My Favoritate Sculptures on Karl's Bridge, Prague

Prague was my first stop in Central Europe in early 2000s, which included the capitals of Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary.

The most impressive art in Prague is the city itself, more so than anything I'd seen in a museum, cathedral or a monastery.  The best of it was Karlův most (Charles Bridge) over Vltava, linking the "Old Town" to the even older "Malá Strana (Lesser Quarter)", named after the Holy Roman Emperor, Karl IV, who was the first Bohemian king who ascended the imperial throne.

We stayed in Malá Strana and every morning, I would take a little short stroll to walk on the wonderful bridge, to savor the quiet and intimate moments when most tourists had not flooded the bridge and to admire the continuous alley of statues and statuaries, 30 in all, mostly in baroque-style, originally erected around 1700 but now all replaced by replicas.

I will cite two as my favorites.  One is St Philip Benzi (St. Philip Benitius) (socha sv. Filipa Benicia):



It was designed by Michal Bernard Mandl in 1714 and portrayed St. Philip Benitius, fifth general of the Servites, holding a cross, a book and a spray. A papal crown lay behind his foot. This is an understated, but highly charged statue.  The inner conflict was betrayed by his unsettled right leg and arm, despite the calmness on his face.  The picture I took above had a very dramatic clouds background and it was a perfect foil for the restrained sculpture.

My next favorite was a much more ornate sculpture of Saint Francis of Assisi (socha sv. Františka Serafinského), flanked by two large winged angels.  The frontal view of sculpture was quite plain and humble, befit to the character of the saint. However, when viewed with the impressive wings as focal point, it became incredibly dramatic and ornate - perhaps Rodin would not have approved it but I loved its view like this. 



Perhaps a bit sentimental, whenever I looked at this picture, I remembered that street musician playing "Que sera, sera", under a colorful umbrella.  The very essence of bohemian life.


My Favorite Museum Collection Series

>> My Favorite Museum Collection Series 36: My Favorite Paintings at the National Gallery (Schwarzenberg Palace) in Prague
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List of My Favorite Artworks in the Museums I've Visited

My Favorite Frescoes at Santa Croce, Firenze

Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, built in the 13th century, boasted of many early frescoes by Agnolo Gaddi, Taddeo Gaddi and Giotto (Giotto di Bondone).

Giotto, who emerged from the medieval tradition and ushered in the Renaissance spirit in Italy with his increasingly naturalistic approaches, had a large presence in Santa Croce.  Amongst the many frescoes by him and other masters, it was difficult to pick favorites, yet choose I must.

For the top choice, I'll choose "The Death of St. Francis" in Bardi Chapel, as part of the cycle on "The Life of St. Francis". 

This death scene, appropriately somber, was intense yet restrained, with amazingly beautiful hues on the sky, the background, the bed and the robe of a high prelate or a prince. The facial expressions on the mourning people vivid but dignified.  The harmony of these pale yet vibrant colors was like the Renaissance polyphony, soaring, comforting and otherworldly.  This picture was almost too beautiful for a death scene.


The Death of St. Francis
Giotto
Bardi Chapel, Basilica of Santa Croce

The second pick of mine went to another piece of this cycle - "Apparition at Arles". The story was that one day, when St. Anthony of Padua was preaching in the chapter house at Arles, St. Francis miraculously appeared.

Here, Giotto presented us a group portrait in a composition quite similar to the later, more renown masterpiece - the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci in Milan - the crowd sat in a horizontal file, while in the middle of the row, larger than life, St. Francis floated in the mid air and caused amazement amongst the people, except for one brother who perhaps had dozed off.  St. Anthony, calmly faced St. Francis, anchoring the left side of the picture, together with the sitting people below, they formed a rough pyramid, adding more of the classic air to the picture.  The figures here were more in the line drawing form, with delicately outlined faces, particularly that of St. Francis, quite like the later works by Fra Angelico and Botticelli.  The earth-colored robes echoed the rusty hued roof tiles, and the marble tile on the foreground.  Subtly, pale wash of green and blue accented the painting and created a subtle yet rich fabric for this scene, frozen in time.


Scenes from the Life of Saint Francis: 3. Apparition at Arles 1325
Giotto
Bardi Chapel, Basilica of Santa Croce


My Favorite Museum Collection Series

>> My Favorite Museum Collection Series 24: My Favorite Works at Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Firenze, Italia
<< My Favorite Museum Collection Series 22:  My Favorite Sculptures at Loggia dei Lanzi (Loggia della Signoria), Firenze

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