Pitti Palace and the Borghese Gallery

This morning my museology class went to the Palazzo Pitti to see the Palestine Collection. The palace is incredible and elaborate and everything that would be expected from a high renaissance home of a duke and duchess. Every room was organized based on the size of the paintings, then mirrored on the other side of the wall, making everything symmetrical. There is no sense of chronological order--it is purely aesthetic.

I just thought I'd share some of my favorite pieces from the collection:

Anton Francesco Peruzzini Tempesta di mare con naufragio


Orazio Riminaldi amore vincitore



Caravaggio amore addormentato



haha, I guess I like the cupids. or the wings. I think it's the wings.

a couple other paintings I really liked (but couldn't find the exact pictures) were Filippo Napoletano's Nettuno ed Anfitrite and Giovan Francesco Susini's La Frode. Susini is a sculptor and has a whole series of these women with different emotions/characterizations. Like this one is "The Fraud". She wears a mask, but has it pulled up by one hand so you can see her face. It is really beautiful.
Yesterday I saw the Accademia Gallery and thought it was cool...David is BEAUTIFUL. OMG. But I really like the decadence of the palace.

Ok! I forgot this in my Rome post, but we went to see the Caravaggio and Bacon exhibition at the Borghese Gallery. The juxtaposition was really interesting and I dont quite know what they were trying to get out of the paintings/trying to communicate to the audience with the mesh, but I liked it. I want to research it more, and perhaps write my final paper (?) on the exhibition and what it meant. My prof hasn't studied Bacon, so it would be illuminating for both of us.
Check it out though, it was a very very interesting exhibition. Plus Caravaggio is amazing, and Bacon is amazing. Perfect duo. Except they paint for very different purposes. Perhaps. I'll have to look into it.

http://www.caravaggio-bacon.it/