Apollo and Daphne

The Apollo and Daphne baroque sculpture by Bernini, located in Borghese Gallery was my absolute favorite thus far. Not only was every detail absolutely breath taking, as was the story behind it which made the sculpture come to life. The story goes that Apollo, who is the god of prophecy, saw Cupid, the god of love, when Cupid wounds Apollo with his arrow. This wounding caused Apollo to fall in love with the daughter of the God of the River, known as Peneus. His daughter Daphne was also wounded by Cupid, who thought doing so would cause her to be in favor of Apollo. Apollo tries and pleads to Daphne in order to fill his burning desire. Daphne is not in favor of the idea at all and tries to flee, but as she tries to run Apollo is even more in love. Daphne cries to her father for help just as Apollo grabs her, which is what the sculpture is portraying. As this happens Daphne's skin begins to turn to bark, her hair becomes leaves, arms become branches, her feet turn into roots, and her face becomes the tree top. This display of Daphne as a laurel tree was absolutely stunning. Every detail was intricitley carved to resemble a literal human tree. What was extremely astonishing to me was the way even her toe nails were accented to become growing in to tree roots. When standing there we were told that the statue used to be in the right position in front of a window which when the wind blew on it, it even created a whistling noise. Whether this is true, I am not sure, but the noise would only add more truth to the story.

Pieta

Constructed and finished in 1499 by Michelangelo is Pieta, a marble sculpture that is now housed in St. Peter's Bascilica. The statue is now contained inside bullet proof glass. The statue was said to be made for the French cardinal, Jean de Billheres, as a monument for his funeral. The sculpture represents Jesus on his mother Mary's lap after his cruxifiction. This is one of Michelangelo's both best and controversial pieces. No one knows exactly what he is trying to portray. I noticed how out of proportion Jesus was compared to Mary. I did not understand how a delicate woman could be holding a large powerful man in her arms like a small child. Although in actuality it is visible that Jesus is a man in his sculpture, maybe she is looking back on the life that he had and in turn feels like he was a child just days ago. By the confused and dazed look on her face it seems as if actuality of what has happened has not yet set in and instead she is holding on to every last memory she has of her child.

Bocca della Verita

Although not exactly a statue, the "Mouth of Truth" has grown to be structured and treated in such a way. Located just over the bridge from Trastevere at Piazza Santa Maria in Cosmedin, the Mouth of Truth is located in the atrium of St. Mary's in Cosmedin church. The grim marble mask adhered to the wall, actually an ancient drain cover found half-buried in the middle ages, holdes an urban legend. This urban legend states that if anyone puts their hand in the mouth and then does not tell the truth, the mouth will slam shut and prevent them from withdrawing. I had passed this famous mask several times before actually realizing what it was before taking a look for myself. The line to see this statue-like-figure is always out the door and along the street. People gathered around the form to perform the urban legend. The man's face on the wall was extremely intimidating and life-like with the sturn expression geared as if it were right toward me. I felt as if he were alive and warning me that I must obey him, even if I did not know the urban legend before hand. The power he with holds perpetrates through the air around you, and as I performed the repetitive motions of putting my hand within his mouth I even felt myself tremble a bit even though it was a stone figure.

Talking Statues, "Pasquino"

Late at night since satirical posters were hung on several statues at well-known sites, beginning in early 16th century, so that when day light came everyone could read them before taken away by police. These statues became known as "talking statues," which is how they opposed corruption of the ruling class in a funny way. The authors who remained anonymous directed their satire towards the pope. One of these statues that I noticed to still be in place is one known as "Pasquino," which stands just behind Piazza Navona. Dating back to 3rd century BC, it is impossible to tell who the statue represents because of its bad preservation. The statue stands as the torso of a male figure, its face completely deranged, and its name still unable to be figured out. Several of these posters and notes still hang on Pasquino for all to see.

Headless statues expansion

Through out my weeks in Rome I have been noticing that finding information about these headless statues is actually very difficult in frustrating. In turn I have decided to expand my idea to statues/sculptures in general. I find them to be equally as enticing and they have come to be my favorite thing to learn about here.

Baths of Diocletian

The largest and greatest of baths, the Bath of Diocletian, was dedicated in 306 AD and remained in use until 537 AD when the aqueducts that enabled them were cut my Roman goths. The bath's interior was covered in marble and colors with painted statues and stucco, while the outside was stucco which was carved so intricitley it appeared to look like marble. These baths were one part of a monastery and today are still used in part as a church. The Baths of Diocletian were able to house 3,000 bathers and were built by successive emperors. The sight of such an astonishing and massive bath gives the eye an illusion of being able to imagine it when in use.

Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna

Founded in 1883, the National Gallery of Modern Art has the greatest amount of works by Italian sculptors and painters of the 19th and 20th centuries. The exhibits within this large building belong to many of the contemporary art movements such as: neo-classicism, romanticism, and Tuscan Macchiaoli impressionism. Works by Degas and Van Gogh, although no italian, are even housed in this gallery, making it even more so appealing. Though much of the city of Rome is filled with early Italian art, entering this space you will be enthralled in the modernization of pieces of work.