places to see before i die, part II
Can you believe I lived in Europe for the first twenty-four years of my life, and never once took the opportunity to go and see the Sistine Chapel?
If I was asked to compile a list of humanity’s greatest artistic achievements, this one would be right near the top of it. Four of the top ten slots on that list would list works by two Italian Renaissance artists, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. In no particular order, they’d be the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the Pietà , the Last Supper, and the Mona Lisa.
The nice thing is that when I do go to Rome and Paris again to see those works in person for the first time, I’ll have Quinn and Lyra with me, and they’ll get to see them, too.
May 6, 2008 at 5:20 am
I actually went to see the mona Lisa, not much to see really.
I would reccomend “Amor et Psyche”,also in the Louvre, most beautiful piece of art in my opnion.
May 6, 2008 at 7:27 am
Been there. Done that. Was speechless for hours.
To see it in real life is just amazing and awe inspiring. Of course, the Vatican forces you to walk through the entire complex and look at everything else first. I wish I had had more time so I could have enjoyed the rest of it, but the Mrs. and I were on a schedule and really wanted to see the chapel so we, like everyone else, pretty much just rushed through to the end.
May 6, 2008 at 8:47 am
I’d add the Rembrandt painting in the Gemeldegalerei in Berlin. The one of the Mennonite preacher and his wife.
May 6, 2008 at 10:15 am
I would love to see all of that. Planning to go there someday. With that said, I just don’t see the big deal about the Mona Lisa, its a fine painting - she has a smile and no eyebrows.. obviously my art-appreciation just isn’t up to snuff on that one as the entire rest of the world thinks differently but I just don’t see it.
May 6, 2008 at 7:38 pm
It’s a funny thing. I lived in Germany from age 1 to 6. My mom tells me I’ve seen the Sistine Chapel and all kinds of other magnificent places but I don’t remember any of them. She is German and she loved to get in the car on the weekends and just go wherever the wind blows.
I wish I had a machine that could read my mind and make a movie of what I saw before I moved back to the USA. About the only thing I remember of Germany was the beautiful country and a bunch of old neat looking castles. I was christened in some big Cathedral in Bamberg. I have a lithograph of it. What I wouldn’t give to remember those days.
Maybe when I retire, I’ll do some traveling over there. I’m sure my German is useless by now. I only had the vocabulary of a 6 year old boy and I’ve forgotten most of that. I hope my mother lives long enough to go with me on a vacation over there someday. She speaks German, Italian, French, and English. She’d be a great tour guide.
Good post. Thanks for bringing back some good memories. I hope by the time I visit over there that they don’t hate Americans so bad that it will become a short trip. I hear that Europeans don’t care much for Americans these days.
Joe
May 7, 2008 at 6:01 am
I had them yurpeens bring everything I wanted to see in the Louvre over here. Then I had ‘em put it back.
If Mohammed flat refuses to get on the plane to fly to the mountain…
May 9, 2008 at 12:34 pm
One of these days, probably after the economy settles down to something akin to normalcy.
Don’t forget Florence and Benvenuto Cellini, sculptor, gold and silversmith, master of self promotion, and author of one of the funniest autobiographies I’ve ever read.
dc