Venice, day #1

Day 1: Accademia, Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Friari 

With Rebecca (one of our tutors and, consequently, my thesis advisor), our group went to the Academia first thing the next morning. A museum full to the brim with Carpaccio, Bellini, Titian, Giorgione, Lorenzo Lotto, Tintoretto, and other Venetian artists (the museum is devoted exclusively to Venetian art) I was loving every minute. No pictures allowed in here, but the highlight for me was seeing Titian's Pieta - this piece was painted at the very end of his life and he intended for it to hang above his tomb as a sort of effigy. 

It is the most loosely painted of all of his works, making some think it might have been unfinished (Titian died of the plague - did he die before he was able to put on the finishing touches?) ...by this point in time, scholarly consensus is that this is just what Titian's "late style" was at the end of his life - he had evolved from a very finished style in his early career to this rather loose and painterly style (this can best be seen by looking at Christ's body). Up close, the work is intensely personal and emotional - the man in red at the bottom right corner is said to be a self-portrait of the artist. 

Next, we headed to the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, or scuolo of St. Roch. Here, Venetian artist Tintoretto was commissioned to decorate the interiors, literally wall to ceiling, with frescoes. His dark and moody style of painting evokes a kind of reverence both for the artist but also for God - Tintoretto was intensely religious (as were the members of the scuola) and this definitely comes across as you walk around the building. Again, no pictures allowed, but a snuck a pic of the ceiling. 

and here is one of my classmates coming down the stairs...

Last stop of the day was the Friari  - Titian's tomb, Canova's tomb, and other effigies/tombs line the walls. The highlight is unquestionably altarpiece housed in here - painted by Titian to go in this exact spot, it has remained here since 1517. Documents reveal that Titian took special consideration of the architectural setting and the kind of light that came through the windows when he painted this - he wanted it to fit perfectly into the setting and complement its surroundings. Walking up to painting at sunset as the sun streams through the stained glass windows, one understands immediately why the artist is still touted as a genius of his age - it really was one of the most dramatic and incredible lead-ups to a painting. Well done, sir. 

To end the day, we met up with a few others from our class and shared bottles of wine at a place right on the canal - watching gondolas pass and exchanging stories from the day, it was the perfect ending to the day. That night, we went out to one of our classmate's houses (she lives in Venice) for drinks and hors d'oeuvres and ended a night at a jazz bar! Great class bonding and definitely making the most out of each day.