Saturday, May 26, 2018

Palermo's National Archaeological Museum, 1

It was closed when we were there in 2011. Renovations. The renovations have progressed so far by 2018 that the ground floor is now open. It is a great educational museum, particularly devoted to the 5th century BC Greek temples at Selinunte, which we would visit shortly. It is so incredible that the Greeks' colonization of the Mediterranean antedated so much of classical Greece...
All of it in an old religious complex

Turtle love at a great fountain at the entrance

Our founder: anybody who creates a museum deserves a bust

Painted sarcophogus; slowly, we are realizing that everything was painted, in
classical times, and in medieval times too

An educational museum...


The Palermo museum's signature holdings are the metopes from Temple C at
Selinunte; very much like the Elgin Marbles of the Parthenon; except Selinunte
is older...

Perseus giving Medusa a trim

More 

Hercules battling an Amazon; not a Prime Amazon, however

Helpful model #204857

To us, the most amazing feature here was the gigantic representation of the
Gorgon, at the head of the pediment

Another metope: Actaeon being ripped apart by the dogs: never, ever, look upon
nekked goddesses in the woods

Where Legos got its start

Click to enlarge

The Gorgon at Temple C

Before they started writing on lines 
The usual collections of pots, pans, Bed, Bath & Beyond items

Museum guard hard at work

Monday, May 21, 2018

Flemish Painters In Sicily; And A Garden

After the chapel and its mosaics we visited a palace exhibit of Flemish paintings in Sicily--some old friends--and then the Royal Garden.
Alas, didn't get the name of this, the signature item of the
exhibit

Interesting entry into the exhibit hall

St. Agatha, Ignoto Pittore Flammingo; don't worry, she
was miraculously  healed, but died of other less dramatic
causes

Not sure what his martyrdom was about

Another Circumcision; Simone de Woebrek

And of course no collection of martyrdoms would be complete without a
disembowelment

Jan Provost, Deposition

Interesting Maddelina, Jan van Scorel

Beautiful Madonna con Bambino, Joos van Cleve

Gerard David, Annunciation


Top of the Porta Nuova, right next to the palace

Impressive ficus trees


With a pine growing right next to it

Back side of the royal palace

All over the island, the loquats are putting out fruit


Royal Chapel Mosaics, 2

I love this place...
Pantokrator zapping Adam

Adam giving birth to Eve

Moving right along..covering someone's nakedness

Ark disembarkment

Pulpit

Closer-up of Simon Magi flying

Baptism; this does not appear to be full immersion

Knightly feather-dancer

Ditto

The place is incredible

We are...climbing..Jacob's ladder

Esau shooting fish in a barrel; wait, no...

On to Egypt



Saul/Paul doing his thing


Interestingly, the ladies are 17th century; note their
expressiveness; wonder why?

It's OK, Noah, we've got 100% sunny skies for the next ten days

Interesting support for the mandorla

Don't forget the beautiful marble flooring throughout


The guidebooks say the chapel is unusual for having no Crucifixion scene...
but what is this?

Stalactite ceiling again

Drone view in which the stalactite aspect becomes clear