Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck Oh My! Uffizi Bonanza of Dutch Masterworks and the bitch of photographing art in a busy museum!

I'm a geek for certain artists and the art of painting. Blame it on my mother. She's the artist in the family. There were easels, canvas, tubes of paint from oil to water color to acrylic, various brushes, pencils and works in progress or completed and on the walls around the house. As an art teacher she instilled an appreciation of the dedication and talent required to work in that medium. Flipping through her art textbooks and the plates of various coffee table books she received as gifts (from me usually) I began to appreciate the incredible developement of the painted image from the first cave drawings, through the dark ages and up to the time the first photographic plate appeared.

During our recent trip to Italy we naturally expected to see some of the greatest art ever conceived and executed. And we certainly saw our share. We marveled at marble figures and were treated to a Sistene ceiling sublime, but when I walked into a room in the Uffizi that featured works by some of the greatest non Italian artists who ever lived I could hardly contain my excitement. A room with works by the Dutch Masters (and I don't mean those cheap cigars)? I was happy as a clam. (Someday someone can explain that expression to me.)

The paintings above are purportedly Rembrandt's work. One of which (the first I believe) was the final self portrait completed shortly before his death. After touring and photographing in The National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC and The Metropolitan Museum in New York I've never encountered the amount of glare on the artwork displayed as I did at the Uffizi. Many of the angles were poor due to my vantage point in the crowd or position of the piece on the wall catching the overhead lighting, but it made for poor photographic results even after working on the shots with software. So, please pardon the glare.

I saw my first "Rembrandt" years ago visiting the Dahlem Museum in Berlin. I had seen photos of his painting of the man with the golden helmet and marveled on how he was able to make the goldsmithing on the helmet so realistic. When I walked into the little alcove that held the painting I couldn't believe my eyes. It was tiny and very dark. If you look closely at his work and others of the Flemish School it's their use of darkness and light that guides your eye to the focal point of the painting. The helmet was a revelation. In order to get the relief in the gold the painter stacked and shaped gobs of paint. The reason the helmet looked so rich and detailed was due to the contours and designs formed on the surface, projecting in relief off the canvas. I was so thrilled to have seen the real thing. I told everyone about it...for years. Then years later I discovered that in 1986 it was determined, after scientific study in preparation for some restorative work, the brush strokes did not come from Master Rembrandt's hand. Ya gotta be kidding! My Rembrandt wasn't a Rembrandt? The artist is now listed as "Unknown" artist of the Rembrandt school. I don't care who did it. Science-schmyence. It is still a masterful work of art by an unknown Dutch master. x

The above group of paintings are by Rubens and Van Dyck. Unfortunately the photos do not do the paintings credit, but they're still worth a look. What is seen here are some of their lesser known pieces. Much of the artwork seen here was listed in the museum's inventory as having been donated by various royalty, dignitaries, museums and organizations as far back as the 1700's and as recently as the mid 20th century.

The final painting is my favorite in this part of the gallery. The artist, Nicholas De Largilliere, is French but was trained in the Flemish school. I can't get over the photo realistic rendering of the man's face. The model is purported to be the famous French playwrite/poet Jean Baptiste Rousseau. The piece was completed in 1710, approximately 50 years after the paintings in the previous group. The photographic quality of the portrait harkens to the statement I made way back at the start of this opus. Man has advanced in his ability to communicate what he sees around him. Speaking of photo realism the first known photograph by a camera was made by J.N. Niepce in France circa 1826. I can tell you that it would be a long time before it could come close to the glory of M. Largilliere's portraiture. It takes time to create a future artform.

From art on a cave wall to art from 1's and 0's (that's digital camera speak), there's nothing that can deter man's inate desire and ability to represent, recreate, interpret and hopefully improve the world he sees around him. Some call that art. Some just don't get it. Others don't really care. Here's hoping and looking to a future where the preservation and nurturing of the arts is accepted for the vital part of our human experience it is.

MD

The little elevator that couldn't....

The Intercontinental Hotel in Rome sits atop a hill bordered on the rear by the Borghese Gardens and Museum and on one side the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain on the other. What a spot! What a lovely, though a bit pricey, old style "luxury" accommodation. Among the amenities are two restaurants, a rooftop bar with a vista of the city, knowledgeable multilingual staff and two of the tiniest elevators in which you will ever ride!
Claustrophobia is not an option nor are two defensive linemen for a pro football team squeezing in enough to close the doors. If you look closely at the photo, which we know due to the nature of lenses and angles, etc., has a tendency to distort space making things seem larger than they are, you will notice my lovely wife's Hands are on the rails at the same time her elbows are close to touching her hips. And this is the "big" elevator. After our first trip up with our bags in the little...littler one I refused to repeat that ride in either direction.
One morning we were riding down and stopped on a floor where a father and mother with two small children tried to board with us. The father and son squeezed in and mom and daughter gave up and took the stairs. As the doors closed the little girl waved sadly to her father and brother as if they were off with poor prospects of ever being seen again.