Diana Vreeland

Venice, the fashion of Diana Vreeland at the Fortuny Museum

In honor of Diana Vreeland, the woman who, with his moods, dictated the style of fashion for many years, has organized a beautiful and valuable exhibition at the Fortuny Museum in Venice. Until June 26, 2012 will be on display, among other things, the most beautiful clothes worn by her. But who was Diana Vreeland? For the uninitiated, this woman with a strong temperament gave start to a new profession for the years in which she lived: she was the first faschion editor of the fashion history. Her elegant ways were noticed at a party by Mr. Carmel Snow, editor of Harper’s Bazaar, who saw Diana dancing wearing a Chanel dress, was so impressed by the character of the woman that he wanted the woman worked for him. The exhibition also marked the numbers of this magazine from collaboration between Vreeland and Alexey Brodovitch, art director for Harper’s Bazaar and the man who revolutionized the graphics of fashion magazines. Diana Vreeland became an icon of style and stood out for her ability to reinvent the female image. It was she who chose the models for Vogue, women with a strong character, pronounced noses that were beyond the classical ideal of beauty. Diane was so capable and smart in the ’60s to become the editor of Vogue. Subsequently, it was special consultant for the Constume Institut New York.

 

If you love fashion and the history of this eccentric woman has intrigued you, you can admire the Palazzo Fortuny dress worn by Diane Vreeland who have made ​​the history of fashion: Yves Saint Laurent and heads of Givency from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York , the most iconic creations Saint Laurent, precious clothes for Chanel, Missoni, Pucci, Valentino.

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Bacchino_malato_(Caravaggio)

Rome, Caravaggio’s Sick Bacchus

Among the most famous works of Caravaggio there is The Sick Bacchus, in the Galleria Borghese in Rome and built between 1593 and 1594. The Bacchus is ill defined for his skin pale and purple lips, signs of a physical condition not quite optimal. There are good reasons to believe that it is a self-portrait of Caravaggio, newly discharged from the hospital where he had been hospitalized for an illness, he stayed in the shop of Cavalier D’Arpino. It was here, in fact, that the Sick Bacchus and the Boy with a Basket of Fruit were stored until 1607, when the emissaries of Pope Paul V requisitioned works and surrendered himself to the Pope’s nephew, Scipione Borghese Caffarelli, known collector ‘art. The Bacchus has a particular face, raw and unforgiving, but it seems to fit the different facial features in portraits that Caravaggio realized in subsequent periods, and the portrait that he made his friend Ottavio Leoni. Given the many portraits that Caravaggio made ​​in his life, one wonders why. A plausible explanation is that he did not know paint without a model in front and not allow a potendosene because of its severe economic conditions, was forced to portray himself as a mirror.

 

The dark background of the picture see the subject forward, it seems almost come out from the canvas. The fruits scattered on the table to predict the sensitivity of the still lifes that are represented multiple times in successive frames. The hypothesis of the self after the disease is refuted by the art critic Maurizio Marini, which gives the skin color of a botched restoration work.

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museocose inutili

Vienna, the museum of useless things

The museum of useless things? No, no joke. But the idea, actually, was born, some for fun. One night two friends, Fitz and Friedl Umscheid Gall, in a town called Herrnbaumgarten (near Vienna) in the company of some beer too, have the idea of putting on an exhibition space dedicated to useless objects, of which, evidently, is fill the world. After the booze and the idea is, thus, the two set out in this new adventure. And ‘Fitz and Friedl 1984 when they create a private collection Nonseum they call the “Museum of useless things and the wrong ideas.” What is inside? Objects “nonsense”, created without a specific purpose, without the possibility of use or without the idea of meeting a real need. For example, did you ever think that you need a rolling pin with fur? Or wedding rings in the shape of handcuffs? Or a cigarette with two filters? Here you can find.

 

The museum is the brainchild bizarre and original that is very popular with tourists, so that the museum currently records 100 thousand hits. Anyone looking around the house, he discovers that you have something useless in style with the collection of this museum. How about donating to the museum and disfarvene Herrnbaumgarte? Book your hotel in Vienna, that it is probably more useful than objects present Nonseum.

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roy-lichtenstein

Rome, Guggenheim at the Palace of Exhibitions

The Exhibition Palace in Rome until May 6, 2012 contains sixty-garde American masterpieces from 1945 to 1980. The works are in the permanent collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, the famous non-profit foundation founded by U.S. philanthropist Solomon R. Guggenheim and whose goal is to create museums around the world. The works in this exhibition come from the headquarters in New York, Venice and Bilbao. The artists are the most important of the postwar years American, as Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Arshile Gorky, Alexander Calder, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Richard Serra, Kenneth Noland, Chuck Close. The current abstract paintings ranging from Expressionism to Pop Art, Minimalism from the Post-minimalism, conceptual from art to photorealism.

