Kim

Just wondering what everyone's favorite piece of art is in Europe? I'm not an art lover by any means, but Michelangelo's Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel really stuck with me. We got shooed out of the Chapel at closing time by those annoying museum security guards, but I could have looked at it for at least another hour. Anyone else have something they particularly like and go see whenever they're in the city?

Red

I spent quite a long time sitting on the bench "behind" the Statue of David, if you know what I mean.

Lindsey

My first sight of Caravaggio's 'The Beheading of St John the Baptist' in St John's Cathedral in Valetta, Malta, was an awesome moment. The painting had just gone back on display after an amazing restoration, which took years and cost millions, and the depth of the work was simply breathtaking. A definite artistic high!

Uncle Sam

1. Sculpture...."David", nothing else comes close! A distant second, "The Gates of Hell" by Rodin. Most over rated, "Venus de Milo", looks like about 1000 others.<BR><BR>2. Painting..."The Nightwatch" by Rembrandt. Amazing how the use of light works in that painting. A close seconf any painting by any other impressionist!<BR><BR>3. Most over rated....Mona Lisa...what a major disappointment!<BR><BR>US

Capo

Two of my favorite pieces of art, both sculptures by Bernini, are in the Borghese Gallery in Rome: Apollo and Daphne, and Pluto and Proserpina. I love the way Bernini portrays Daphne at the moment she's turning into a tree, with leaves sprouting from her fingertips, and I thought the way Bernini showed Pluto's fingers digging deep into Proserpina's thigh was amazing.<BR><BR>I can't remember who did it, or what it's called, but another of my favorites is another sculpture, in the Frari church in Venice. It's for someone's tomb and it's a powerful piece with four muscular, towering jet-black Moors in white robes glaring down at the observer. You can almost feel their eyes piercing you.

Janda

I love the mosiac floors in St. Marks in Venice. AMAZING !!

Anna

I totally agree with Capo - the sculpture that I loved was in the Borghese Museum in Rome. <BR><BR>It was by Bernini and I think it was called 'The Rape of....' (can't think of the rest of the name at the moment), but it's the same one Capo recommened - I absolutely amazed at how Bernini was able to show Pluto's hand pressing onto Proserpina's thigh.<BR><BR>We saw this before we saw the David in Florence, and Bernini's sculpture totally blows the David away!

Carin

I think it is the Rape of Proserpina. (???)

Capo

Pluto and Proserpina: <BR><BR>http://www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/en/eproserp.htm<BR><BR>Also, Borghese Gallery home page:<BR><BR>http://www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/en/edefault.htm<BR><BR>And the website below has a photo and description of this funeral monument (of Doge Giovanni Pesaro) in Venice's Frari church:<BR><BR>http://www.ciaovenezia.com/frari/leftaisle.htm<BR><BR>Of the four gigantic Moors, the website says: "They simply look alive!" and that's very true.

Jane

Perhaps it was because it was my first trip to Europe and my first opportunity to see a masterpiece "up close and personal", but when I walked into the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and saw "The Nightwatch" I was completely in awe. I've since been to many other museums and seen many other beautiful works of art, but that first experience has always remained my favorite.

jw

Hi. Thanks for starting this good thread. I've been thinking about your question, and I remember one particular painting from the collection which is now in the Musee d'Orsay (I saw it in the Jeu de Paume years ago). <BR><BR>It's "Reading" by Edouard Manet, and it's a painting of a seated young woman in white with a gentleman in the shadows reading (poetry?) to her. The light simply shimmers over the fabrics and the brushstrokes are wonderful and the moment is spellbinding. J.

Jen

Great question, Kim.<BR><BR>I'll throw my vote in with Capo and Anna. The work of Bernini just mesmerizes me. While most people seem to flock to the statue of Apollo & Daphne, I am always drawn to Pluto & Proserpina.<BR><BR>Also, I am humorously fond of what I nicknamed "The Palatine Pinky Toe." As the name implies, it is on the Palatine Hill. It is this great big sandaled foot missing all of its toes, save one.

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

Another vote for Borghese e Bernini.

elvira

The Water Lilies at Marmottan - sitting in a room surrounded by them was profound.<BR><BR>Rodin's sculptures of women's heads - this man loooooved women. I always feel happy when I look into those faces.<BR><BR>The Frank Lloyd Wright room at the V&A

kathy pompe

Two favorites for me. Matthais Grinewald's Isenheim Altarpiece in the Musee Unterlinden, Colmar, France, and The Altar of Zeus and Athena in the Pergamon Museum, Berlin, Germany. Since these are such large works and completely command the space that the viewer stands in, the experience one receives is that of being included in the artwork itself. Grunewald's imagination and use of color is incredible, as are the emotional expressions on the faces of the figures in the Altar of Zeus and Athena.

Judy

<BR>"Piera",the unfinished sculpture by Michelangelo in Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence.<BR><BR>"Peach Blossoms" in Van Gohg Museum in Amsterdam.<BR><BR>The breathtaking seaview from Tate Gallery in St.Ives.

carol

Any cell in the Museo San Marco (the Fra Angelico museum), the Donatello sculpture of Mary Magdalene in Florence (either in the Bargello or the Museo del Duomo), the Pinturicchio frescoes in the Piccolomini library in the Siena Duomo, the astounding Veronese frescoes in the church in Venice whose name escapes me, the stained glass windows in Ste. Chappelle and Chartres.

Jess

While my favorite piece from my recent trip to Italy is the Apollo & Daphne, my greatest "moment" was seeing the Dying Gaul at the Capitoline Museum. In all the photos I've seen (and as a art histry major, I've seen tons)I never before noticed his mustache! It was sort of an epiphany for me--no matter how much you study or think you know about art, unless you have seen it person you know nothing.

Julie

For me it's Klimt's Judith in the Belvedere in Vienna. I'm also very fond of the art nouveau furniture rooms in the Musee d'Orsay.

dan woodlief

Another vote for Bernini at Borghese - as beautiful as it gets. Wonderful detail and motion in his works. <BR><BR>David at the Accademia - an obvious choice but for good reasons. The most spectacular piece of art I have seen.<BR><BR>The Rodin Museum in Paris. I don't know if I could name one favorite in particular. I just love the emotion in his work.<BR><BR>