Taking Art to Florence

Annamaria on Monday

Bringing coals to Newcastle has nothing on what I did this past Friday/Saturday.  In my luggage were things to hang on my walls in Florence.  My place is so close to what is arguable the most splendid art museum in the world that--with a good arm--you could throw a Spaldeen from my terrace and hit the roof of the Uffizi Gallery.

My terrace.  Sloppy red arrow points at the roof of the Uffizi.

  
The Uffizi's walls boast these masterpieces, plus Leonardo's Annunciation, placed front and center in honor of the season:

By contrast, my place has images the monetary value of which might buy you a ticket to see the masterpieces across the piazza, and perhaps a gelato.  But I like them, mostly for sentimental reasons.

APOLOGY: My apartment has windows facing in all four directions.  It fills with sunshine on bright days like today.  So photographing images behind glass became more of a challenge the I was up to.  I fear in some instances I became my own photobomber.  

Hanging around me are--

Posters from exhibitions I have enjoyed:

Milan exhibition on the 100th anniversary of the death
of Garibaldi.

The Phoenicians, absolutely fascinating.  Changed my mind
about what they were all about.

Most people, if they know Dali at all, think of
 him as a nutcase.  He was a genius!

Modigliani! One can't praise him enough

And movie posters;

As COO of Davi's direct marketing company, I decorated the
walls of our office with posters of films having titles
with words relevant to his business.  My two favorites now
give a noir period touch to my living room in Italy.

David and I took our daughter to a screening of Abel Gance's
"Napoleon" at Radio City Music Hall after Coppola had it restored.
  His father wrote a new score for the film, which Papa Coppola conducted
that night. We went to dinner beforehand and ate beef Wellington.
  They served napoleons in the lobby at intermission!

And souvenirs of places visited.  Cuba, for example.

Some of David's photos of our travels here and there:

A collection that fits into two categories - an exhibition of Botero's sculptures, photographed by David:

A favorite of mine.  It looks as if the cat is
about to pounce on a passerby. 

How many angels can dance on the tip of a finger?

One of my favorites is self-portrait made by my granddaughter Emma when she was four years old. It knocked my socks off for its visual impact.

Some of my pictures I like just because I think they make the place look better:

What I had in my luggage this time around fits into this last category.  It is part of a collection of Hogarth and Cruickshank political cartoons that did not make onto my walls after I downsized in New York when David fell ill.  I brought four of them here last year and the two more fit into my luggage this time.

I thought I would be able to show you last year's and this year's haul all situated together.  Alas, the wall in question is an exterior one.  Tomorrow I will go to the mesticheria, a store that sells all sorts of things and get nails that will go into real plaster.  At least the English prints are now together again.