The Bargello

So it turns out that I deleted the photo of the statue of the unnamed 15th century Genoese gentleman who looked like Marty Feldman, but if you go here you'll see exactly how the statue looked.

That disappointment doesn't distract from the Bargello being my favorite Florence museum so far. We found out at the end that we weren't supposed to take photos, when I was reprimanded for trying to find the best angle for Michelangelo's bust of Brutus (the contemporary context for the piece being one or other of the Medicis then recent assassination of one or another local despotic ruler). But I captured a number of nuggets before then.

Anyway, the Bargello is the old Police Chief's headquarters now used as the major gallery for sculpture. Its big name pieces are some early works by Michelangelo, but it's stuffed with other treasures too. My highlights were:
1.the several Donatello works. I'd not seen much of his so far except an awesome bronze of St Ludovic in Santa Croce basilica.


The imposing St George in the Bargello seems similar the to St Ludovic but does a better job of holding your gaze and worrying you that if you turn your back he may step down from his perch and start smiting.


I particularly liked this impishly deviant looking raver of a Cupid. He's got the underdressed but smart look that the early hours rump of last year's Berlin stag party needed when they were turned away from the gay club.


2. The numerous Giambologna pieces, every one of which worth as long as you can spare. His superiority to his contemporaries demonstrated amply by a collection of a dozen or so studies of birds; half of which made by him, half by rivals. His are riven by movement and rough edges, the others are smooth casts with feathers and details scored onto the surface. Foolishly I didn't take any comparative shots.

A Giambologna turkey

As with last year's trip to the Prado in Madrid and Goya, Velazquez, Bosch etc, I was naively taken aback that such work was being done so long ago.

3. The incredible reliefs sculpted/carved(?) by various artists. I'd never though much of them until this trip, and following the Pisa cathedral doors last week we saw the Ghiberti and Brunelleschi sketches for the Florence Baptistry doors competition this time.
My favourite relief was the one below, a section of the Barbarians versus the Romans by Bertoldo di Giovanni:


4. Finally, the intricately carved ivory from across Europe from the 10th century onwards. You could well imagine someone spending their extra cash on some tiny carved trinket with a religious scene on it then inviting the Grande Formaggio from the next parish to come round to spend the evening admiring it. I'd have thought that to have so many as the Bargello does in one place would probably astound your average medieval bigwig more than all the paintings we've seen.

The only disappointment, as such, was that I really couldn't get into the glazed terracotta of the Della Robbia clan, of which The Bargello has an ample collection. The technique really sucks the life out of what might otherwise be attractive sculptures. Maybe in context, on the wall of a parochial church or the townhouse of some local burgher they might seem more appropriate, but to be displayed alongside genuinely vibrant works here their restraint makes them seem a pale waste of time.

But the Bargello was well worth the €4 entrance fee several times over. It may not have the grandstand pieces of other museums but it would be the one I'd recommend to a Florence visitor looking for something more interesting than the usual suspects.