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Black & White Archive
Yes there was one man who’s voice was so captivating, that the birds and mountains did come near to listen…
The DAVID
I remember feeling speechless when I saw the David in Florence for the first time. I am sure many must have felt the same. I felt as if my heart was growing bigger, I don’t know how else to explain really, but it literally felt like that. Facing its beauty and it’s scale.
But I wasn’t aware of the story behind it, the story of David and Goliath. After reading about it, and of course Michelangelo’s interpretation of it, that look in his eyes unveiled itself, leaving me in total awe once more.
Michelangelo catches David in the very instant – and no more than that – when he sets his gaze on his adversary, ready to cast the stone that will strike him on the forehead: right in the middle, under the bronze helmet…
The left hand lets go, the sling slips down along his back, his stretched out right arm starts to swing the sling around in large circles until, by releasing the end, the strip undoubles and the pebble is hurled to strike Goliath in the forehead… His expression is not one of threatening pride upon seeing the enemy, but of deep concentration in calculating the amount of force needed to rotate the sling… As a defender of his life and country, Michelangelo’s David does what the artist himself did in his profession, he measures things up at a glance. The calculation will be accurate because the thrower has “the compass in his eyes”, as stated by his inventor.
from the book, Michelangelo : sculptor by Cristina Acidini Luchinat
Cemeteries of London
I have to start with a thank you to The Gentle Author, creator of the blog Spitalfields Life, for inspiring me to write this post. Spitalfields Life is a lovely blog I like to follow, sharing stories and beautiful photographs about the life in Spitalfields, London. Today I came across with this post about the Bow Cemetery, which reminded me of the long walks I had in another stunning cemetery in London, The Abney Park Cemetery.
Eleven years ago, while studying in London, I first visited Abney Park for an architectural project which we were supposed to develop for the first term of college. First day was a crowded day with all the class and the tutor, exploring the cemetery and trying to find a way to start developing our own projects. But I was already struck by its beauty and quietness, and knew that I would come back on my own again and again. So that’s what I did, I went there again and again wandering for hours, taking photographs… At one point, the project was an excuse really, because I have already found out what I should do on my second visit, the following visits were just for me wanting to be alone in this beautiful place.
So here are my photos from eleven years ago, the ones that I took with my old Minolta. Today I felt like I found something long forgotten… a good memory… so I had to find these photos and share them with you. And I will definitely make sure that I will have time to visit Abney Park on my next trip to London.
It’s the living who do the harm… the dead are here only to listen…
