World War I he lived in Copenhagen, and after being expelled from Germany in 1943, he returned to Norway. By this time he could look back on a career involving many international exhibitions and several years as the German correspondent for the newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad and other Norwegian and Swedish newspapers. Lange bequeathed several works and artist proofs to Stavanger Faste Galleri – the forerunner of Stavanger Art Museum.

It is with his colour etchings of typical Art Nouveau subjects and literary motifs that Lange made his most significant contribution to Norwegian art history. The subject matter includes, for instance, a quatic flora and fauna, butterflies and often ambiguous depictions of women: femme fatale, strong women, sensual and innocent types, also women who might be or are in bondage or suffering. The literary subjects are primarily drawn from the literature of Gustav Flaubert, but we also find references to Biblical texts and Indian sagas. The colour etchings are particularly influenced by a southern German Art Nouveau style, and by works by artists such as Max Klinger and Franz von Stuck.

The core of the exhibition featured colour etchings from 1904—1912, which were presented thematically and in the context of works by other relevant artists. The exhibition also included Lange’s large paintings of Art Nouveau subjects, urban themes, floral motifs and the unique collages he made in preparation for creating larger works. I was particularly impressed with the part of the exhibition which focused on the dramatic period in German history which Lange witnessed and on which he reported.

The other exhibition featured the work of a local art collector who had bequeathed his collection to the museum. I always find collections like this interesting as you try to get a sense of the person from the art they found tugged at their heart. It was set up in what I was advised were classic Norwegian themes for art - the future, landscape, workers, family, and the home.

When I left the museum a deep fog had rolled in making for a eerie walk back to the hotel.

Hello Fredericton

This will test the knowledge of those not from Canada. :-)

Fredericton is the Capital of New Brunswick, one of Canada's smaller provinces on the East coast. With a population of just under 70,000 (and that is with amalgamating many nearby communities into the municipal area), many would see this as a bit of a backwater. I am here for the National General Secretaries meeting - every year the GSs and Deputy GSs from all of Canada's teacher unions gather to talk about the issues facing their members and staff.

Never having been to New Brunswick I decided to come down a day early so I had some time to wander.

As you might anticipate, the flight options from Toronto were not great. In fact, there are two direct flights a day - one is very early and the other very late. I took the early flight and arrived before noon. The airport is tiny so getting luggage, picking up the rental car, and heading out was quick!

Fredericton is situated on the St. John river and there are trails all along the river. I stopped a few times to take pics. The flooding on the river was extreme this year and the water is still quite high (if one can tell by the trees that still have their trunks submerged). On the way into the downtown area there were piles of furniture and boxes in front of houses where the basements must have flooded.

I parked the car downtown near the Beaverbrook gallery. You'd not expect to find a major art gallery in a small urban centre in new Brunswick but there it is thanks to the generous donations of Lord Beaverbrook which funded the building and provided more than 300 original pieces of art from his permanent collection.

When I arrived I was advised that it was Lord Beaverbrook Day so my entrance was free.

Happy Jerry.

The gallery has an extensive collection of paintings by Cornelius Krieghoff, and expatriate Canadian post-Impressionist James Wilson Morrice. New Brunswick landscape paintings and works on paper by artists such as Anthony Flower, George T. Taylor, and George Neilson Smith are also an important part of the gallery's holdings of 19th century Canadian art.

Other Canadian artists represented in the collection include members of the Group of Seven, Emily Carr and David Milne, as well as other 20th-century Canadian artists such as Paul-Emile Borduas, Jean Paul Riopelle, Jack Bush, Harold Feist, Harold Klunder and John Boyle.

The gallery is internationally known for its outstanding collection of British paintings from the Elizabethan era to the modern period, including paintings by Thomas Gainsborough, Sir Joshua Reynolds, J.M. Turner and John Constable. Modern British art is represented by the work of Augustus John, Sir Stanley Spencer, Walter Richard Sickert and Graham Sutherland, including Sutherland's preparatory sketches for his famous portrait of Winston Churchill.

Outside there was an interesting sculpture garden along the river.

I was pretty hungry by now so when I smelled the smells of good food wafting from a nearby building I headed in. It turns out that I had discovered Issac's Way - one of the restaurants I had hoped to visit while I was in town. Set in a heritage building (an 1840's era courthouse and jail complex), the restaurant also had an interesting collection of art on the walls.

Many of the menu items were farm to table which was a plus for me!

I had a local craft beer, scallop fritters, and a beet salad.

Next it was off to the hotel to check in.

My room overlooks the river which meant there were some impressive shots of sunset later in the day from my window.

