Kim de'Medici

Now, I am not by any means the art history buff in the family.  My mom and my brother definitely get that award.  I tried my best to avoid art classes as I can't really draw anything other than a great Snoopy face.  My speciality is photography - I have more of a knack for seeing something and capturing it in the moment.  But, my brother is a gifted artist and we have a number of his original works hanging in our house.  He really should have majored in art in college, but he was afraid that it would drain the fun out of something that he loved so much.  So, he just dabbled in art classes through high school and college.  But, Craig is an artist at his core - free spirited and claims not to give a shit what others think.  Every child who has a sibling is envious of some unique skill set that their life-rival posses.  I was always envious of my brother's ability to paint.  

Being here in Florence, I sometimes feel at a bit of a disadvantage that I don't know more about the great artists and their works.  As our guide introduced us to both Michelangelo and some of his unfinished sculptures, I felt some great pride that Bella and Scarlett are having this information imprinted in them at such a young age.  Bella clearly has Craig's (and my brother-in-law Mike's) artistic talents and takes great pleasure in drawing.  So, she is like a little sponge when being talked to about the great works and the artists who made them.

I was surprised to learn that the David statue is a representation of the biblical story of David and Goliath.  Again, my art history ignorance.  I didn't grow up in a particularly religious house, but most kids know the story of the under-dog defeating the giant.  I could really see the wheels turning in Bella's head as she listened to our guide explaining how the statue was carved and the items David is carrying as he readies for battle with Goliath.  Bella was also very intrigued about Michelangelo's study of human anatomy and was able to identify before any adult in our group the realistic veins in David's neck and arm.  

In observing David, I was most struck at how Michelangelo was able to capture the mental focus that a person has between the moment they make a decision to take action and the action itself.  The irony of David's statuesque size is hard to ignore too, as the representation puts him at about 17 feet tall when in the biblical story he is slight in comparison to Goliath.  In fact, the statue pretty much removes all references to Goliath and merely shows David looking into the distance (presumably toward his foe).  The statue of David is such a wonderful representation of how we should all feel when getting ready to tackle a task that seems insurmountable.  We should ready ourself mentally, we should feel like we are 17 feet tall, and we should walk so bravely that we don't even notice we are naked.  

While I am the sibling that gets to learn about the masterpieces from first-hand observation, I accept that it is my brother who has the artistic talent to create his own masterpieces.  While Craig is Michelangelo, I am more like a Medici who can appreciate the art but am unable to create it myself.