Uffizi Gallery

My last trip of the semester was to Bosnia-Hercegovinia and Croatia this past weekend. It's always something to see a change of landscape and this was definitely a big change for me. Gone are the tall green hills of surrounding Florence and instead I'm given small rocky hillsides which remind me of my journey through Greece two summers ago. Most of the trees here had lost their leaves and the numerous grape vines (which scatter the landscape) were all completely barren. The houses were different somehow- I think constructed by cement blocks and then painted over as was the case in Greece. But the muslim vibe of many of the cities was definitively changed from the hyper-christian surroundings of Italy. It was honestly a little shocking to see churches and mosques sitting on the same block.




But thankfully, the cheer of Thanksgiving remained unchanged for me this weekend. I had the opportunity to share in food, wine and conversation with the people I'd been getting to know and love all this past semester. Through these posts, I know I've really highlighted the differences and overall strangeness of my experience studying abroad. But now is the time to make the concession that although some of the surroundings have changed, everywhere I've been there have been people who've welcomed me graciously, happily related their experiences to mine, laughed at a shared humorous thought and have been equally regretful of the shared faults of the world. For this universality of spirit, most of all, I am thankful.

Our last tour stopped at the Uffizi Gallery (which of course I was very excited to finally see!), but unfortunately I have no pictures to share because photos weren't permitted. I do want to mention though Simone Martini's Annunciation, which I found very different from the rest of the Giotto, Cimabue and Lorenzetti pieces we looked at. This was done for the Siena Cathedral and the saints flanking the sides of the altarpiece were actually done by Martini's brother-in-law Lippo Memmi. Paris' webmuseum describes Simone Martini as such:

"Building on the techniques for indicating three-dimensional space developed by the Sienese master Duccio di Buoninsegna, Simone added a refined contour of line, grace of expression, and serenity of mood," (ibiblio.org).

His works can be listed as falling under the international-gothic category, which stood as an archetype for a wide-spread artistic style of the time (late 14th century onward). I found it more interesting, however, the similarity between the facial construct of his Mary in the Annunciation and women depicted in the Japanese ukiyo-e style (known best in the wood-block prints of Hokusai). Granted, at least two centuries span between these two, as well as an entire continent, but I thought the comparison was interesting to note. The curving figure, narrowed eyes, pale skin tone and hand gestures are all somewhat similar.


Bibliography

[ibiblio.org] http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/martini/