We have just concluded our first Criterion Film Festival Weekend. It was my choice for first festival, and I chose a three part TV series by Roberto Rossellini called "Age of the Medici." It lasts a total of 4 hours and 15'. We watched one part on Friday, another on Saturday, and the final part Monday. I had never heard of this series until I began browsing the Criterion Channel offerings. I knew I had to see this!
The only thing I did not like was having to read the endless and non-stop subtitles. The backgrounds, hair, and clothing were always fascinating to watch, but fast moving subtitles also needed to be read. Filmed in Venice, Florence, and Rome, among other places, the film is a joy to watch. Rossellini had become fed up with film, assuming it had peaked as was no longer encouraging any type of education or serious discussion. He was also not happy with the way educated people become specialists, and in his program he demonstrates his educational ideals in the person of Leon Battista Alberti, one of the greatest humanists to have ever lived. His character eventually becomes much more important in the series than that of Cosimo, who merely provides funds and encourages great minds and artists.
The series also does a good job of showing exactly how and why Florence was so important at this time, and what it meant not only for art and artists, but for Christianity as well. This is exactly the kind of series that most people today would watch for five minutes or less. And it is exactly the kind of series that would help the world have less of those shallow kinds of people in it. Bring of Star Wars episode #19! I have always admired the films of Rossellini, and thoroughly enjoyed the time spent watching this series.
In the spirit of the Renaissance, here is a work of art from the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Miniature Altarpiece with the Nativity and the Annunciation
To The Shepherds. Flemish, ca. 1520. 23 cm x 14 cm (open).
Detroit Institute of Arts
Detail of the central panel. I absolutely love the flock of sheep on the hill!
Detail of the lower tondo, showing gift bearing wise men.
This is one of the more unusual examples of landscape in art at the DIA. Such altars fold down into very small, thin objects, easy to carry with you on a journey. The craftsmanship has to be seen to be believed!
Further detail of the central panel.
A week of clouds and rain are now upon us, after three whole days with no rain. The astronomy session is now officially over. I managed four outings, better than average for the past few years. I finished up my work in Leo, which took 6 1/2 years of my Spring observing time. I have moved on to a new constellation, namely Coma Berenices. It, too, is filled to the brim with hundreds of galaxies, and will likely require several years of hard labour to complete.
Mapman Mike
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