Sant'Andrea della Valle

Shelagh J, an old slow travel board member, commented on one of my posts while I was in Rome and suggested that I go and visit this church. She said that it was stunningly beautiful inside. One afternoon, after a snack and some wine at Roscioli followed by some shopping I realized I was quite close to the church. I'd walked past it a few times during the week but today was the day to pop in.

Opera lovers know this church well - Giacomo Puccini set the first act of his opera Tosca in Sant'Andrea della Valle (in the Barberini Chapel). In fact, many call this an 'operatic church'. The open majesty of the great white marble hall , glittering with gold and  bold paintings, seems to call for some kind of grand orchestral accompaniment.

The drama unfolds as soon as one enters the church. Mattia Preti's enormous paintings (1650-51), spreading the story of St. Andrew's martyrdom across the curving apse, have a powerful impact. The three frescoes, St. Andrew Raised on the Cross, St. Andrew's Crucifixion, and St. Andrew's Burial, are both uplifting (particularly as a result of the lofty classical architecture and spacious landscape) and tragic (the saint's fearful expression and mocking crowds).

The dome—long the third largest in town, after the Pantheon and St. Peter's—was, like the facade, was designed by Carlo Maderno. It was frescoed in 1608–27 by two former pupils of Carracci.

Three powerful pontifical families contributed (and even more unusual for their era, cooperated) to produce Rome's most theatrical basilica - Sant'Andrea della Valle (St. Andrew of the Valley).

The famous humanist Piccolomini popes from Siena, Pius II and Pius III, are both buried inside.

When I walked in a young man came up and offered my a audio guide. Thinking I'd rather just sit and take it in, I declined. He misunderstood and kept telling me it was free. I walked away and sat under the dome transfixed by the paintings and sculpture. It wasn't long before I rethought the audio guide. LOL

The audio guide was so good that I felt compelled to make a donation.

I'm glad Shelagh J suggested it or I might never have gone in and had this fabulous experience!

Centrale Montemartini

A must see on my recent trip to Rome (OK, not that recent but still recent enough that I remember it LOL) was the Centrale Montemartini museum. Set in Rome’s first public electrical power plant, the Centrale Montemartini Museum presents marble statues from the Capitoline Collection set against the backdrop of preserve turbines, diesel engines and steam boilers to create one of the most thought-provoking museum spaces Rome has to offer.

The carefully chosen pieces don’t overwhelm the viewer like the more packed Vatican Museums and the spacious ceilings and natural light from the high glass window panes creates a dream-like atmosphere that guides you back through time to the turn of the century and into Rome’s classical past.

It’s truly spectacular to see the hulking machines (now silenced for decades) adorned in twisting pipes and pressure gauges juxtaposed with creamy marble carved into delicate flowers, curls of hair and the faces of heroes and gods worn rough at the edges. This museum has more than works of art and history to display; a meditation on change and time.

The Montemartini power plant was built in 1912 in Ostiense, an industrial neighborhood situated just south of Rome's historic center. The building, the first public electricity plant in Rome, was designed in Art Nouveau style and named after the Italian economist Giovanni Montemartini. The machines inside the plant were regularly renewed and in 1942 a massive 20,000 kW alternator was installed to supply EUR - the site of a planned world exposition - with power. The plant miraculously survived World War II unscathed and it continued to be in use until the mid 1960s when it was abandoned.

During restructuring of the Musei Capitolini in 1997, ancient Greek and Roman sculptures were moved to the Centrale Montemartini for temporary display. The exhibition of gods and machines was so successful it became permanent, and the plant continues to house classical art among the old electrical production machines.

Compressed air canisters line both sides of the ground-floor atrium, which worked the diesel engines in the machine room above. Pillars of reinforced cement and one of the boilers they supported fill other galleries, where statues of Hera, Athena, Artemis, and Aphrodite circle the machines. Two huge diesel engines are joined by a steam turbine, while before their switches and dials Achilles holding a dying Penthesilea.

The museum is divided into four areas. The atrium on the ground floor shows panels that illustrate the history of the Centrale Montemartini and Ostiense. The next room is the Hall of Columns, where you find beautiful mosaics, funerary objects and a row of busts from the Republican era.

The Hall of the Machines on the second floor is the largest and most impressive room. Here classical statues vie for attention with the massive diesel engines, installed in 1933 in the presence of Mussolini himself. The machines provide a backdrop for a collection of faithful replicas of Greek statues. At the other end of the room are statues that were found in the 1930s at the Temple of Apollo Sosiano near the Theater of Marcellus.

The Boiler Room, named for the huge fifteen meter tall boiler, is home to a number of beautiful statues that once adorned luxurious imperial residences and a group of funerary monuments that were excavated in Ostiense. Among the highlights here are a large mosaic with a hunting scene, a sculpture group depicting a satyr fighting with giants and several high quality statues including one of Venus and another one showing the muse Polyhymnia.

