inSPIREd Sunday

This is the chapel of St. John the Baptist
in the Frari church, in Venice . . .

and here's a closer look 
at Donatello's ascetic Baptist,
sculpted in wood 579 
years ago.

[To see more churches from
around the world, go here.]

art in Venice

I love to visit Venice when the Biennale
is taking place.  Even if you don't attend the 
exhibition itself, you'll find random art
installations all around the city
—a good reminder to always look up.

[Linking back to Blue Monday
at Magical Mystery Teacher.]

inSPIREd Sunday

Light and shadow in a quiet corner
of Saint Peter's basilica.

[To see more churches from around
the world, go here.  Also linking back
to Shadow Shot Sunday.]

a head of her time

In the Capitoline Museum, in Rome:
I don't know who sculpted this
bust of a Roman lady from many, many
years ago—but I'm blown away
by the folds and patterns in that marble!

She's joined by a few dozen
of her compatriots.

[Linking back to Macro Monday.]

"Tanglewood"

That's the name of this self-supporting (!)
sculpture by Shayne Dark at
the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.  It's
made of reclaimed and painted cedar logs.
(Do you suppose that when it's
time to un-install it, they'll just pull
out one strategic log and the whole thing
will come crashing down?)

[Linking back to Blue Monday
at Backyard Neighbor.]

inSPIREd Sunday

This 17th-century angel Gabriel (by
Gian Lorenzo Bernini!) lives in l'eglise 
de Saint Bruno, Bordeaux's first baroque 
church, built in 1611.

[To see more churches from around
the world, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

This statue, in the northeast corner of
the Tuileries, is called Retour de Chasse
(aka Home From the Hunt), sculpted
by Antonin Carlès and completed in 1888.
It depicts a young man returning
from the hunt with a deer that he has killed
with a bow and arrow.

[To see more b/w images, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Weekend Reflections

Reflected in 140 Broadway: food trucks, office
workers, and Mark Di Suvero's sculpture
"Joie de Vivre," which sits at the entrance to
Zuccotti Park. (Remember when the Occupy
Wall Street folks camped out there?)

[To see more Weekend Reflections,
visit James's meme.]

The BFG?

More sculpture:  This is Tom Friedman's 
30-foot-tall stainless-steel work, 
"Looking Up."  It's been here on the Park Avenue 
median since January, but is scheduled
to come down this month.

[Linking back to Our World Tuesday.]

"Van Gogh's Ear"

I know it looks like a swimming pool, but that's
the name of this 30-foot sculpture by
Elmgreen and Dragset, on display at the
Fifth Avenue end of the Rockefeller Center
Channel Gardens until August 16.

[Linking back to Blue Monday at Backyard Neighbor.]

A Quiet Sunday in the Financial District

A red food cart, a red bike, and
Isamu Noguchi's "Red Cube."

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday 
and Our World Tuesday.]

inSPIREd Sunday

A detail from the façade of the Cattedrale di
Santa Maria del Fiore (aka the Duomo),
in Florence.  The church was begun in 1296
and consecrated in 1436—it takes a
few years to create a masterpiece like this.

[To see more churches from around the world, go here.]

Weekend Reflections

This sculpture (Carol Feuerman's "Monumental Quan")
currently graces the courtyard entrance of the 
Lotte New York Palace Hotel.  This was originally the
home of 19th-century railroad financier
Henry Villard, then was the property of—more famously 
and with the addition of a 55-story glass and 
aluminum tower—Harry Helmsley and his wife (Leona, 
"the Queen of Mean") and also for a while the Sultan of Brunei.

[To see more Weekend Reflections, visit James's meme.]

The Weekend in Black and White

This is Andrieu d'Andres, one of the brave burghers
of Calais immortalized by Auguste Rodin
in his famous sculpture.  Here he's depicted
(in a separate study that stands in Rodin's garden)
thinking that he's going to a certain death at the hands
of King Edward III.  In fact, all six were saved by
Edward's wife, Queen Philippa.

[To see more b/w images, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

"Sky Mirror"

That's the name of this sculpture by Anish Kapoor,
part of a (somewhat controversial) exhibit
on display now at Versailles.

The other side reflects the sky (and
the chateau) upside down. 

[Linking back to Skywatch Friday
and Weekend Reflections.]

Fat Boy

That's the name of this sculpture by Leonard Ursachi.
It was in Florida for a couple of years and now
lives right in my Brooklyn neighborhood—in front of
the beautiful red-brick Litchfield Villa, in Prospect Park.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.]

Red Flying Group

That's the name of Ann Gillen's 1970s sculpture,
which has been in front of 909 3rd Ave. for about 20 
years.  She says, "I build sculptures that suggest
movement in marble, stainless steel, aluminum,
wood and slate. I work with the aesthetics
of Constructed Sculpture with its analytic Apollonian 
rigor that combines with emotional Dionysian outbursts."
I have no idea what analytic Apollonian rigor is, 
but this certainly does suggest movement, don't you think?

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.]

Sunset Persian Wall

 That's the title of this incredible work
of glass sculpture, seen at the
(Dale) Chihuli Museum in St. Petersburg
(in Florida).  It's almost overwhelming—
and they don't care how many photos you take,
just so you Don't Touch!!

[Linking back to Monday Mellow Yellows,
 Mandarin Orange Monday and Weekend Reflections.]

Thursday Challenge—"pink"

This is Pomona, the Roman goddess of
fruitful abundance.  This rendition, in the
Petit Palais, in Paris, is the work of the sculptor
Pierre Nicolas Beauvallet, who created her in 1812.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

Las Bicicletas

That's the name of this art installation by
Gilberto Aceves Navarro.  There are 122 bike
sculptures spread out over 10 public spaces in 
Brooklyn and lower Manhattan this summer.  
The sculptor hopes that we'll visit them all—
by bike, of course (a ten-mile loop).

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.]