TOULOUSE-LAUTREC: the fleeting world

  As I said in my last post, I wanted to write about an exhibition. There are a lot of interesting ones in Milan in this period, as the Klimt Experience (at Mudec) or the Caravaggio exhibition (at Palazzo Reale), or the Fontana one (at Hangar Bicocca), but I have chosen to go to the Toulouse-Lautrec one at Palazzo Reale because I was interested in knowing something more about his life and paintings.

The shopping bag I bought at the shop

  Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter, caricaturist and illustrator who lived in the multifaceted atmosphere of Paris in the late 19th century. He was one of the most famous Post-impressionist painter, together with Cézanne, Van Gogh and Gauguin. He was a member of an aristocratic family and due to a family history of inbreeding he suffered from congenital health conditions; he broke his legs when he was a child and they didn't heal properly, but instead they ceased to grow, so he was very short, even if he had an adult-sized torso. He fully embraced the bohémien lifestyle of Montmartre, a place he rarely left for 20 years.

  He suffered a lot for his deformity, but he found a shelter in the life of the theatres of Paris and in painting, trying to forget his aristocratic origins: in his photos, his poses are irreverent and he often uses costumes.

  At the exhibition there were also two portraits which stroke me: the first one is a self-portrait of Toulouse-Lautrec, while the second one is a caricature of the painter himself.

  it is one of the few self-portraits of the painter and in this one he was very young; the caricature has the head full of details, while the rest of the body is drawn with a few lines.

"The exhibition project is split into themes and will invite the visitor to appreciate the fascination and artistic importance of the bohemian painter who, without adhering to any school, knew instinctively how to create a new and provocative realism, an extreme synthesis of form, colour and movement." (from the Palazzo Reale website; here the link)

  Toulouse-Lautrec was influenced by Manet and Degas, but also by the Japanese woodprints, regarding silhouettes and the use of the black; moreover, he was a master in portraying people in their daily-life, as when they were working, always using an extreme sympathy and respect for each subject he had chosen.

  He is famous for his posters of theatres, as the one for the Divan Japonaise or the one for the Moulin Rouge, but also of events as bicycle racing and many more.

----------------------- 

  I really like this exhibition, because it managed to make me discover a lot more about an artist I didn't know so well before. This happened also thanks to the free audioguide, which was very helpful during the visit.

See you soon

Yours, Silvia

EGYPT exhibition at MUDEC (Milan)

  When I was a little girl, I was very interested in everything about Egypt, especially the gods and goddess, the pyramids, the myths, the daily-life of people and the hieroglyphics. So, when I found out that there would have been an exhibit about Ancient Egypt at MUDEC in Milan, I bought the ticket (here the link of the exhibit).

  The exhibit in particular is about the life and figure of Pharaon Amenhotep II (1427-1401 BC) in the so-called "Golden Age". A lot of museums, such as the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the Stichting Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and the National Archaeological Museum in Florence and other private collections have loaned for this occasion a lot of materials (statues, mummies, weapons...), to show the importance of this Pharaon, often eclipsed by the fame of his father Thutmose III, and the archaeological "rediscovery" of the finding of the tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

http://www.mudec.it/eng/

  In this post I will show some photos I took and I write also some information I didn't know before visiting the exhibit.
 
  Let's start from the Pharaon itself: who was Amenhotep II? I'll show you the family tree I wrote:

  As you can see, Amenhotep II was a not-so-far ancestor of the famous Tutankhamen; instead, his father, Thutmose III was responsible of the creation of the largest empire Egypt had ever had: also, he ruled for almost 54 years (including 22 years when he was co-regent with his stepmother and aunt).

  His son, Amenhotep II, wanted to emulate his father's achievements: this is proven also seeing the statues of Thutmose III and Amenhotep II, which are very similar in shape.

  At the exhibit there was also a statue of a high dignitary who lived during the reign of Thutmose IV, whose name was Tjenena: the name and titular on the base of the statue had been deliberately erased, as a punishment for those who fell into disgrace.