Another exhibit, in a massive space at the back of the museum, featured the special train built in 1858 for Pope Pius IX. As you'd expect, the train is ornate and unique, from the papal coat of arms on the exterior of the train to the curtains and furniture within. Each carriage has a unique function and served Pius IX in a particular way.

For example, this car with the open windows was used when he delivered his blessing to the people. The enclosed one was used for meetings with his collaborators during his trips and even included a chapel, which was quite sophisticated and technologically advanced for the time.

Beating the Crowds at the Vatican

When I was booking tours for my recent trip to Rome one that intrigued me was a tour of the Vatican museums prior to their opening. This would be my third visit to the Sistine chapel and the rest of the Vatican museums. When I had visited previously it was often so crowded that there was no room to move, let alone enjoy the art.

This is the fourth most visited museum in the world with 200,000 artworks spanning five millennia, from ancient Egypt to the present day. It is estimated that during peak time periods 25,000 people visit the museums on a given day. The crush of people can be so overwhelming that it can trigger seizures and heart attacks - our guide told us that the museum experiences an average of 7 medical emergencies a day as a result of the crush of people.

Any wonder why the idea of beating those crowds appealed?

You can do a tour which is completely after hours but it books up months in advance and can be upwards of $ 500. The tour I booked was less expensive and offered a complete hour prior to the crush of people.

Our groups met at a subway stop near the Vatican, after checking in we made our way to entrance of the museums were we stood in line until we were allowed in. Yes, even though we were there before the museums opened people were still queuing to get in.

It was a bit odd - some guides walked straight in with their groups. Others (like us) waited a bit. The guards were brusque and could have used a few lessons in how to interact with the public. Mind you, if I had to answer 'is this where I find the Vatican museums' question 1000s of times a day I might get cranky as well. Most people were relegated to the line which soon snaked far away from us in the opposite direction. Those were the people who would be in line for hours prior to being let in.

It wasn't long before we were let in and we went through the security gates to our destination. Our guide moved the group fairly quickly through the museums to the Sistine chapel. I was immediately struck by the lack of people. For example, this is the famous hall of the maps:

and here it is about 90 minutes later when we retraced our steps:

Yes, beating those crowds was so worth it!

Once we got to the Sistine Chapel we were left alone for about 30 minutes to stare in awe at the frescoes. Pictures are not allowed so I don't have any of my own pics but here are a couple that I grabbed off of the internet.

It turns out that there is a bench which runs along the walls of the chapel and you can sit on it as you peer up at the wonderful ceiling - who knew? Whenever I have been in the building before it was so crowded that this feature was never evident.

Once we left the chapel our guide took us through the museums at a more relaxed pace and even though it was still crowded it was not nearly as crowded as it would have been.

One of the things that I was not aware of was the impact Michelangelo's frescoes had on the art of the renaissance. His knowledge of anatomy and understanding of muscle groups changed the way the human form was depicted in art. You can really see this in the work of Raphael in the papal apartments.

Midway through his work, Raphael snuck into the Sistine Chapel where Michelangelo was working and studied the art. You can see the effect here:

and then here:

The difference in the human forms and the use of movement is dramatic.

You can also see the effect in this fresco which depicted God. Prior to Michelangelo no one had depicted God in human form. Michelangelo depicted him as a bearded, older white man. Here is Raphael's version . . .

I have to say that this was one of the best tours I have taken on my many journeys. It was a ton of walking (I reached my daily fit bit step goal about halfway through the tour) but although I had toured these museums two other times I learned a lot.

The tour ended up near another Michelangelo masterpiece - the Pieta - in St Peter's Basilica.

A sculpture that always moves me whenever I see it.

Our guide provided a fascinating take on the composition which made me look at it in a different way . . . and helped clear up that mystery for me of why Mary looks so young in the sculpture.

By this time I was exhausted. I had been up since 5 AM. I had now walked 14,000 steps. My feet hurt. I was hungry. I did not want to walk back to the apartment.

Of course the taxi stand had no cabs lined up - to be expected on a transit strike day.

As I trudged on my way a parked cab driver rolled down his window and asked if I would like a ride. I knew it was a scam. He told me it was a flat rate which was about 15 euro more than I had paid in the morning to get here. At that point I did not care.

I did come to care about his driving however. At one point we were in the lanes of oncoming traffic dodging cars as he raced to his destination. Porca miseria.

Eventually we made it and I was alive.

He did NOT receive a tip.

I rewarded myself with gelato on the way to the apartment.