My Favorite Artworks at the Galleria dell'Accademia Firenze

My second European stop was the most beautiful and richest (in term of art collections) all them all - Firenze (Florence).  Amongst many incredibly rich art institutions, my first stop was Galleria dell'Accademia Firenze, whose most famous resident was Michelangelo Buonarroti's David - a marble statue originally installed in front of the city hall - Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace) but moved here after a riot during which the statue was damaged but repaired afterwards.

When we visited the Accademia, there was a long line to get in, for its special exhibit of Giotto.  However I enjoyed that special exhibit, I will follow my rule that I only cite permanent collections in the museums I've visited, therefore, I would only discuss Giotto later, such as in Santa Croce, where his frescoes shined.

Back to David.



This super-human sized marble statue was the ideal of human body - chiseled face, steady gaze, powerful yet elegant torso, elongated but strong limbs, seemingly at ease yet poised to strike the overwhelming sling shot.  He hat it all.  He was not a simple warrior but a concentration of all those praise-worthy characteristics one could find in the human race.  This is the apex of art making and humanistic study.





After David, it was a testament of its strong virtue, that the painting Profeta Isaia by Fra Bartolommeo could have made yet another powerful impact on me.

I did even know the painter Fra Bartolommeo (or Fra Bartolomeo) but I instantly fell in love with his paintings, for the richness and vibrancy of his colors, and for the weighty grandeur of his figures, like this one in the Accademia - Profeta Isaia (Prophet Isaiah).  This prophet was a young man, full of wisdom and grace, and gravitas due to the solidity of the masses formed his body and his pose.  His raised right arm was like posing a question and challenge to the viewers, poise yet dynamic.  And how his blue, yellow, orange and red complemented and contrasted each other! in blazing hues.  A very wonderful portrait.


Profeta Isaia, cm. 168 x 108, Fra Bartolommeo, Galleria dell'Accademia, Firenze




My Favorite Museum Collection Series

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List of My Favorite Artworks in the Museums I've Visited