Our plan was to return P to her parents in Venice for their week there, allowing us a day in Padua and then three days at a campground outside Venice, mostly for P to enjoy the pool and playground, but also to permit a day's reconnaissance in the Watery City.
But first, Padua, and the Scrovegni Chapel. We
visited the Chapel first in 2011, part of our art history lessons of that year. The Chapel, aka the Arena Chapel, is Ground Zero for the origins of Renaissance art: here, in 1303-1305, Giotto did his signature work, a chapel's worth of frescoes on the life of Mary, Jesus,
et al., that every succeeding Renaissance artist of note came to study. It's another of those fascinating intersections of history, art, and literature. The Scrovegnis were notorious usurers, and Dante had already written of their damnation in the
Inferno. But the Scrovegnis, incredibly wealthy, fought back, hoping to procure churchly, if not heavenly favor by building a special chapel on their estate (formerly, way back when, the Roman
Arena) and commissioning Giotto to see to its interior.
Fine. Very early Renaissance art. Frescoes. Halos. Blood and gore. Sweetness and light. How do you think you're going to get a second grader through this? You ask. Well, she's an extraordinary 7 year old, well-read, by any standard, respectful and thoughtful. She knows the stuff she's seeing is of surpassing significance, even if she doesn't get it all. (Who does?) Her parents have seen to her having sufficient background to understand a great deal of it, providing her with a kids' Bible and answering her questions. (P devours anything there is to read, so the kids' Bible was no problem: just more interesting stories, like the classical myths she's already devoured (with a name like Penelope, you're going to want to know about classical myths)). Anyhow, she's a delight, and the 15 minutes in the Arena Chapel, preceded, helpfully, by a 15 minute video, was a snap. She even knows the attributes of some of the saints and apostles and can spot them very readily.
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The day started with a tram ride from the sosta into town and the very door of
the Chapel; we arrived an hour or more early and spent it in the adjoining public
park where P found a class of youngsters her age on recess; her Italian is not so
good, but, happily, these kids were studying English! |
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| Interior of the Padua city museum complex that houses the Chapel |
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| Scrovegni Chapel; consecrated 1305 or so |
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Now inside, looking abaft; only small parties are allowed for 15 minutes; but,
nowadays, fotos are permitted; the stern, west end, is the Judgment |
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The Inferno, closer-up; here one can see at least some similarity with Buffalmacco's
later Inferno |
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| The boring bits: Paradise |
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| Back to Hell; detail |
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| Ditto |
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| Ditto again; eternal ouch! |
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Looking forward now to the altar, etc.; despite my preoccupation with Hell,
now you can see that most of the Chapel consists of these side panels, depicting
the lives of Mary, Jesus, et al,, plus, in the lowest register, on the port side, the
7 vices, and on the starboard, the 7 virtues; we'll get to them |
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| Muy famoso, and personal favorite, the betrayal Kiss |
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| Last Supper |
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| Judas' very light halo treatment |
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| Floor-up starboard view; coronation of Mary, up high |
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| Lamentation |
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| Ascension |
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| Touchy topic for the Scrovegnis: throwing the money-changers out of the Temple |
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| Altar and sculpture |
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| Deposition |
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| OK, so it's a bit out of order; my presentation, that is |
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| The Vices and Virtues are monochrome; Envy |
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| Too many carbs |
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| And a Parthian shot the guard let me linger to get |
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Remaining walls of the Arena; the city museum complex has a huge collection
of mostly Venetian paintings, 16th-17th century which we breezed through; we
were ready to move on to Venice |
