Monday, March 31, 2014

Rio della Fornace

Fondamenta Cà Balà, Rio della Fornace, Fondamenta Soranzo della Fornace, Venice

Fondamenta Cà Balà, Rio della Fornace, Fondamenta Soranzo della Fornace
Seen from Ponte San Gregorio, Dorsoduro
Venice, September 2013

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Sony Center

Sony Center Central Forum, Potsdamer Platz, Berlin

Central Forum, Sony Center
Potsdamer Platz
Berlin, September 2011

“In the reconstruction of Berlin, Sony Center stands for a new technical vision and order. It is not a building, but a part of the city. The spatial dynamics and variety is contrasted by a minimal and technological attitude. Light, both natural and artificial, is the essence of the design. Sony Center is luminous, not illuminated. Façades and roof act as a fabric which moderates the natural and artificial light. They become a screen. With its characteristics of transparency, permeability to light, reflection and refraction, there is a constant change of images and effects during day and night. Sony Center is a group of buildings for the new age of entertainment.” (Sony Center, Mimoa)

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Fontaine Molière

Molière by Bernard Seurre, Fontaine Molière, rue de Richelieu / rue Molière, Paris

Molière by Bernard Seurre, 1844
Fontaine Molière
Rue de Richelieu / rue Molière
Quartier du Palais-Royal, 1er arrondissement
Paris, July 2012

Friday, March 28, 2014

Ultima Cena

Ultima Cena, Last Supper by Domenico Ghirlandaio, Museo nazionale di San Marco, Florence

“Ultima Cena” (Last Supper) by Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1486
(A reduced scale version of the fresco in the church of Ognissanti)
Museo nazionale di San Marco
Florence, October 2013

See also: Cenacolo di Ognissanti

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Primo Chiostro

Primo chiostro, first cloister, church of San Salvador, Venice

Primo Chiostro (First Cloister)
Church of San Salvador (Holy Savior)
Campo San Salvador, San Marco
Venice, September 2013

See also: Secondo Chiostro

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

John Deere in London

London

A John Deere 3520 compact utility tractor
Duke of York's Headquarters
King's Road, Chelsea
London, October 2009

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Rue de l'Alboni

Passy metro station seen from rue de l'Alboni, quartier de la Muette, Paris

Passy metro station
Seen from rue de l'Alboni
Quartier de la Muette, 16th arrondissement
Paris, July 2012

Monday, March 24, 2014

Madonna delle Grazie Altar

Madonna delle Grazie altarpiece by Bernardo Daddi, church of Orsanmichele, Florence

“Madonna delle Grazie” altarpiece by Bernardo Daddi, 1347
Madonna delle Grazie altar
Orsanmichele
Via dell'Arte della Lana
Florence, December 2013

“The interior of Orsanmichele preserves its late gothic appearance almost intact: its square layout and the positioning of the piers recall the arrangement of the original open loggia. This explains the unusual position of the Madonna delle Grazie altar, not in the centre but to the right.” (Orsanmichele, The Museums of Florence)

See also: Christ and St. Thomas - San Luca - San Matteo - Santo Stefano

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Model and Photographers

Model and photographers at work, Campo Santo Stefano, Venice

Model and photographers at work
Campo Santo Stefano, San Marco
Venice, October 2013

See also: Model at Work - Photographers

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Bayonne Golf Club Clubhouse

Bayonne Golf Club clubhouse seen from the New York Bay, New York

Bayonne Golf Club clubhouse, Lefante Way, Bayonne, New Jersey
(On the left the Robbins Reef Lighthouse)
Seen from the New York Bay
New York, September 2008

“Site of a Standard Oil fire of July 1900, southern Constable Hook between Hook Road and Kill Van Kull still has oil docks and storage tanks including those of Exxon. Most of eastern Constable Hook was the 20th century Bayonne city dump, and now belongs to the Bayonne Golf Club, including a recreated lighthouse on the highest hill on the cape, serving as its clubhouse. The Robbins Reef Light actually serves to guide harbor traffic.” (Constable Hook, Wikipedia)

Friday, March 21, 2014

Monument to Victor Hugo

Monument to Victor Hugo by Auguste Rodin, avenue Victor-Hugo / avenue Henri Martin, Paris

Monument to Victor Hugo by Auguste Rodin, 1890
Avenue Victor-Hugo / avenue Henri Martin
Quartier de la Porte-Dauphine, 16th arrondissement
Paris, July 2012

“Rodin was awarded the commission in 1889. The sculptor chose to depict Victor Hugo in exile, seated amongst the rocks of Guernsey, his arm outstretched as if to calm the waves. It was an image both of the poet lost in contemplation and of the champion of the Republican cause.” (Monument to Victor Hugo, Musée Rodin)

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve, copy of the original bronze panel of the Gates of Paradise by Lorenzo Ghiberti, Baptistry of Saint John, Florence

