Florence and more Masaccios

Florence has so much renaissance art to offer the tourist. This morning we went to the Uffizi Gallery which must have more masterpieces per square metre than any other building I have ever been in… but more about that another time. The Santa Maria Del Carmine on the other side of the river was our…

Florence – Massacio’s Trinity

University staff have decided to go on strike so we have decided to skip Venice for a couple of days and see Florence. Have not been here for years because of all the low life but despite that you just have to stand in awe at the sites.  Santa Maria Novella is first port of…

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

“Water, water, every where,  And all the boards did shrink;  Water, water, every where,  Nor any drop to drink.” Immortal lines from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s great poem of 1834, which I enjoyed and still remember class reading at school. So with me flitting back and forth between Venice and North Gloucestershire floods, I thought an…

Venice today

Hi all. It is very sad seeing Venice today after the disaster last night. While the City was on alert due to high tides the severity of the storm and tides took everyone by surprise. The magnitude of the tide had not been anticipated until it actually occurred so preparation was minimal. The damage this…

November Painting of the Month

My Painting of the Month for November comes from the inspirational Indian  pavilion at the Venice Biennale. “Zameen”, 1955, a controversial frieze painting, several feet long, from 1955; it has been alternatively praised and vilified by critics over the years but has become an established icon of Indian Modern Art.  The theme is typical of twentieth…