Living in Italy, and particularly in Siena, is like a giant scavenger hunt for art. Whether it is jovial graffiti, pastel sidewalk portraits, or hidden frescos, it seems as though I discover something new everyday. Within the first week of being in Siena I came across a partly worn away, beautiful, pastel portrait of a woman and child on the sidewalk. The attention to detail and realistic nature blew me away and of course I took a photo immediately, worried I wouldn’t come across something like this again.
Sure enough though, every few weeks the same artist returns and spends hours blending his pastels into the stone street, each time creating another impressive portrait. Almost everyday I pass by this same spot on my walk home from school and hoping to discover another mesmerizing portrait displayed on the cobblestone street. While the pastel portraits can be and are observed and appreciated by all, it has taken some time to fully appreciate and discover architectural beauty of Siena.
Previous to arriving in Siena, I knew next to nothing about art history. Part of why I wanted to come to Siena was to gain a better understanding of art and art history in general. Now that I have a few weeks of an art history class under my belt, my scavenger hunt now includes learning about the architectural components of Siena. I am proud to say that picking out a Roman arch from a Medieval one is a piece of cake. The different guided walks, from our art history professor, through the streets of Siena have revealed to me that almost every building or structure here has a story.
Above on the left is a photo of a classic gothic style window. The two dead give aways of the gothic style are three trefoils (three rings together) at the top of the window and the pointed arch. Another aspect of Gothic style that is present in this window is the narrow column (a Romanesque pillar would be much larger and heavier). In contrast, the photo on the right is most likely one of the oldest and most preserved examples of Romanesque architecture in Siena. The rounded arch, larger stones, and smaller windows (some of which are covered up now) are Romanesque. The only frustrating part about these walks is trying to remember all the interesting tidbits of information our professor shares.
BUT my favorite type of art to search for, by far, is the graffiti in Siena. All of us noticed one particular reoccurring graffiti subject: K.
It seems as though every week a new K. graffiti character pops up. Each of these little graffiti characters gives off a different emotion and interpretation, despite their extreme simplicity. Each time I find a new artistic element in Siena I get a little burst of happiness, especially when I see K. graffiti!