THE UFFIZI GALLERY- BY SAMUEL HILT -- PART 5

THE TOP 30 PAINTINGS TO VISIT IN 
FLORENCE'S GREATEST ART MUSEUM

Hilt brilliantly brings life to Da Vinci's Leda and the Swan, Michelangelo's Doni Tondo, Raphael's Portrait of Pope Leo X, Vasari's Forge of Vulcan, Fra Angelico's Coronation of the Virgin and dozens of other Renaissance classics that hang in the fabled Uffizi.

When he is not helping us differentiate between the traits of Adam and Eve by Albrecht Durer vs. Lukas Cranach, Hilt is a longtime tour guide who splits his time between Siena and California while operating Tuscany Tours.

This book can be purchased for $12.95 by contacting:

WWW.TUSCANYTOURS.COM

THE UFFIZI GALLERY- BY SAMUEL HILT -- PART 4

THE TOP 30 PAINTINGS TO VISIT IN 
FLORENCE'S GREATEST ART MUSEUM

Hilt, who layers in plenty of expert detailing in such a brief, easy to carry book, cannot resist engaging the common man by being a little cheeky in the following sentences about the much-visited Primavera and Birth of Venus:

"Another thing we know about these two paintings is that they were intended for the edification of the adolescent nephew of Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of Florence."

"We know something, even today, about teenage boys and pictures of beautiful naked women, so we can be fairly sure that he was not unhappy with this gift."

"But we also know that Lorenzo was the patron of the Florentine Platonic academy and that he and his cousin, Lorenzo di Pierifrancesco, probably had a more complex agenda in mind when they commissioned the work from Botticelli."

The Uffizi Gallery book review continues tomorrow Oct. 9

 

This book can be purchased for $12.95 by contacting:

WWW.TUSCANYTOURS.COM

TTHE UFFIZI GALLERY- BY SAMUEL HILT -- PART 3

THE TOP 30 PAINTINGS TO VISIT IN 

FLORENCE'S GREATEST ART MUSEUM

Why can't more people write as conversationally as Sam Hilt?

On Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera, Hilt notes:

"One of the first things worth noting about these two paintings is that they were among the first large-size paintings during the Renaissance to depict mythological subjects."

"Mythological themes were common on decorative platters and household furnishings, but, before Botticelli, painting on this scale was reserved for altarpieces with Christian themes."

"Simply by working on this scale Botticelli invites us to treat these images with a degree of seriousness not usually devoted to mythological topics."

 

The Uffizi Gallery book review continues tomorrow Oct.8

This book can be purchased for $12.95 by contacting:

WWW.TUSCANYTOURS.COM

THE UFFIZI GALLERY -- BY SAMUEL HILT -- PART 2

THE TOP 30 PAINTINGS TO VISIT IN 

FLORENCE'S GREATEST ART MUSEUM

Consider author Hilt's mom and pop explanation of Madonna and Child paintings by Duccio and Giotto:

"If you ever take an art history class or consult any guidebook about Renaissance art, you would find that Giotto's Ognissanti painting of the Madonna and Child is always celebrated as an important early use of perspective and as a milestone in the evolution of Western art."

"It's typically treated as an `advance' over Duccio's work because Giotto's figures appear to have physical mass and weight, and the painting shows considerable skill in the use of perspective to create spatial depth."

"But this is much the same as saying that the movie version of Troy starring Brad Pitt is a great advance over Homer's telling of the tale."

"After all, the movie actually shows us the battles and the blood spurting, whereas the in the book we have to imagine them."

This from a PhD!

The Uffizi Gallery book review continues tomorrow Oct.7

This book can be purchased for $12.95 by contacting:

WWW.TUSCANYTOURS.COM

THE UFFIZI GALLERY -- BY SAMUEL HILT -- PART 1

THE TOP 30 PAINTINGS TO VISIT IN 

FLORENCE'S GREATEST ART MUSEUM

The thing that scares away some fledgling art fans from art literature is the pretentious stuffiness of some books.

Just when we have visited a famous museum and want to learn more, our enthusiasm is dampened by a stuffy author.

We are made to feel stupid is we cannot instantly state 10 things that distinguish Botticelli from Bronzino.

There is zero pretention in The Uffizi Gallery -- The Top 30 Paintings to Visit in Florence's Greatest Art Museum.

In this 60-page book, Samuel Hilt has authored the most down to earth art guide in the history of publishing.

The Uffizi Gallery book review continues tomorrow Oct.6

This book can be purchased for $12.95 by contacting:

WWW.TUSCANYTOURS.COM