EUROPE 11: Milan 13-15 May Part 2

copied from internet

Pinateca di Brera houses the top school of art in Milan and many old masterpieces. Napoleon had a grandiose statue of himself placed in the central courtyard. We walked around for an incredible 2 hours, enjoying the paintings (and the well-placed comfortable seats for viewing the larger displays). No photography allowed. A major exhibition of the works of Hayez, a 19^th C local master, featured his much-admired Il Bacio and several large paintings dealing with the family Foscari - Francesco, the Doge of Venice in the 14th C, banished his son Jacopo.

copied from internet

San Marco in Alexandra by Bellini showed Mark preaching in a huge square with exotic touches including a camel and a giraffe, just before his execution. None of the internet images come near to an accurate reproduction.

The next day, on the tour, we had the set time of 15 minutes to view da Vinci’s Last Supper (we saw many suppers in paintings – just look for the word cena).

No photography is allowed of the original but a copy is housed in the next room. Da Vinci used a new technique on dry plaster which enabled many tones and much repainting. A Crucifixion opposite used the old wet plaster method which required quick work and no retouching – it was painted in one week; da Vinci took 3 years, not continuously. However, da Vinci's technique was not durable - 19 years later it had deteriorated. By the time Jesus' feet were obscured by the kitchen door 154 years later, the painting was barely visible. THAT book, da Vinci code, apparently posits that the figure to the left of Jesus is Mary. Our guide pointed out that the custom was to depict youths in what we would see as a feminine fashion, as seen with John (11 years old) and James.

Ludovic spoke of the Milanese attitude - look to the future. Thus there are very few Roman ruins and many modern sculptures.

A pity that we did not see an opera at La Scala - the exterior is very modest and Greek in style. Our guide showed us the Castle Sferzo where da Vinci lived from age 30 to 55 years.

We spent our last afternoon in Milan at an extraordinary cemetery, abounding in bronzes, extravagant mausoleums and crypts.