This week in florence was fairly relaxed as I prepare for my midterms next week, however the past three days I ended up in Rome on a field trip with my High Renaissance class, and let's just say I'm exhausted! As a class we walked around 10 - 15 miles a day trying to pack in every possible momentous work in Rome, and it was incredible! I thought it would be nice to describe this course a little bit more in depth because it's definitely the densest but also incredibly interesting.
The course itself includes pretty traditional art history lectures - so far we've covered the major works of Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. What's unique, however is the other side of the course (which is so intense it counts as a second class!): High Renaissance on Site. With this part of the course we're literally visiting all of the works we're discussing in class and our Professor is able to lecture on monumentality in the High Renaissance or the Medici Family Villas while we stand there and look at it! We've seen everything from the Michelangeo's earliest sculptures, the Gates of Paradise by Ghiberti, multiple (gorgeous) Monestary temples, three weddings in the many churches we've visited, and overwhelmingly famous works such as Michelangelo's David or Laocoon and his Sons (a famous sculpture from antiquity).
As you might be able to tell, this class keeps us incredibly busy! When we have a class field trip on Saturdays it usually means we're up at 7:00 a.m. and done 13 hours later. Our overwhelmingly intelligent professor is ensuring that we are seeing every single museum and influential work we possibly can - that's what makes it so exciting to me! Our professor also includes so many interesting details I never would have known otherwise. One example of this is with the Medici family, which is one of the wealthiest and most influential family lines in Florence that contributed an incredible number of commissions during their reign. Apparently the family acquired a giraffe at some point and featured said giraffe in a shocking number of portraits and commissions! In the end the giraffe unfortunately passed away because it got caught in the rafters of the stable built for it. There are multiple lengthy descriptions of this giraffe wandering the streets of Florence. People considered him incredibly peaceful and brave - almost like a Florentine mascot!
Going back to my trip to Rome, we ended up packing in about 2 weeks of museum visits into three day. By the end of it everyone in my class was pretty exhausted and also incredibly awe struck. This trip included the Vatican (and of course works such as the Sistine Chapel and Raphael's School of Athens), St. Peter's Basilica, the Spanish Steps in front of Saint Trinita dei Monti, Piazza Navona which features the Four Rivers Fountain by Bernini, and a final stop to get gelato! I wish I could include photos of everything but unfortunately this was only the first day! The following days included trips to see the Pantheon, the Colosseum, multiple Caravaggio paintings, the Arch of Constantine, and many other important churches as well as works. I would say the highlight for me personally was certainly seeing Raphael's School of Athens in person for the first time. This is a fresco I studied back when I was a Freshman in High School and it's the first time I ever really felt fascinated and excited about a piece of artwork! Seeing that in person was truly beautiful.