  I also took the photo of a stele, where it can be seen god Anubis (associated with mummification and afterlife) and god Osiris (god of transition and resurrection) on the left during an offering.

  There were also papyruses, as the "Papyrus of Kenna" and the "Papyrus of Pashed": these are two fragments of a Book of the Dead and they are a result of the practice of cutting up papyruses for sale on the antiquities market. They were part of the scroll of a nobleman who lived at the end of the 18th dynasty, as evinced by the realistic representation of the deceased.
  The "Papyris of Pashed" is a refined example of those from the New Kingdom: the vignette is elegantly drawn and the writing provides an excellent example of cursive hieroglyphs.

  I saw some scarabs, as these ones: one of them has on its base the writing "the perfect god Amenhotep III", and the name of his Great Royal Wife Tiye, while the other, called "heart scarab", was placed on the mummy, above the heart. It is inscribed with the 30th formula of the Book of the Dead which beseeches the heart not to testify against the deceased at the tribunal of the gods.

  It can be seen also the external and internal sarcophagi of Amenhotep (21st dynasty): it is not easy to have two sarcophagi of the same person, which were intended to fit one inside the other.

  There was also a photo of the position of the sarcophagus of Amenhotep II at the moment of his discovery:

------------------------------------------------------

I hope you enjoy this post: if you like my blog, you can follow it to stay tuned with all my new posts! 

Bye for now

Yours, Silvia

Kandinskij, the wandering knight

On the 3rd of April I had my lessons early in the morning, so I had time to go to eat in a Japanese restaurant near Porta Genova (in Milan) and also I decided to visit the Mudec, where a new and particular exhibit was displayed, called Kandinskij, the wandering knight (here the link of the Mudec website). I was very curious, because some years ago I went to an exhibit with Kandinskij artworks in Palazzo Reale (Milan) and I really liked it, due to the massive number of his paintings, especially from the abstract period.

This exhibit is different, because it shows the roots of his poetic and his choices about colours, showing also objects from the Russian region named Vologda (north of Moscow), where Kandinskij studied in 1889 for an ethnographic research. In particular, he was fascinated by the colours of houses and churches: entering them, he felt like he was moving into a painting; this was also his aim: he wanted that the viewer would get lost seeing in his works.

The exhibit shows the theme of the fable, connected with Kandinskij childhood: we can see the famous painting St George and the Dragon,

St George and the dragon (1915)

which shows us the figure of the knight, both religious and fabled and, walking around the rooms, we can understand his love for his city, Moscow, and his mother, bound together:

Moscow, Red Square (1916)

In the second part of the exhibit, there are abstract paintings which shows the theme of the art and the music, an important part of Kandinskij work: "Colour is the keyboard, the eyes are the hammers, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand which plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul".

There are also some interactive installations.to understand the way Kandinskij thought about art, colours and music, to live a journey as a cognitive adventure, like Kandinskij did in his whole life.

--------------------------------------------------

Bye for now

Yours, Silvia

The reason why I love Turner

Today I want to write about my favourite painter (who I "met" during High School): Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 1775 - 19 December 1851).

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Self Portrait’, about 1799, Tate Gallery, London
© The Art Archive / Tate Gallery, London / Eileen Tweedy

He is described as the greatest landscape painter of the 19th century and I totally agree with this definition, because his artworks seems not to be only painted on an aseptic canvas: they make you feel the strength of the colours and the power hidden inside the paintings. He combined watercolour with oil paints and he managed to create lightness, fluency, and ephemeral atmospheric effects.

Fishermen at Sea exhibited in 1796 was the first oil painting exhibited by Turner at the Royal Academy

I love not only some of them, but what I love is the evolution behind his paintings, the majestic ones full of details which seems to be photos

Raby Castle, the Seat of the Earl of Darlington (1817), The Walters Art Museum.

