Two Months in Italy and Istria
Introduction:
I arrived in Florence three months after the biblical flood of November 1966. I worked for the Uffizi for a year and a half as ‘Head of Outdoor Restoration’. With several youths, I had the job of cleaning oil off the walls, columns and statues of the churches. During these years Florence was completely different than today. The historical center was still the center of Florentine life. It was during this time that I began to paint. I feel a profound connection with Florence and Italy. I return often to paint in the streets and in the countryside.
Outdoor painting gave birth to modern art. There are those who think that it is no longer relevant. On the contrary, I believe that our culture will always need this direct witness to reality. A painting created on site is completely different from a photograph. The painting contains the influence of place, weather, times of day and even the people who talk with the artist.
I offer this diary as an example of some of the influences that affected these nineteen paintings. I originally wrote this diary in Italian and have translated it below into English.
My wife, Beryl Landau, accompanied me for the first month of the trip. She painted 18 watercolors. Her site on the internet is www.mesart.com/blandau
In Campo dei Fiori, Rome