Last week here in Italy was ‘Settimana dei Beni Culturali’, an annual event that offers everyone free admission to all national galleries and museums. This year we decided to go to Parma, which is just an hour up the road from us, and to visit, amongst other things, La Galleria Nazionale which is housed in Il Palazzo della Pilotta.
Our occasional days out in the city, trying to absorb relatively minute portions of the vast array of treasures that reside here in Italy, always leave us replete but rimbischeriti! (mentally exhausted!, see my blog Che Stanchezza part 2). However, amongst the blurred amalgam of memories from our trip to Parma, two in particular stand out: Il Teatro Farnese, about which I will write in a future blog, and ‘un ritratto incantevole di Leonardo da Vinci detto ‘La Scapigliata” (an enchanting portrait by Leonardo da Vinci called ‘La Scapiglita’).
Wandering through seemingly endless corridor-like rooms, adorned with the usual religious works of art that fill just about every gallery in Italy, we turned a corner into a small dimly lit area where Geoff, by this stage already reaching the rincretinito (brain dead) stage, glanced to his left and stood transfixed, mouth open for several seconds before exclaiming "Leonardo!"
The sudden unexpected appearance of this small portrait, only 21 by 25 centimeters, so full of tenerezza (tenderness), of stillness and movement, almost seeming to contain an inner light, ci faceva venire i brividi lungo la schiena! (made our spines tingle!)
Scapigliata means disheveled, and is related to the word capigliatura (hair), hence the name ‘La Scapigliata’ (‘The Girl with Disheveled Hair’). The painting, executed in olio su tavola (oil on board), is dated to around 1508, and is described as ‘unfinished’, yet to me it is perfect just as it is. I have always loved bozzetti (artists sketches) much more than ‘finished’ works of art which so often loose that sense of spontaneous passion expressed by the artist whilst under the influence of his/her initial spark of ispirazione (inspiration, from the word inspirare, meaning ‘to breath in the divine influence’). It was fascinating to stand aside and observe the effect that this little artistic gem had on everyone who turned that corner and laid their eyes on it. Young and old stood mesmerized, reverential, speaking in hushed voices before a work of genius created just over 500 years ago.
Adesso basta! (that’s enough), because words are futile in the face of such beauty. However, if you wish to know more about La Galleria Nazionale di Parma, and the works contained therein, here is a link to to a wiki page (in Italian) dealing with the subject:
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galleria_nazionale_di_Parma
Comments:
Jeannet:
…..’words are futile in the face of such beauty’ – si,
certo!
Ciao Serena,
Grazie mille. Per via di ‘the link’ ho fatto giusto
una vista lunga alla Galleria Nazionale di Parma,
in silencio…che bellezza!
saluti di Jeannet
Carolina:
Bellissimo questo ritratto! Non ho mai visto. Grazie! Ora e’ uno dei miei preferiti!
Serena,
Mi piace tantissimo il tuo blog. Mi piace come mescoli italiano con inglese. E’ creativo per un blog. Anch’io insegno italiano, pero, preferisco il metodo d’immersione totale nell’insegnamento.
Saluti da Carolina
serena:
@Carolina Salve Carolina, benvenuta nel mio blog e grazie per i complimenti.
Lo scopo di questo blog non è di insegnare l’italiano, ma di far conoscere la cultura italiana agli stranieri, e siccome lavoriamo per Transparent.com ci è richiesto di scrivere in inglese (americano), perché molti lettori non sanno bene l’italiano. Quando insegnavo l’italiano in Inghilterra anch’io preferivo il metodo full-immersion (caso mai, qua in Italia usiamo il termine americano ‘full-immersion’ anche se la maggior parte della gente non sa cosa vuol dire!).
Saluti e buona fortuna col tuo lavoro da Serena
Vince Mooney:
Salve Serena:
I thought there was one day a week when museums were open for free so the poor people could experience their national heritage. Do you know if this is true?
Also, is there anything in that picture which makes you sure it is a woman? It looks a lot like Michelangelo’s David. I wonder which work was done first.
Vince
serena:
@Vince Mooney Bentornato Vince, mi chiedevo: ‘che fine ha fatto il nostro Vince? è tanto che non si fa sentire’
Unfortunately we don’t have the ‘one day a week admission free’, however, with the exception of the well known museums that get visited by thousands of tourists, such as Gli Uffizi in Firenze, many national museums are quite reasonably priced, e.g. Il Museo Archeologico in Parma, that we visited last week for free would only normally cost 2 euros.
Regarding your question about the gender of ‘La Scapigliata’, well I suppose that, given the title, the consensus is that the subject is female, otherwise it would be called ‘Lo Scapigliato’! Michelangelo’s ‘David’ was done between 1501 and 1504, therefore just prior to the presumed date for the creation of Leonardo’s portrait.
P.S. I’m sure you will make an interesting contribution to my blog ‘L’Italia in Cinque Parole’ which I’ll be publishing later this week!
Jan:
Grazie for the detail on Parma!! I will be there in 10 days and look forward to experiencing ‘La Scapilgliata’ and the Teatro di Farnese.
serena:
@Jan Salve Jan, ti auguro una buona vacanza.
Saluti da Serena
Barbara Romano:
Grazie moltissimo per il suo blog con il mescolanza del’inglese ed italiano. E’ perfetto per me, perche’ sto imparando la bella lingua italiana!
Anche per noi, ci faceva venire i brividi lungo la schiena quando io ed mio marito abbiamo visto Il Cenacolo, in Santa Maria della Grazie a Milano in 2004.
serena:
@Barbara Romano Salve Barbara, sono molto contenta che trovi utile il mio blog.
Io ho visitato il Cenacolo di Leonardo tantissimi anni fa quando era stato appena restaurato: è stata un’esperienza favolosa.
Saluti da Serena
russ:
Serrena, e’ la prima volta che ho visitato il suo blog. Mi piace molto. Grazie.
Sto imparando l’italiano e sto pensando di studiare in Italia quest’ estate, ma non so essatamente dove. Preferirei stare in una citta piccola. Anche, mi piacerebbe vivire con una familia. Hai qualche idee?
Grazie, Russ
serena:
@russ Salve Russ!
Sorry for the delay, we’ve had a ‘little’ problem with our car in that it’s been ‘remodeled’ by some tourists!
We live near Pontremoli, a small friendly town in the north of Tuscany. If you are interested I have one or two friends who might be able to accommodate you, including one who has a small bed & breakfast. Let me know what you think and I will pass on the details via our administration.
Saluti da Serena
Macella:
Mi piace molte il tuo blog. La pintura e molto bella. I love that you incorporate English and Italian. I am learning the language so any new words that i can pick upare grealy appreciated. Grazie per tuo lavoro, I lov learning about the culture and learing language by what you say and what others say