Merry Christmas

-R

Quick sketch of my best friend.

Teddy. 3" x 3" Post-It



-R

Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin

Back in Vienna after a trip to Berlin. I'll be making a longer post soon. In the mean time, the Alte Nationalgalerie, one of the my favorite museums in Germany.


-R

The Bargello

The Bargello museum here in Florence is one of my favorite. The collection is incredible and it's one of the best places to come and draw on a rainy day. I did a bunch of drawings on both visits, I'll be posting a few of those in the next few days. This is the first, which is a drawing Michelangelo's Apollo. This sculpture was debated about several occasions, first whether it was a Michelangelo or not and then whether is was an Apollo or a David sculpture. From further investigation the sculpture is now accepted as a Michelangelo and is sometimes referred to as the "Apollo-David" or "Apollinio" it is still one of my favorite sculptures at the Bargello and an excellent example of Michelangelo's Non-Finito pieces.

Brunelleschi's cupola

One of my favorite places in Florence is the Biblioteca Delle Oblate. In this beautiful library there is a small caffe, the view of the cathedral from this caffe has to be one of the best in Florence. I go there often and I've painted and drawn there before (two years ago) so I decided to try again. I sat and had a macchiato and slowly I started my drawing. I usually move fast when I'm sketching, but I made sure I took my time and made an effort to be more precise. I am happy with the outcome although I would like to try again. So here is my drawing of the beautiful cupola of the Florentine cathedral designed by Renaissance architect Filippo Brunelleschi.



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Fiesole

The Cathedral of Fiesole.



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Giambologna

There are many many museums here in Florence and perhaps besides the Ufizzi, my favorite is the Bargello. I spent a half a day at this sculpture museum and I made a few sketches but I wanted to stay longer. I plan on returning to just sit and draw all day.
This was one of my favorite little sculptures, done by the famous Giambologna. It's a small angel or "putto" fishing.






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Duomo Vecchio, Brescia

I love Italian Romanesque architecture, and this is one of the best examples of that. The Duomo Vecchio or Old Cathedral is an 11th century building in Brescia, Italy. This building is completely original except for the entrance portal which was added on in the late 17th century. The church also houses a crypt constructed with Roman spolia, which is very impressive. I sat at the caffe in front of the church, so luckily I got to draw and paint comfortably, which as a traveling artist is a luxury.






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Piazza Vecchia, Bergamo

I got a third chance to tackle this scene. I love this part of Cittá Alta and I struggled with drawing it every time I've been here. I think this one was the most successful so far.



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Hercules

I often sit in the Piazza Della Signoria admiring the sculptures. This is a drawing of Hercules from Baccio Bandinelli's "Hercules and Cacus" (1525-27). This sculpture is placed opposite of Michelangelo's David in from of the Palazzo Vecchio. I had a perfect spot to draw Hercules' portrait. I'd like to draw the whole sculpture, but finding a spot to sit comfortably isn't easy with the amount of people visiting. I'll wait until it gets colder.






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Menalaus

This is a detail of a beautiful Roman sculpture called Menelaus supporting the body of Patroclus. It's in the Loggei dei Lanzi in Florence, which is the Uffizi's free outdoor sculpture gallery.



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15th century window

The best part about living in Florence is looking at the Renaissance architecture. The most important Renaissance buildings are here, but there are so many beautiful 15th century palazzi that aren't well known. This is a small detail of a window on Via dei Rustici. Most of the streets are too narrow to even see the entire building, so drawing a window is more plausible.




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In Florence

I'm lucky enough to be able to do some of my graduate research in Florence and I am taking full advantage by drawing everyday. This is of course Brunelleschi's famous cupola and the beautiful Florentine cathedral. This was drawn from Via dei Servi, which leads from the duomo to one of my favorite churches, Santissima Annunziata. More from Florence in the next few days.


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Ponte Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio is one of the most recognizable sites in Florence. I stopped by and his in the shade to draw it. I'm happy with the outcome and perhaps tomorrow or the day after I'll bring my Watercolors and put some color in. Italy is pretty hot right now, which makes drawing and painting outside somewhat difficult. I'll see what I can manage to do while I'm here.


-R

Graz, Austria

I took a day trip to Graz from Vienna with my good friend Enzo. We walked around the city and eventually climbed up the Schloßberg. This is where we found the most recognizable attraction in Graz, the Uhrturm. This 13th century clock tower is a point of pride in Graz as it survived the Napoleonic wars due to efforts by the people of the city. I enjoyed the visit and managed a drawing of the tower.


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It's been too long

It's been way too long since my last post and I am to fix this issue. I'll be in Europe for the next few months and I want to use this blog as a sort of journal. I have been here over a week and I'm already behind on posts, but I'll try to catch up. For now I'm in Vienna, which happens to be one of my favorite cities. I'm going to organize myself and figure everything out. In the meantime here are a few random photos of beautiful Vienna.









Cheers,
-R

Long Island City Clock Tower

The Bank of Manhattan building also known as the Long Island City Clock Tower. This is one of the most iconic buildings in Queens. It was constructed in 1927 by architect Morrell Smith. It has neo-gothic elements in its design as well as a beautiful clock on the crown. This building is in danger of being destroyed because of its recent sale. The clock tower is being considered for the title of Historic Landmark by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. This would of course mean the building would survive for out future generations. Please sign the petition to save this building by clicking HERE ......Thank you.

San Miniato al Monte

The last of the series (for now). This is San Miniato al Monte, a Romanesque church in Florence. This church is perhaps my favorite building in Italy. Along with the Florentine baptistry, I believe this building is an influence on early Renaissance buildings like Santa Maria Novella and architects like Leon Battista Alberti.

Battistero di San Giovanni, Firenze

Continuing the with some drawings of Romanesque/Renaissance buildings, this is an 11th century building in Florence. It is perhaps one of the most important buildings in the city, it sits in front of the cathedral with the famous red cupola.

The baptistry of Saint John is a beautiful example of a Tuscan Romanesque architectural style that can be compared in its construction and aesthetic appeal to San Miniato al Monte (another Romanesque building in Florence) and eventually to even Renaissance buildings like Santa Maria Novella (facade).

Santa Maria della Carceri and Graduate School.

As you may or may not know, I am a graduate student. I am getting my masters in art history from CUNY Queens College. I only mention this because I know that I haven't been posting much, and I have to admit that schoolwork is the biggest reason for the lack of posts.

With that being said I haven't been drawing/painting as much as I would like to. 

My concentration is Renaissance architecture, but I'm particularly interested in later Romanesque/Early Renaissance churches in Florence. I am slowly preparing my thesis and looking at some buildings I will perhaps be writing about. I had a slow week as far as studying and assignments due so I drew a few of these buildings  and did some light watercolor washes on them. 

This is the first; Giuliano da Sangallo's Santa Maria della Carceri in Prato, Italy. Late 15th Century. 

A drawing from the Met

This is a drawing of a sculpture by Janet Scudder. This sculpture is actually part of a fountain in the American Wing. It's called Frog Fountain and was sculpted in 1906. It's a bronze sculpture which made drawing it a little complicated, but definitely fun.


I have a few other drawings from that day which I'll post later on. This one is especially important because it is the last page of my sketchbook! It always feels nice to complete a sketchbook, now I have to look for a new one.

-R

Apse, St. John the Divine

This Romanesque/Gothic revival church is found on West 113 street uptown Manhattan. It's one of the largest Anglican cathedrals in the world and it is definitely worth a visit.

This is the drawing I did of the church's apse,next time I'll try to sit and draw the facade. I found this view interesting and challenging.



-R