Submitted by Breanna Phulesar on the 2017 winter session program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Psychology…
Living in Delaware for most of my life has limited me to a small amount of worth-while art to explore. I’ve never experienced having this many amazing historical landmarks in walking distance of my place of (temporary) residence. I may have only been in Italy for two weeks now, but I can honestly say I’ve learned so much history and have seen so much art in this short time. I’ve grown to appreciate the skill it takes to construct paintings and architecture.
In class, we learned about depth perception and Gestalt grouping principles. It was a new experience for me going into the Vatican Museums, the Academia, and the Uffizi Gallery having something to look for. I can now look at some paintings and determine a general time period of its creation. For example, pre-renaissance art did poorly with accurate depictions of depth perception, and paintings from the 1400’s were very bold with colors and more realistic in trying to portray people. I’ve encountered a lot of religious works that are beautiful. I’ve gained a new appreciation for the efforts that artists put into creating their work.
One day, we took a trip to Lucca and it was a super adorable city. There were mountains in the distance and beyond the city walls, that encased the main streets, was a very peaceful place. We wanted to get a good view of the small town so we went to Torre Guinigi, which was a tower that was constructed to be very high and it had trees planted at the top. From the bottom, it didn’t seem that impressive, but after climbing many stairs, I reached the top which had the most amazing view. I could see all the great buildings and the beautiful church. The trees at the top of the building were something I’ve never seen before. Reflecting now, I’m shocked at how great the architecture of that tower and the rest of the buildings were. I’ve never considered architecture to be art until I came to Italy.
This photo is of my favorite part of the Vatican Museum. In one of the rooms there was a ceiling that was filled with paintings and gold borders. Looking down the hall, my jaw dropped at how gorgeous it was. I was surrounded by art all around me and it made me excited to be experiencing something completely out of my element.