“Adam and Eve”, copy of the original bronze panel of the
Porte del Paradiso (Gates of Paradise) by Lorenzo Ghiberti
Battistero di San Giovanni (Florence Baptistery)
Piazza del Duomo
Florence, October 2013

See also: Cain and Abel - Noah

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

The Last Train

The Last Train by Arbit Blatas, Campo del Ghetto Nuovo, Venice

“The Last Train” by Arbit Blatas, 1980
Campo del Ghetto Nuovo, Cannaregio
Venice, September 2013

“In 1993 his last sculpture, entitled ‘The Last Train’, was consecrated by the President of Italy on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Deportation. It stands permanently alongside the Monument of the Holocaust in the Historic Ghetto of Venice.” (Monument to the Holocaust, Arbit Blatas)

See also: Holocaust Memorial

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Theodor Mommsen

Theodor Mommsen by Adolf Brütt, Humboldt University, Unter den Linden, Berlin

Theodor Mommsen by Adolf Brütt, 1909
Humboldt University
Unter den Linden
Berlin, September 2011

“Brütt had been trained as a stone mason before he began his artistic education. Thus, throughout his life, knowledge about materials and craftsmanship were central in his understanding of art, which he passed on to his students.” (Weimar Modernism, Klassik Stiftung Weimar)

Monday, March 17, 2014

Kiran

Kiran Indian restaurant, rue Saint-Marc, Paris

“Kiran”, Indian restaurant (they spell it restaurent)
Rue Saint-Marc
Quartier Vivienne, 2nd arrondissement
Paris, July 2012

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Inside San Miniato

Florence

Basilica of San Miniato al Monte (St. Minias on the Mountain)
Viale dei Colli
Florence, October 2013

“The interior is extremely unusual, with the choir raised on a platform above the large crypt, and has changed little since it was first built. The patterned pavement dates from 1207. The centre of the nave is dominated by the beautiful freestanding Cappella del Crocefisso (Chapel of the Crucifix), designed by Michelozzo in 1448. It originally housed the miraculous crucifix now in Santa Trìnita and is decorated with panels long thought to be painted by Agnolo Gaddi. The terracotta decoration of the vault is by Luca della Robbia.” (San Miniato al Monte, Florence, Sacred Destinations)

See also: San Miniato al Monte

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Rio dell'Orso

Rio dell'Orso seen from Campo Santo Stefano, Venice

Rio dell'Orso
Seen from Campo Santo Stefano, San Marco
Venice, September 2013

Friday, March 14, 2014

New Zealand War Memorial

New Zealand War Memorial by John Hardwick-Smith and Paul Dibble, Hyde Park Corner, London

New Zealand War Memorial by architect John Hardwick-Smith and sculptor Paul Dibble
Hyde Park Corner traffic island
London, October 2009

“This memorial commemorates the enduring bonds between New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and our shared sacrifice during times of war. It is a symbol both of our common heritage, and of New Zealand's distinct national identity.”

“He whakamaharatanga tenei e whakanui ana i nga hononga kei waenganui i a Aotearoa me Piritana Nui, tapiri atu ki to raua tu tahi i nga wa o te pakanga. He tohu hoki tenei ki nga taonga tuku iho orite ki enei whenua, tae rawa ki te tuakiri ake o Aotearoa.”

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Lézard doré

Golden lizard, Pont Alexandre III, Port des Champs-Élysées, Paris

Golden lizard, Pont Alexandre III
Port des Champs-Élysées
Quartier des Champs-Élysées, 8th arrondissement
Paris, July 2011

See also: Golden Lizard - My Favorite Lizard

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Bersaglieri

Bersaglieri veterans, via dei Calzaiuoli, Florence

40° Raduno Regionale Toscano dell'Associazione Nazionale Bersaglieri
(40th Tuscan Regional Gathering of the Bersaglieri Veterans)
Via dei Calzaiuoli
Florence, October 2013

See also: Florentine Fanfare

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Corte Vecchia

Corte Vecia, Corte Vecchia seen from Ponte de la Saca, Cananregio, Venice

Corte Vecchia (Old Court)
Seen from the Ponte de la Saca, Cannaregio
Venice, September 2013

Monday, March 10, 2014

Tightrope Walker

Tightrope Walker by Kees Verkade, Revson Plaza, Columbia University, New York

“Tightrope Walker” by Kees Verkade, 1966-77
Revson Plaza, Columbia University
Morningside Heights
New York, September 2008

“When artist Kees Verkade was asked to make a memorial for General William J. Donovan, Class of 1907, he watched archived films of the war hero and interviewed his colleagues for inspiration. Verkade created the bronze sculpture ‘Tightrope Walker’ to portray Donovan’s courage and ‘controlled daring.’” (Flying Horses, Tightrope Walkers and Other Campus Icons, Columbia University Libraries)