The exhibition traces the evolution of art in the years when American art follows the major transformations in the history of the United States in a time of great economic prosperity, international conflicts, political turmoil and major cultural advances. If you plan to visit Rome, book your Rome hotel in advance and prepare yourself to enjoy this amazing exhibition!

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Dalì on display

Dali, The Persistence of Memory

What is going on at the Vittoriano in Rome is the most comprehensive exhibition of Dalí ever to be realized in Italy. Of the genius who shocked his contemporaries by the eccentricity of his works and, especially, of his person and his lifestyle, we immediately recognized the works, as founder of a unique style. Among all, the most famous and appreciated around the world is indeed “The Persistence of Memory“, which, unfortunately, is not present at the Vittoriano. You should go to the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Precisely because of this important absence, we discuss it here. This picture was painted by Dali in 1931, and the story of how the idea of ​​the famous soft watches in the mind of the Spanish genius, he tells us the same in a written: “Rather than make me hard, like life really had planned , … Gala managed to build me a shell that protected the delicate nudity of hermit crab that was settled, that is myself, so while I acquistavo externally increasingly looks like a fortress, internally I could continue to grow old springs, ipermolle. And the day when I decided to paint them painted soft clocks. It happened one evening when I felt tired and had a slight headache, which I very rarely happens. We wanted to go to the movies with some friends, and instead, at the last minute, I decided to stay home. Gala, however, also came out while I was thinking of going straight to bed. To complete the meal we had eaten a very strong and Camembert, after everyone had left, I remained for a long time sitting at the table, to meditate on the philosophical problem of ‘ipermollezza’ of that cheese. I got up, went to my studio and, as is my habit, I turned on the light to take a last look at the painting I was working on. The painting showed a view of the landscape of Port Lligat. I knew that the atmosphere that I was able to create in that picture would serve as the backdrop for an idea, but I did not know what would have been minimal. I was about to turn off the light when, suddenly, ‘I saw’ the solution. I saw two of them hung a soft watches miserably from the olive branch. Despite the headache was now so intense that torment me, feverishly prepared the palette and I went to work. When, two hours later, Gala came back from the cinema, the picture that would become one of my most famous, was finished. “

“The Persistence of Memory”, measuring 24 × 33 cm, emphasizes the difference between mechanical time, measured with clocks, and the time of memory, with his perceptions, pua expand or contract. The long memory is quite subjective: fast when you are happy and incredibly slow when you are sad. Book now your Rome hotel among more than 1000 hotels we offer on our main website and save!

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2223-Bramante_Cristo_alla_colonna

Milan, Bramante at the Pinacoteca di Brera

One of the greatest artists of the Renaissance was undoubtedly Renato Bramante. His talents as an architect were so strong that was assigned to the project of the Basilica of St. Peter. As a painter, the best work of Bramante was “Christ at the Column”, an oil or tempera painting, realized between 1480 and 1490 and preserved in the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan. Christ is represented in the time before flagellation and the position of Christ’s head, slightly reclined, makes the pain of the moment arises. The body in the foreground, very close to the viewer, increases the emotional impact and creates a strong psychological tension. The fact that Bramante was an architect is clearly reflected in this painting: the scene is set in a Renaissance palace behind an idyllic landscape that has nothing to do with the contemporary drama.

The element that most of all shows the tension of the moment is created by the eyes of Christ, burdened by the shadows and accentuated by the contrast of light and shadows. On the windowsill is the chalice of the Eucharist, the symbol of Christ sacrifice. Book now one of our cheap hotels in Milan and save money to visit this very interesting show!

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Narcissus of Caravaggio

Rome, the Narcissus by Caravaggio

In Palazzo Barberini, in the National Gallery of Ancient Art, it is preserved a masterpiece of painting, Narcissus, the work of the gifted painter of all time, Caravaggio. Performed between il1597 and 1599, the painting is clearly inspired by the myth of Narcissus taken from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, which tells the story of a young man so beautiful that all men and women fell in love with him, but he did not cared, even preferred to spend his days in solitude, hunting. Among her suitors the nymph Echo, that when tried to get Narcissus, she was rejected. From that day the nymph hid in the woods consumed by unrequited love, but eventually it’s just a rumor. Finally, as a lover refused asked to Nemesis to avenge him, Narcissus was doomed to fall in love with his own reflection in the water. He spent his days admiring his reflection in the water and complained because he could not kiss or touch it enough to let himself die pining. Looking at the painting of Caravaggio is known as the lips are stretched and narrowed to Narcissus kissing his own reflection, and the left hand lying in water in an attempt to embrace her.

