Florence is in the middle of a massive heat wave. Temperatures are touching the 40° C mark and the humidity is almost 100% !!! Cold showers and ice-cold drinks throughout the day are a must.
Fortunately we've discovered an open-air swimming pool down the road in Greve where we can go and take refuge!
At the moment there are three Michelangelo exhibitions on and this one at the very fashionable Strozzi Palace, which is opposite one of the places we are working, the British Institute. The title comes from a Michelangelo quotation, when he had finished painting the Sistine chapel and Pope Julius saw it for the first time he called Michelangelo a genius, to which Michelangelo replied. "If you knew how much work went into it, you wouldn't call it genius; it is but a shadow of divine perfection." Profound words indeed!
And so this exhibition shows the influence this great artist had on his contemporaries and masters of the following century. The exhibition has some 150 pieces by artists such as Cellini, Vasari, Giambologna, Pontormo, Bronzino and others. Michelangelo's Apollo sculpture is here as well as the very funny 'Mengone' dwarf from Boboli gardens. The Giambologna sculptures are cool and there are some pieces here too, by Leonardo da Vinci's grandson, Piero. There is also some Baroque music to set the atmosphere for a well put together exhibition....
Here's a link to the exhibition:
http://www.italica.rai.it/eng/principal/topics/art/michelangelo_genio.htm
(Original post 17/6/02)
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