Saturday, May 17, 2008

Bassoonists in the Capitoline

Today, we visited both of the Capitoline Museums. They are on the Monte Capitolini and were designed by Michelangelo. Both the Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazza Nuovo contain countless pieces of priceless art. There are rooms literally filled with paintings, sculptures, busts, and other works. Among the important works they contain, and it is difficult to keep track of all of it, I found these porcelain figures of both male and female bassoonists.

Both of the figures were being kept behind glass which made them difficult to photograph. This was actually odd as most of the art in the Capitoline Museums is kept out in the open without the protection of glass or even a velvet rope. I had to remind myself over and over again that these pieces of art (some of which are furniture) are not supposed to be touched. The lack of physical barriers, something most US museums employ ad nauseam, and the attractiveness of much of the art made proper museum behavior difficult.

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