Chicester canal (1828), Tate Gallery, London.

and the other ones, more undefined but with a special study of the light and the atmosphere:

Norham Castle sunrise (1845), Tate Gallery, London

Sunrise with sea monsters (1845), Tate Gallery, London

In his paintings, the subjects were dramatic and Romantic (especially in the early years): he painted landscape compositions including historical, architectural, mountainous, pastoral and marine. One can find historical facts but also events from the Bible or from Roman and Greek mythology

The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons (1835), Cleveland Museum Of Art

Ancient Rome; Agrippina Landing with the Ashes of Germanicus (1839), Tate, London

Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus (1829), National Gallery, London

All of his paintings are full of emotions, even if they recount the passing of events: he was interested in the strength of nature against men (which is a Romantic topic) and, to do so, he represented shipwrecks, eruptions, fire and storms

Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps (1812), Tate Gallery, London

The slave ship (1840), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, USA

When I look at one of his paitings, I feel astounded by such beautiful colours and also I'm very impressed by the scenes he painted, which seem not to stay still on the canvas, but to keep on living in another dimension of greatness and eternal glory.

--------------------------------------------------------------

See you soon

Yours, Silvia

Magic on stage - NOTRE DAME DE PARIS

On the 26th of March I went in Milan, at the LinearCiak Theatre, to see the famous musical Notre Dame De Paris (of course, the Italian version), based upon the novel written by Victor Hugo, with the music of Riccardo Cocciante and the lyrics of Luc Plamondon.

After the representation of The Blues Legend at the Teatro Nazionale, I realised how much I love musicals and when my friend told me that she saw this one and that she liked it a lot, I decided not to miss the chance to see it with my own eyes and I'm happy now for my decision (I was lucky, because there were also tickets available for the show).

I didn't remember the story so well, so I was very careful, but the story itself managed to catch your attention. Especially the songs are very moving and display the struggles of the characters, they are built around them like a custom-made dress.

The show started with the introduction of the poet Pierre Gringoire (played by Matteo Setti), a character in the story but also a commentator, who sings one of the songs I love the most, Il Tempo Delle Cattedrali (the age of the cathedrals). He is very talented and I was very glad that, at the end of the show, after the standing ovation, together with the other actors, he sang it again with the public.

"Con tante pietre e tanti giorni           "Stone after stone, day after day

con le passioni secolari                        From year to year, man had his way

l'uomo ha elevato le sue torri              Men had built with faith and love

con le sue mani popolari                     These cathedrals rose above

con la musica e le parole                    We troubadours and poets sing

ha cantato cos'è l'amore                      That love is all and everything

e come vola un ideale                         We promise you, all human kind

nei cieli del domani"                           Tomorrow will be fine"

Another song I really like is  Balla Mia Esmeralda (dance my Esmeralda), sung by Quasimodo (Giò Di Tonno), the last one of the show and the most touching, which represents the indescribable pain of such a great loss for the main character: how can he keep on living that life full of hatred, with the disgust of people who are afraid of his appearance, and without any kind of love? His screams are real as his desperation, he is alone now that Esmeralda is dead.

Of course there are other beautiful songs, but these two strike me. I hope you like it too!


See you soon


Yours. Silvia

Hayez exhibit

This morning, my friend Beatrice and I saw the Hayez exhibit at the Galleria d'Italia in Milan (it is near the Teatro Alla Scala).
Despite the bad weather (it was a rainy and windy day), we have spent a nice day, full of art and beauty.

When we talk about Hayez, we are referring to the Romanticism, even if in Italy this movement had always been influenced by Neoclassicism and we can also find this element in Hayez's paintings.

In fact we can see a lot of his artwork which have, as protagonists, characters of the Greek and Roman myths as Ulysses, Laocoon, Alcinous, but also some others based on Holy Bible (Jesus, Esau and Jacob, Mary Magdalene...), on Shakespeare's dramas (Romeo an Juliet) and based on historical facts and persons of the XIX century ( Napoleon, Gioacchino Rossini, Alessandro Manzoni...).

