Musée D'orsay, Paris.

Musée D'orsay is a museum in Paris, which concentrates on Impressionism. This museum was a train station and all those elements still remain inside and outside.


I only got to visit this museum for about forty five minutes before it closed, because of my extended visit to the Louvre, but Musée D'orsay is beautiful and is well put together. Seeing French Impressionism in Paris is kind of nice.

-R

PARIS !

So I'm still recovering from my trip to Paris. It was a long way back to Siena. A flight from Paris to Milan a train from Milan to Pisa, a second train from Pisa to Siena and finally a bus back home.
Im also still recovering from the shock of how incredible Paris is. I was blown away by the city.





The city is very populated, but isn't cramped. The very French architecture with it's beautiful Mansart roofs and classical shapes is really something to admire. In my opinion the architecture is what makes this city so impressive, and of course the Seine River.





There were so many things to see and places to visit, but I didn't want to waste my time in Paris running around and being a typical tourist. Of course I visited important landmarks, but I also veered of an walked down side streets and did what I'm best at, getting lost. There is a certain vibe in Paris which you can't help but feel, and you can take advantage of this by just walking around and looking at everything, not just touristic landmarks.
One of my first stops as a lover of architecture, and ecclesiastical architecture was the Cathedral of Notre-Dame.





I love the Façade, but I love the flying buttresses even more. A truly grandiose and medieval invention. I was amazed at the detail and the beauty of this old building.
Another building that i was excited to see was Jules Hardouin-Mansart's Hôtel des Invalides. This building is not far from the Eiffel tower, so when I saw the dome I knew exactly what it was and I was even more excited knowing it was so close.





I think this blog post can get very long and drawn out so I will post a few more photos without my explanation of why I loved these places, I'm sure the photos will explain everything !






Eiffel Tower





The Louvre





Panthêon





Chateau de Versailles






Jaques Louis-David's beautiful painting : The Death of Marat. This painting is one of the most beautiful works of art I've seen in person.





Musée D'orsay
I have literally about a thousand photos of just Paris. I was in the Louvre for 7 hours, I was at Chateau de Versailles an entire day, I could never finish explaining how much I loved Paris.
I think this is a good start. I'm back in Siena, but I will post some more photos of Paris here and there. I definitely didn't get to see everything Paris has to offer, but I'm glad I didn't, because now I have a reason to go back. Even though the city itself is reason enough. Hopefully in two years I'll have another Paris mega post.

-R

Paris part one.

Beautiful Parisian Buildings. The last one was part of Hotel de Invalides designed by the very important French architect and superintendent of buildings for Louis XXIV, Jules Hardouin-Mansart.

-R

Palais de justice de Paris

This is the palace of justice in Paris. This building is one of my favorite from my trip. I have some watercolor paintings to post, mostly of the beautiful French architecture. I will make a mega post on Paris later on tonight.


-R

Im in Paris !

Please excuse the lack of posts. I am in beautiful Paris and i am sketching a lot, but my Internet access is horrible. Please excuse the delay, but I will update completely with photos and sketches when i return to Italy.

-R

Chiesa di S. Pietro e S. Paolo

Questa chiesa e' a Bergamo in Mozzo.

-R

Biblioteca a Bergamo

Sono a Bergamo adesso, quindi ho disegnato qua quasi tutta la mattina. Queste edificio e' una biblioteca vicino al palazzo comunale. Come potete vedere e' molto moderno.

-R

Sienese Duomo

I'm going to Bergamo tomorrow so I decided to paint something truly Sienese....the duomo, here in Siena.
This is a quick watercolor painting of the side of the duomo that isn't incredibly ornate. The dome is peeking from behind the beautiful tower.
By the way the lantern on top of the duomo was designed by Bernini.

-R

Churches

According to my map of Siena, there are about 28 churches inside the city walls. Here are a couple of quick ball-point pen sketches of only three.

S. Giovannino D. Staffa


S. Francesco



Sta. Maria di Provenzano


The façade of of Sta. Maria Di Provenzano is beautiful. I have a drawing of it, which I'll post another day.