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Maréchal Ferdinand Foch

Maréchal Ferdinand Foch by Robert Wlérick and Raymond Martin, place du Trocadéro-et-du-11-Novembre, Paris

Maréchal Ferdinand Foch by Robert Wlérick and Raymond Martin, 1951
Place du Trocadéro-et-du-11-Novembre
Quartier de Chaillot, 16th arrondissement
Paris, July 2012

Saturday, March 8, 2014

The Fountain of the Fork

Fontana del Nettuno (Neptune's fountain) by Stoldo Lorenzi, Giardino di Boboli (Boboli Gardens), Florence

Fontana del Nettuno (Neptune's fountain) by Stoldo Lorenzi, 1571
Giardino di Boboli (Boboli Gardens)
Florence, October 2013

“They had reached the end of La Cerchiata's leafy tunnel and dashed across an open lawn into a grove of cork trees. Now they were looking out at the Boboli's most famous spouting fountain—Stoldo Lorenzi's bronze of Neptune clutching his three-pronged trident. Irreverently known by locals as ‘The Fountain of the Fork,’ this water feature was considered the central point of the gardens.” (Dan Brown, Inferno)

Friday, March 7, 2014

Legatoria Piazzesi

Legatoria Piazzesi, Piazzesi Bookbindery, Campiello della Feltrina, San Marco, Venice

Legatoria Piazzesi (Piazzesi Bookbindery)
Campiello della Feltrina, San Marco
Venice, September 2013

“Piazzesi Bookbindery was born in Venice in 1851. No other similar enterprise is known at the time or before Piazzesi’s start in the Western World. Piazzesi is now renovating itself, in order to keep up with the times, but it’s not changing, remaining in the same place where it was founded over 145 years ago, and keeping its unique atmosphere, full of history, culture, elegance, simplicity, refinement, genuinity. It’s inimitable and bound to last in time, because of the total superiority of the quality of its well known products and the matchless spirit that moves it and marks it.” (The Piazzesi Bookbindery is the First ‘Paper Shop’ in Europe, Antica Legatoria Piazzesi)

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Segways in Berlin

Segways in Panoramastraße, Berlin

Segways
Panoramastraße
Berlin, September 2011

“Unfortunately, we cannot rent our Segways out to individuals without a guide because of Berlin government stipulations. Since our tours are virtually always full, we need all machines for our tour customers.” (Frequently Asked Questions, City Segway Tours)

See also: Segways - Segways in Florence

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Hotel Jeanne d’Arc

Hôtel Jeanne d'Arc plaque, rue de Jarente, Le Marais, Paris

Hôtel Jeanne d'Arc
Rue de Jarente, Le Marais
Quartier Saint-Gervais, 4th arrondissement
Paris, July 2012

“About the only thing wrong with this gorgeous address is that everyone knows about it, meaning you need to book well in advance to snag one of its cosy, excellent value rooms. Games to play, a painted rocking chair for tots in the bijou lounge, knick knacks everywhere and the most extraordinary mirror in the breakfast room create a real ‘family home’ air to this 35-room house. The pièce de résistance: the 6th-floor attic room with sweeping, Paris rooftop view.” (Hôtel Jeanne d’Arc, Lonely Planet)

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Pope Leo XIII

Funerary monument of Pope Leo XIII, Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, Rome

Funerary monument of Pope Leo XIII by Giulio Tadolini, 1907
Archbasilica of St. John Lateran
Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano
Rome, April 2013

Monday, March 3, 2014

Campiello del Remer

Campiello del Remer, Cannaregio, Venice

Campiello del Remer
Cannaregio
Venice, September 2013

“The Campiello del Remer is tucked away, right off of a main walking street. It’s not easy to find the first time, but worth it once you get there. An old carved stone well sits in the center of the campiello, with doors to private residences/rentals, a guesthouse and the Taverna al Remer.” (Our beloved Campiello del Remer, Nosy Parker)

Sunday, March 2, 2014

The Enterprise

Mosaic for the The Enterprise pub by Tessa Hunkin,Red Lion Street, Holborn, London

A mosaic for the “The Enterprise” pub, by Tessa Hunkin
Red Lion Street, Holborn
London, October 2009

“This is a sign for a pub in Red Lion Street, Holborn, London. The pub is named after a 19th century sailing ship that travelled to the Arctic in search of the missing explorer Sir John Franklin in 1852. The mosaic shows the ship in full sail watched by a polar bear on a floating iceberg.” (The Enterprise, Tessa Hunkin, Mosaic and Electronic Crafts)

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Rafale & Mirages

Boeing C135, one Rafale, two Mirages F1CR, Bastille Day flyby, Paris

A Boeing C135 aerial refueling aircraft followed by a Rafale and two Mirages F1CR
Bastille Day flyover
Avenue des Champs-Élysées
Quartier des Champs-Élysées, 8th arrondissement
Paris, July 2012