Portrait of Alessandro Manzoni

In the exhibit there was also the portrait of the Unnamed, a character of the most famous novel written by Manzoni, "The Betrothed".

the Unnamed

He is a sort of Romantic hero, which lives a terrible struggle due to his past full of evil actions that he wants to leave behind. When he was youger, he had an indomitable will and fierce in front of bullying, he was proud and powerful, he searched for solitude and independence.

But now he is old and he has a crisis of faith, which make him to think to change, rejecting his villain past (and, finally, he managed to). Great men understand their mistakes and they try to get better, even if it can be hard.

When I bumped into this portrait, I felt strange: I read the novel some years ago, but I hadn't thought about what he looked like and when I saw it, it seemed to put the final piece of an incomplete jigsaw to me.

The most famous painting of Hayez is this one

The kiss

Apart from the analysis of this painting (it's the symbol of the spirit of Risorgimento, the love for homeland, the unification of Italy - the colours of the Italian tricolour of the man's clothes and the blue dress of the woman which represents France are connected with the Plombières agreement between the two nations), the extraordinary thing I appreciate is the rendering of the cloth (and the jewels, for example in the portrait of Cristina Trivulzio di Belgioioso), which it is visible in a lot of Hayez's works: they are so realistic that they makes you want to touch them to feel their softness.

I am happy I saw this exhibit. As George Bernard Shaw said, "without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable".

Bye for now

Yours, Silvia

New tattoo!!!

Hello everybody!!

Finally, today, at a quarter to one (p.m.) I got my second tattoo! It has been a little bit challenging, because I was hesitant in choosing the design of it.

But let me tell you the story from the very start.

One day of September, when I had two days off (I was working at Expo from May to November and I had rented an apartment near Milan), I came back home (which is about 50 km from Milan).

We had decided to eat sushi and, after lunch, my family and I had a walk around the town. Suddenly, we bumped into a tattoo studio and I thought I could take the opportunity to show the tattooer a sketch I had found some time before, this one

and I also made an appointment for the 12th of February (because I got my first tattoo this month, three years ago).

Yesterday, I was looking at some tattoos in my favourite tattoos website and I saw another drawing which stroke my attention. From then on, I was very doubtful because I didn't know which tattoo was the best for me: they both had a meaning and they both seemed beautiful.

Today, at the tattoo studio, when the tattoo artist "impressed" the phoenix on my arm, I realised it wasn't for me: it was too thin, too "artistic". Instead, the other one was more marked, blacker and it represented in a better way what I wanted to express.

I felt really nervous, because I was afraid of making the wrong decision (you can't go back once you got a tattoo): I think I looked into my heart and I asked myself if I was really sure about my choice.

The fact is that I had a precise idea, but maybe I hadn't already found a drawing which managed to reach that idea. I believed that this phoenix was perfect for me, but I was wrong: it didn't sum up the most of what I would have liked to portray, it didn't integrate my thoughts.

In my opinion, tattoos can be also a way to highlight the most important moments we experienced. So, at the last minute, I opted for this one:

It was originally composed by only one warrior, but I thought I could give more simmetry to it, adding a specular warrior on the other side (I had the two-headed Aztec serpent on the left arm), and also to my tattoos.

I'm very happy for the final result and I hope to keep it as beautiful as it is now.


Do you like it? I hope so.


Bye for now


Yours, Silvia

Being Blue - Picasso, The Blind Man's Meal

As I said in one of my previous posts, I'm going to write about art.

 

But today I won't deal with my favourite artist: instead I would like to show you a painting I found by chance in a Facebook page

 

 © 2016 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

 

The artist is Picasso, who painted "The Blind Man's Meal" with oils on canvas in 1903.

