Vienna, Mumok, 2022
Mumok, the museum of modern art in Vienna has a stunning collection of more than 10,000 modern and contemporary works. It is the largest museum in Central Europe for art since modernism.
Vienna, Giacometti's Sculptures, 1960 Walking Man I
During his life, Alberto Giacometti was absorbed by self-doubts. His statues are often interpreted as an expression of the existential fear, insignificance, and loneliness of humankind. "Walking Man" is the impression of people hurrying their lives in a big city. Some say, he saw them as "a succession of moments of stillness", meaning we exist only in the present – one moment at a time.
Domenico Gnoli, Green Bust, 1969
Domenico Gnoli was fascinated with trivial everyday objects surrounding us. These are the main protagonists in his pictures: he isolates them from their usual contexts, enlarges, and paints them onto full-size canvasses. This method has a strange effect on our brains – we render familiar objects in a different way.
Vienna, Museumsquartier, 2022
MuseumsQuartier is a large area in the district of Vienna, Austria. It serves as a home to a number of art museums in the city (MUMOK, Leopold Museum, Architekturzentrum Wien).
Streets of Vienna, 2022
A ceiling of SO\ Vienna Hotel, 2022
SO\ Vienna, 2022
After only three days in Vienna, I developed a crush on this hotel. The view of downtown Vienna, sleek modern interiors, and dream-like art with breathtaking rooftops. I ordered cocktails to compliment the scenery, and that charmed me very much.
Sicily, 2022
There are more than 10 active volcanos located in Sicily. Mount Etna, one of them, is the tallest active volcano in Europe. Among other things, a number of pistachio trees and grape plantations are located on the slopes of Etna. Because of its rich history and cultural diversity, the island is famous for its delicious cuisine with Italian, Greek, Spanish, French, and even Arab influences.
Rome, 2022
Rome has touched me in its own sweet and chaotic way. The term “la dolce vita” (a sweet life) describes an Italian lifestyle that revolves around food, relationships, nature, and small things. Besides its beauty, Italy is also known for its painful bureaucracy, lines in the postal office, slow public transportation, stressful roads, and often cray-cray drivers. For me, the question of whether “la dolce vita” truly exists for everyday working Italian or is it just a fairytale in the eyes of passing tourists remains open.
Undoubtedly, if you are ready for adventure, Italy has plenty of inspiration and romance to offer, and surely worth the trip. However, there is something else that we all may agree on, wherever you are – you can still create your own “la dolce vita”.
Florence, 2022
Prior to this train ride from Rome to Florence, which only took around 1 hour and 30 minutes, I took another high-speed train from Munich to Vienna. That trip was only around 4 hours long. European trains felt quick and relaxing. Besides, I heard that train travel sparks creativity and often a lot of new ideas are born in the presence of the beautiful landscape sceneries.
Florence itself was colorful despite a gloomy day. A renaissance architecture that was first developed in Florence by Filippo Brunelleschi and later spread all over Europe is distinguished by an emphasis on symmetry, proportion, and geometry. After sightseeing and visiting Florence Cathedral, I stopped by some local shops and purchased fantastic handmade earrings, chatted with a couple of locals, and enjoyed marvelous cloud-like soft tiramisu.
Somewhere in Italy, 2022
Vatican City, Rome, 2022
While the Vatican as an organization is the subject of many controversial political, social, and religious discussions I want to focus on the exorbitant Vatican's art collection. Some estimate the total value of the Vatican-owed art pieces to be around 10 to 15 billion USD. But for a historian or an artist, this collection is priceless. As they often point out, “these pieces belong to humanity". In one physical location, we can observe thousands of years of human history in a form of the arguably best architecture, sculptures, and paintings humans have ever produced. You can spend hours, or maybe days walking around (the only issue for me was the crowdedness). I was there for only about 3 hours, but still saw every artist I could possibly think of from Michelangelo (Sixteen Chapel ceiling), Raphael, Caravaggio, Leonardo Da Vinchi, to the last century Van Gogh, Gauguin, Medardo Rosso, and many others.
That's me, 2022 ^_^
Thank you for reading! (◕‿◕)
Comentários