FLORENCE / FIRENZE. View of Ammannati's courtyard
Again, I could only shoot outside the windows but was not allowed to take any shots of inside the palace. Pity.
Anyway, just a short description in lieu of photos.
You have the Silverworks museum, Boboli Gardens, Porcelain Museum and Carriage Museum in the Ground Floor, both inside and outside. The First Floor contains the Palatine Gallery, the White Room, the Tapestry Apartments, the Royal Apartments, and lastly the Second Floor houses the Modern Art Gallery, the Fiorino Room, the Winter Apartments and the Costume Gallery.
The Palatine Gallery has an assortment of rooms (you get the feeling that they had more than they knew what to do with!), each with its own theme and name according to its decoration; Psyche Room, Music Room, Room of the Ark, Ulysses Room, Flora Room, Saturn Room, and many etcs more. Paintings by doquier, by Raphael, Botticelli, Luca Signorelli, Filipo Lippi, Titian, Perugino, among many others adorn the walls. (One of my favourites being Madonna della Seggiola, or Madonna and Child with St John the Baptist by Raphael.)
Then you have the Royal Apartments with their colourful names. Green Room, Red Room (Throne Room), Blue Room, as well as the Chapel, Parrot Room, Oval Room, King's Bedroom, etc. They were named by their colour or decoration. For example the Green Room (my favourite, despite being kept a bit too dark due to sparse lighting) has green damask silk covering the walls, green curtains in contrast with a red carpet and golden trimmings. I particularly adored the tiny paintings in the Stipo Della Granduchessa Vittoria della Rovere, or ebony cabinet belonging to Grand Duchess Vittoria della Rovere, standing against the west wall's corner.
Then the Bourbon Quarters or New Palatine section shows art from Napoleon's time and others. Quite enjoyed the Portrait of Henrietta of France as Flora by Jean Marc Nattier, though I think that was in one of the colour rooms. And adored teh statue of Abandone Psyche by Pietro Tenerani, as well as In Bed by Federico Zandomeneghi, among others, of course. I was surprised to see a very nice painting of two children with musical instruments by Elizabeth Chaplin, which I thought "any relation?".
Other works which caught my eye were by Giovan Battista Foggini, Francisco Botticini, Buto de Giovane Donna and Filadelfo Simi. And two paintings by Murillo (one I like, the other not so much), since I'm Spaniard like him.
Though I absolutely hated the section of modern art (I just don't get it most of the time). And saw some nice and not so nice costumes along the way as well. Didn't visit the Porcelaine or Cartridge museums due to time constrictions.
FLORENCE / FIRENZE. View of Ammannati's courtyard
Again, I could only shoot outside the windows but was not allowed to take any shots of inside the palace. Pity.
Anyway, just a short description in lieu of photos.
You have the Silverworks museum, Boboli Gardens, Porcelain Museum and Carriage Museum in the Ground Floor, both inside and outside. The First Floor contains the Palatine Gallery, the White Room, the Tapestry Apartments, the Royal Apartments, and lastly the Second Floor houses the Modern Art Gallery, the Fiorino Room, the Winter Apartments and the Costume Gallery.
The Palatine Gallery has an assortment of rooms (you get the feeling that they had more than they knew what to do with!), each with its own theme and name according to its decoration; Psyche Room, Music Room, Room of the Ark, Ulysses Room, Flora Room, Saturn Room, and many etcs more. Paintings by doquier, by Raphael, Botticelli, Luca Signorelli, Filipo Lippi, Titian, Perugino, among many others adorn the walls. (One of my favourites being Madonna della Seggiola, or Madonna and Child with St John the Baptist by Raphael.)
Then you have the Royal Apartments with their colourful names. Green Room, Red Room (Throne Room), Blue Room, as well as the Chapel, Parrot Room, Oval Room, King's Bedroom, etc. They were named by their colour or decoration. For example the Green Room (my favourite, despite being kept a bit too dark due to sparse lighting) has green damask silk covering the walls, green curtains in contrast with a red carpet and golden trimmings. I particularly adored the tiny paintings in the Stipo Della Granduchessa Vittoria della Rovere, or ebony cabinet belonging to Grand Duchess Vittoria della Rovere, standing against the west wall's corner.
Then the Bourbon Quarters or New Palatine section shows art from Napoleon's time and others. Quite enjoyed the Portrait of Henrietta of France as Flora by Jean Marc Nattier, though I think that was in one of the colour rooms. And adored teh statue of Abandone Psyche by Pietro Tenerani, as well as In Bed by Federico Zandomeneghi, among others, of course. I was surprised to see a very nice painting of two children with musical instruments by Elizabeth Chaplin, which I thought "any relation?".
Other works which caught my eye were by Giovan Battista Foggini, Francisco Botticini, Buto de Giovane Donna and Filadelfo Simi. And two paintings by Murillo (one I like, the other not so much), since I'm Spaniard like him.
Though I absolutely hated the section of modern art (I just don't get it most of the time). And saw some nice and not so nice costumes along the way as well. Didn't visit the Porcelaine or Cartridge museums due to time constrictions.