-R

One more !

Column with Corinthian capital. Sala Rosa, Siena. Im done studying (and drawing) for now. Time for coffee.


-R

Pilaster Sala Rosa

Doing these architecture studies is kind of addictive. Pilaster inside Sala Rosa.

-R

Engaged Column in Sala Rosa

I haven't been able to draw as much as I would like to because of my final exams, which are all this week.
Here in Siena you don't write papers or take midterms, you just have a 30 minute oral exam. Which I think is a good idea except for the fact that I don't speak Italian completely fluently.
I took my first exam and I did well, I've been studying for another exam which is where this engaged column comes into play.


I have been either locked in my room studying or in the Sala Rossa, studying. So this is the only drawing I've done so far. "Engaged column in Sala Rosa."
Please excuse the terrible photo.


-R

Palazzo Pubblico ad aquarello

Questa pittura e' fatta col acquerelli di Daniel Smith sul foglie di Fabriano.
Come già lo sanno (perché lo ho dipinto e disegnato tante volte) , queste e' il famoso Palazzo Pubblico in Siena. Queste edificio se trova dentro della Piazza del Campo.

-R

Side street in Siena

This is a small side street behind Santa Maria Di Provenzano, here in beautiful Siena.

-R

Some watercolors of Montalcino

Here are some watercolor paintings of Montalcino, Italy. The first one is a painting of the inside of the Fortezza and the second, is a nice church outside of the city center. I hope you enjoy them.

- R

Quick sketch in Montalcino

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Montalcino

Yesterday I went to Montalcino with two friends. Montalcino is a small Tuscan city about an hour and fifteen minutes by bus from Siena.


It's a nice quiet city with beautiful rustic churches and cobblestone streets. We enjoyed the view, the tranquility and peace that Florence or other large Tuscan cities have a hard time offering.


We brought our own food and sat along side a park on a hill and admired the famed Tuscan landscape.
In my opinion it is a very nice city and I wouldn't mind visiting again.


-R

San Francesco

Questa e' la chiesa di San Francesco, qua in Siena.

-R

Better photos of Fonte Gaia

As promised here are some better photos of Fonte Gaia, Siena.







-R

Fonte Gaia, Siena.

Fonte Gaia was sculpted by Jacopo Della Quercia in the early 15th century.This Fontana adorns the main piazza in Siena. It's directly in from of the Palazzo Pubblico. The original is in a museum here in Siena, the one which is in the Piazza del Campo now is a copy.

I'll try to get some better photos of this beautiful Fontana tomorrow.

-R

Watercolor sketches in Siena

Quick watercolor sketch of Santa Maria Dei Servi from the second floor of the University. That is the inner courtyard of facoltà. I think I've drawn that before.



This is a dorm for the university of Siena near S. Agata. This watercolor sketch was made from inside our park. Hopefully I can do another 2-3 WC sketches tomorrow.

-R

Outside courtyard Sala Rosa

The Sala Rosa is a study room for the university of Siena. It's quiet inside and all the students come here to read, do homework and prepare for exams.
I have been here almost everyday studying for my final exams, but today I took a break and sat in the outside courtyard and drew the side of the building.


-R

Sienese Duomo from The Piazza del Campo

I was having coffee with some good friends at a nice bar in the Piazza del Campo. This bar is better than most because it has a balcony overlooking the whole piazza. I decided to draw while we chatted. This is the end result.


-R

Fortezza Medicea

The Medici family was one of the richest and most influential families in Italy and the Fortezza Medicea is very much a testament to that.
The Medici were based in Florence, but their power extended all over tuscany. This fortress was built in Siena in the 16th century. It now houses a jazz school an impressive enoteca and a garden.

As usual this is a sketch/study for a longer drawing. This is a view from inside the Fortezza.

-R

San Miniato al Monte

This is one of my favorite Florentine churches. It's near Piazzale Michelangelo, on top of a hill. It is a 13th century church which was a departure from the northern european gothic style. The interior is beautifully decorated with an arcade hugging the nave. The view of Florence from this church is incredible.

-R