 

The moment depicted is not, therefore, when Narcissus sees himself and falls in love, but the most psychologically complex of Narcissus, who tries to possess his image. Caravaggio wanted to send a strong emotion, representing it intense and sensual. If you are planning a trip to Rome, do not miss this masterpiece, and book your Rome hotel in advance on our booking engine: even if there are many hotels, you risk to fall in love with one of them!

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Water lilies of Monet

Rome, pink water lilies of Monet

One of the greatest exponents of French Impressionism, Monet, in the last years of his life devoted himself to the representation of flowers that have become a symbol of his art: water lilies. To these flowers the great artist dedicated about 250 paintings describing his garden at Giverny, an area not far from Paris. This garden was constructed following the Japanese model, with a bridge over the pond, weeping willows, wisteria and water lilies, irises, tulips, bluebells, gladioli, exotic flowers and plants. The last thirty years of artistic production of the painter were devoted to the study of light and color of these flowers, and Monet continued to paint even when he was struck by cataracts. The impressionist painter, at a certain point in his life, moved away from the chaos of the city, as he decided to live in solitude, in silence, in a place where time passing was marked by the flowering and the withering of the flowers. We can admire in Rome many of flowers depicted by Claude Monet.

At the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome, the House of the Gardener is dedicated to many artists and painters of the Impressionist School of Paris, including Van Gogh, Cezanne, Boldini, Courbet, De Nittis. Among these there’s the beautiful painting by Monet called “Pink Water Lilies” of 1898. How can you miss it? Book your Rome hotel and come to admire this amazing exhibition!

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judith

Venice, Judith and Holofernes at the Correr Museum

Among all Klimt works we can admire at the Museo Correr in Venice until July the 8th 2012, there is one that is worth to be analyzed separately: Judith and Holofernes. You probably saw a cover of a calendar, a bookmark representing this figure, dont’ you?! This is best known and loved Klimt’s picture , one of his most lavish works, so complex to realize he spent many years to paint it. The model for this painting was Adele Bloch Bauer, heedless of his marriage to a banker in Vienna, who kept up a long relationship with the painter. The theme of the work is taken from the Bible: Judith was a Jewish heroine, who had infiltrated the camp of the enemy general Holofernes and captivated him with her charms: she gave to him somthing to drink, then he had just to wait him to fall asleep before cutting off his head. A very modern painting, in fact the figure of Judith was often represented as a symbol of victory of virtue over vice, which here expresses a morbid and intense sensuality. It’s a paint of a glittering beauty, decorative and highly erotic. The figure portrayed by Klimt is the expression of the thought of his pictorial art: it suggests the importance given to the more visual qualities and expression of personal feelings to their literal meaning. Judith becomes human, she is the product of the individual imagination of the painter himself. At the same time, the painting expresses all his love for the beauty of the material with its beautiful classical details and rich gilding. In this work it seems as you are Holofernes, who sees her, charmed by his explosive sensuality.

 

His eyes narrowed, lips slightly open, one of her breasts visible and the other one covered by a thin cloth veiled, make it even more appealing. It seems almost an invitation to an erotic thought. Watchin this work carefully morevoer, you can see the right hand of Judith while caressing the head of Holofernes. From the expression of Judith emerges a thrill of sensual pleasure she finds in the imminence of her act. Watching the live image is barely  an even stronger emotion. Book your Venice hotel now on our website if you don’t Judith becomes angry with you!

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Entrance of Verano Cemetery

Rome, the Verano Cemetery

If you are wondering why reading an article about a cemetery, maybe you don’t know that the Verano is not just a cemetery, but a veritable outdoor museum with a priceless artistic and cultural historian of the nineteenth century and throughout the twentieth century. Here were buried personalities that have shaped the history and culture of our country, and not alone, and walking through its streets you can see tombs and statues of great value. A couple of names? Togliatti, Trilussa, Alberto Sordi, Rino Gaetano, Maria Montessori, Vittorio De Sica, Nino Manfredi, Vittorio Gassman, Clara Petacci, Giuseppe Gioacchino Belli, Rodari, Alberto Moravia, Marcello Mastroianni. The Verano has always been a place of burial, San Lorenzo himself, deacon of Rome, martyred during the persecution of Emperor Valerian in 257, was buried here and over his tomb is built then the San Lorenzo Basilica out of the wall and the convent. The basilica is so called because the Edict of Saint Cloud in 1804, required the burial of the dead outside the city walls.

The cemetery is located in Tiburtino, near San Lorenzo and its name comes from the field of Verani, senatorial gens at the time of the Roman Republic. The beautiful entrance is characterized by four statues symbolizing the Silence, Charity, Hope, Meditation. Anyone wishing to visit the Verano, can find out about free tours organized by the City of Rome, according to the routes leading to the tombs of the protagonists of specific cultural or historical events, and book your hotel in Rome among the over 1000 that we have available at our hotel search engine: no cancellation fee!

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