My dear world,
I'm genuinely surprised by how overcome my life became by work this week. I HAVE, however, done quite a lot during this week that I'm excited to share with you.
To start, the group of us interns took our Tuesday free this past week to go on a trip to Padua and see the Scrovegni Chapel. This is one of those places that not too many people seem to know about, but everyone should. It is somewhere that, as an art historian, it would feel remiss to not take a pilgrimage there. And boy was this trip worth it.
Little back story for those unfamiliar: The Scovegni Chapel was painted by Giotto in 1305 for the Scrovegni family. Giotto is one of the first great painters, largely credited as the first to successfully break with the Medieval/Byzantine style that had dominated the art world for the previous centuries. The Scrovegni Chapel could be considered the pinnacle of Giottos work, so this place was truly revolutionary. I cannot stress that enough.
The entire room, which is bigger than I had been imagining, is covered in paintings. Even the architectural elements are simply painted in. I took many pictures, but I'll try not to turn this blog into an art history lesson. Needless to say, this was an amazing trip for me, and an experience I will never forget.
Afterwards we stopped at a delicious restaurant where I got homemade gnocchi and some tarts, all of which made me never want to eat anything else ever again. I know I might talk a lot about what food I've eaten here, but the special relationship between Italy and it's cuisine makes me feel it's not entirely inappropriate to continue mentioning.
On the whole, I think the trip would have been worth it to see more than just Venice for a day. Not to say that I don't absolutely love Venice, but seeing fall greenery again felt super special.
Another fun internship related event was getting to meet with one of the curators at the PGC. He talked with us about the restoration project (started 4 years ago, still going on) for Jackson Pollock's Alchemy, which is in the permanent collection, and his most highly valued painting. Big deal stuff. The scope of the project is much larger. They are looking at his full body of work and attempting to derive from that the steps he took to develop the famous drip paintings. I learned a lot, and if anyone is interested in learning more about it please do ask me, because it's a favorite subject of mine. I won't get into more specifics for the blog though.
In terms of my actual job, we're in the middle of the week when Venetians get into the museum for free. That means a LOT of people are coming, and it's feeling like a bit much sometimes. I do feel very accomplished by the end of each day though. The big celebration is on the 21st, it's the Festa della Santa Maria della Salute. It happens every year in Venice and celebrates them surviving the plague so many years ago. They build a temporary bridge across the canal leading the the church of Santa Maria della Salute, there are delicious food vendors, and balloons for kids. I plan to go later so maybe some pics in my next post.
I've kept myself busy in the evenings cooking, researching, or going out with friends. (See picture below). Overall though, I believe life will get much more interesting again once I get past the 21st holiday. (Also Happy early Thanksgiving to those of you in the US!) I'll leave you with one last (small) adventure that I documented solely for the sake of posterity and human awareness of the wider world.
Yes, that's right people, I went to McDonald's. My curiosity about what the differences are between here and home got the better of me, and one night I really didn't feel like cooking or spending a lot of money. I ordered at an electronic kiosk which was very fun and I don't understand why they aren't all over the place in the States. We are missing out on some serious efficiency here. The fries and burger were good. Not significantly different from the states, though I should mention I don't remember the last time I was at a McDonald's back home. I do believe the ingredients used are better for me in Italy. I'm not a huge fast food person. The star of the show was the McFlurry. The basic McFlurry part was essentially the same, but it came in a stouter container and with some exciting flavor options. I got the kit-kat one, and it was as good as you might think.
That's all for this week! Below are some nice pictures from the week. I'll write again soon!
I'm genuinely surprised by how overcome my life became by work this week. I HAVE, however, done quite a lot during this week that I'm excited to share with you.
To start, the group of us interns took our Tuesday free this past week to go on a trip to Padua and see the Scrovegni Chapel. This is one of those places that not too many people seem to know about, but everyone should. It is somewhere that, as an art historian, it would feel remiss to not take a pilgrimage there. And boy was this trip worth it.
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| Broad view from one end of the Chapel |
The entire room, which is bigger than I had been imagining, is covered in paintings. Even the architectural elements are simply painted in. I took many pictures, but I'll try not to turn this blog into an art history lesson. Needless to say, this was an amazing trip for me, and an experience I will never forget.
Afterwards we stopped at a delicious restaurant where I got homemade gnocchi and some tarts, all of which made me never want to eat anything else ever again. I know I might talk a lot about what food I've eaten here, but the special relationship between Italy and it's cuisine makes me feel it's not entirely inappropriate to continue mentioning.
On the whole, I think the trip would have been worth it to see more than just Venice for a day. Not to say that I don't absolutely love Venice, but seeing fall greenery again felt super special.
 |
| There's me! |
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| One of my favorite images in the whole chapel. The kiss where Judas betrays Jesus |
Another fun internship related event was getting to meet with one of the curators at the PGC. He talked with us about the restoration project (started 4 years ago, still going on) for Jackson Pollock's Alchemy, which is in the permanent collection, and his most highly valued painting. Big deal stuff. The scope of the project is much larger. They are looking at his full body of work and attempting to derive from that the steps he took to develop the famous drip paintings. I learned a lot, and if anyone is interested in learning more about it please do ask me, because it's a favorite subject of mine. I won't get into more specifics for the blog though.
 |
| Jackson Pollock, Alchemy, 1947 |
In terms of my actual job, we're in the middle of the week when Venetians get into the museum for free. That means a LOT of people are coming, and it's feeling like a bit much sometimes. I do feel very accomplished by the end of each day though. The big celebration is on the 21st, it's the Festa della Santa Maria della Salute. It happens every year in Venice and celebrates them surviving the plague so many years ago. They build a temporary bridge across the canal leading the the church of Santa Maria della Salute, there are delicious food vendors, and balloons for kids. I plan to go later so maybe some pics in my next post.
I've kept myself busy in the evenings cooking, researching, or going out with friends. (See picture below). Overall though, I believe life will get much more interesting again once I get past the 21st holiday. (Also Happy early Thanksgiving to those of you in the US!) I'll leave you with one last (small) adventure that I documented solely for the sake of posterity and human awareness of the wider world.
 |
| McFlurry documentation |
That's all for this week! Below are some nice pictures from the week. I'll write again soon!
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| Needed a picture of myself with the museum finally Calder, Arc of Petals, 1941 |
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| Interns waiting to surprise someone on their birthday! |
Until next time! A dopo
Caitlin
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