He is not my favourite painter, because I don't agree with his total abolition of space, which started from the so-called "African-influenced Period" in 1907 until the end of the "Crystal Cubism" in 1917, and the synthesis of the depth using multiple point of views.
Instead, I appreciate his "Blue Period and the "return of order" after the World War I, with some influences which came from the Surrealism movement.

Anyway, the first time I saw this painting, it catched my attention immediately.

In his "Blue Period", Picasso showed his great pain after the suicide of his dear friend Carlos Casagemas and his own condition of depression and impoverishment, using especially the shades of blue and green as protagonists of his artworks, the perfect colours to inspire sadness and melancholy.

He represented the world of the social outcasts, like prostitutes, beggars, poor, homeless or ill people and one of the main theme is blindness, as in this painting.

There are very few and simple elements in this scene: the sense of absence puts even more seriousness and loneliness to the man, left alone while "he holds some bread in his left hand and gropes with his right hand for a jug of wine" as Picasso himself wrote in a letter.

Picasso decided to highlight the hand, the empty plate, the jug, but in particualr the face, with that expression of resignation and silent sorrow. If you look closely, you can see that eyes, that empty eyes of a man who has given up hope of a better condition.

That is not only a condition which concerns that single man, but it's a human condition, a problem still presents in our society. We have not to abandon those who are suffering, we should try to help as much as we can, to share hopes.

That blue seems to come out of the painting, to embrace our soul, to make us feel that cold and terrible sensation of pain and undesired solitude.

But blue is the colour of the night sky full of stars, the stars we look at wondering about dreams and future.

Don't turn off those stars.


Yours, Silvia


 

Tattoos - why not?

Hello everybody!

Firstly, I want to say thank you for having read my last post about the Holocaust and the film "The Eichmann Show".
It means a lot to me, because I think it is very important to remember our past which defines what we are today.

Now we change totally the type of topic, because we will talk about art: TATTOOS!

In the future, I will write some posts about art, maybe they will focus on some exhibitions I saw and some others I would like to see, or on the artists I love the most.

Anyway, now I want to tell you my personal experience and what tattoos represent to me.

I met this beautiful world three years ago, when I got my first tattoo, an Aztec serpent:

It was a particular choice, but when I looked at this drawing I fall in love with it immediately. I'm still really interested in the Aztec history and mythology, but when I thought that I could get a tattoo I didn't meant to take as a subject something related with Aztecs.

If you have in mind to get a tattoo you have to be very committed. You will see that drawing on your skin for your entire life: you could remove it with the laser surgery, but you will have a kind of shadows in place of your tattoo (also, it costs a lot to do this operation).

An advice I could give is to choose at the base of the meaning of the tattoo, instead of only its appearance. Of course, you have to like the design, because it's the first thing that strikes the attention, but it is much better if your tattoo represents something really important to you (an ideal, a special moment of your life...).

Also, you have to choose a professional studio, because you could have infections if the insttruments are not well sterilised. You shouldn't turn a beautiful experience into a nightmare, isn't it?

I got my tattoo on my left arm (in the biceps zone) and it hadn't been painful at all. It took an hour and an half to get it, because it is not so big and complicated. You won't see the needle going in and out, because it runs very fast, but you will hear the sound of the little engine. My tattooer put on a CD and in the studio there was a piercing smell of incense.

When he finished, he gave me a vaseline cream I had to rub on the skin for two weeks and then he said to me to buy an almond oil to keep the zone hydrated (it is a wound). All went well, so I am satisfied.

Some time ago, I planned to get a second tattoo and I fixed an appointment for the 12th of Februry. This day is not so far, so I am very excited. I will show the drawing I have chosen on that day.

I love tattoos because I think that they can show who you really are, your passions, your pain, your beliefs.

The body is like a big canvas you can fill with emotions and colours. It doesn't matter if you don't want to explain the meaning of every tattoo you have, because they're there only for you.

They represents all the obstacles you have overcome through the years.

Be proud of them.

Stay tuned!

Yours, Silvia