Friday afternoon I decided to take a break from the rumors of impending lockdowns and take a walk around the city. I had a couple of stops in mind, but just wanted to be out and about on a beautiful day.
My first stop was an exhibit of painting and sculpture by the Spanish artist Manolo Valdes. I absolutely love how he uses different techniques and materials to reinterpret the work of previous artists. He particularly likes to reimagine the portraits by Diego Velasquez, the Spanish Baroque era painter. Velasquez isn't the only artist he references. You can also see his interpretations of works by Matisse and pop-artists like Warhol. He uses recognizable shapes and morphs them into modern paintings and sculptures using a variety of materials including wood, bronze, iron, wire, glass, and alabaster. His paintings have a lot of dimension to them since he applies heavy paint on to layers of coarse jute fabric. His pieces, both the paintings and the sculptures, are made from materials pieced together in interesting and intentional ways.
My next stop was
Castroni where I wanted to buy canned pumpkin and dark chocolate Toblerone bars. Some things are hard to find, but there are a few shops that specialize in imported foods. Yes, you can buy pumpkin and other squashes in the fall and make your own puree. But what if you want to make pumpkin bread in April? Even the canned stuff is only available seasonally.
I took the long way to get there. I walked through Piazza Navona and took pictures of the fountains. I was inspired by the Vandes exhibit to keep thinking about and working on paintings based on Classical and Baroque sculptures. I always need more reference photos. Right?
Then through the neighborhoods and under the trees as I walked along the Tiber. I caught glimpses of Castel Sant Angelo through the leaves.
On to St Peter's and the easily accessible clean and free public restrooms at the Vatican. This combination is a rare find in this part of the city. Here I took a little break and read and watched the people in the square. It was pretty quiet. So unusual.
After my pumpkin purchases at Castroni and a stop for a
maritozzo snack I wandered back along and across the river through the side streets toward Largo Argentina. I came across a building with an elaborately decorated exterior wall. I wonder if it was originally an interior wall. It's possible. This type of painting isn't common on buildings. But I don't know.
Once home I had a few minutes to sit before going to pick up my Academic Witch from the bus stop. It's dark now that day light savings time is over. I had to stop at the gelateria on the way there to make sure they are open past six. I didn't want to miss them. Part of the latest restrictions involve restaurants etc closing or being open only for take out after 6 pm. This is tough on them since many places don't open for dinner until 7 or 7:30. Fortunately they were open so we would be able to get our traditional cone for the walk home. They partially wrapped the top in foil to make it a "take-out" cone.
Morning of the school Halloween party
It was a great day. I really like Rome in October.
The boys were out of town for a little trip since My Boy didn't have school on Thursday or Friday. They visited a former leper colony in Ancona, Medieval castles in San Marino, a street market in Bassano, Monte Grappa, and a British WWI cemetery. They saw cows wearing flower crowns and big alpine bells being herded down the street. They ate some really good food that was quite different from what we have in Rome because of the German influence in the North. They had a wonderful weekend. I am a little jealous, but it is good for them to have some guy time.
1 comment:
Looks like a fantastic art exhibit. I love that he takes something seen and looks at it in different ways. Keep up the great posts! Love them!
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