Mar 7
While I love Gothic art, there is something especially appealing about the Irish Gothic style. The heavy infusion of Celtic design and the stylized figures energize this art and gives it a playful feel. Many of the medieval ruins I found in Ireland where not particularly ornate which made the appearance of Gothic figures and motifs that much more enjoyable.
Doorway decoration from the Monastery at Dysert O’Dea (County Clare):
Michelangelo’s David-Apollo on display at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC on loan from the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence (Photo: adapted from NGA publicity materials)
I personally love artworks with a little mystery and what could be better than an unfinished sculpture by Michelangelo? His David-Apollo is currently on display at the National Gallery of Art in DC until March 3rd, on loan from the Museo del Bargello in Florence. The sculpture is so named because there is no real consensus on whom it depicts. In 1530, Michelangelo started a small marble of David. It has been speculated that he abandoned this symbol of Florence and tried to adapt it to a classical Apollo but ultimately left the piece unfinished. To me, there is no evidence to suggest that this figure was ever meant to be an Apollo. More likely, it was a victim of Michelangelo’s legendary perfectionism. The beauty of unfinished pieces is that one can walk around them, examine the carvings and try to understand the master’s thought process up close.
While this practice seems unthinkable today, across the Mediterranean, ancient Greek and Roman structures were salvaged for building materials in subsequent centuries. Given the prevalence of the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages, pagan buildings were at best a curiosity. The Parthenon in Rome is said to have only survived because it was converted into a church.
The Pentelic marble used to construct ancient Athens proved to be too alluring for Byzantine builders. You can see blatant example of stone theft in the piece-meal construction of the 13th century Panagia Gorgoepikoos Church in Athens. While the materials were stolen, the care with which pieces were selected and incorporated suggests some appreciation for classical art.
13th Century Panagia Gorgoepikoos (The Madonna who Quickly Hears) Church, Athens (Image adapted from the web)
Map of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (Image: crystalinks.com)
While I am keeping a count of UNESCO World Heritage sites I have visited, I realized that I am quickly racking up the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. I saw 2 alone in Turkey! I should use the verb “saw” loosely as both sites are essentially destroyed but definitely a notable stop along the way.
Everyone knows Ephesus and its iconic library. Maybe you even know Troy or Alexander the Great’s Pergamon. These are wonderful archaeological sites, but if you are in Turkey and love classical ruins, you absolutely have to visit Aphrodisias. A mere side-note in most guidebooks, I found that Aphrodisias had some of the most impressive architectural and sculptural pieces in Turkey and was completely devoid of tourists when we visited.
Major archaeological sites in central western Turkey: Aphrodisias (A), Pamukkale/Hierapolis (P) and Ephesus (E) (Adapted from Google)
Daydream Tourist 