The Big Teacup Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas (flat, unstretched) 7 x 6.5" 17 x 16.5cm
Romagna Broccoli Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 7 x 9.5" 18 x 24cm 130.00
Winter Carrots: Collevechio Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 612 x 10" 30 x 25 cm 195.00
when we're not visiting basilicas, we're buying vegies to paint....
Blair and Harika at Lake Bracciano Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 16 x 11" 40 x 27cm 250.00
Harika, Waiting at Home Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 24 x 32" 61 x 81cm 435.00
A Day at St. Peter's Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 12 x 10" 30 x 25cm 195.00
Enrico Bruschini gave us his book, In the Footsteps of
the Popes, a guide to the Vatican, a few weeks ago. Since then, we’ve been itching to put his
recommendations to work. So on a
particularly slow morning, we decided to drive to Rome and see St. Peter’s. We’d both seen in in the 1970s, but not been
there since. Classic buildings never
change, but this time we were armed with more knowledge.
The line was only 15 minutes long, a great appeal since
we’ve seen it fill nearly half the piazza at times. We stood in line with people from all
countries, of whom, none seemed to be American. Our embassy here has sent out a “yellow”
alert regarding travel – maybe people are taking it to heart, although I could
see no reason for attacking St. Peters.
To give in to fear shows the enemy has won.
As soon as we stepped our foot into the portico, it was
clear this was no ordinary basilica. Entering the door, one feels
overwhelmed by the 15 story open interior. The scale is well,
humbling. The Putti, those little angel-like-child sculptures who
populate Baroque art, hanging from every frame, are much larger than me.
Marble figures of the saints and popes wouldn’t fit in my living
room. Am I just an ant, subject to the power of God? No, this is a
display of the potency of the Popes and the Catholic Church; an expression of
its time through architecture. I felt no different than when I saw Hagia
Sophia, or Notre Dame Cathedral -- gobsmacked. There are markers in
the nave indicating the size of those very churches: Notre Dame, St.
Patricks…one could fit those churches inside here, and have room to
spare.
The Pieta, despite her almost normal size, commands our
attention, and that of many other people.
This is Michelangelo’s best work, in my view, and the marble glows,
despite the fact it is a good distance from the crowd. It is amazing that this relatively small
work of art can compete with the world’s largest basilica, which, in the end,
Michelangelo designed.
The interiors really belong to Bernini, with his magnificent
baroque style. His Baldichino, and
window, and many of the statues are testimony to his greatness. His colleague and contemporary, Borromini, a
great sculptor/architect himself, was responsible for much of the engineering
which keeps this behemoth and its decoration, upright.
We left after an hour, before seeing everything – both of us
have a limit for input. We walked around
the neighborhood, looking for an antique store we liked. I have been seeking a shelf for my gondola
night light. And, miraculously, we found
one; shelves are often left behind when people move. “Don’t you think it’s a little big?” Blair
asked (he’s an architect). “Oh, no,” I
replied of the Baroque ceramic (fake marble) piece. It wasn’t even the size of a Putti’s toe.
The proprietor of the store threw in two enormous teacups
(one of which I was admiring) to go with it.
When we got home, the shelf seemed enormous and the two teacups consume
a full pot of tea.
I can’t wait to visit St. Peter’s again, maybe with you?
