T Stands For Botticelli

Art accessories for my outfit. A Starry Night scarf with a matching bangle bracelet. I couldn't decide whether to wear the matching Starry Night socks or the Botticelli Venus. So I wore one of each.

My friend, Nan, (formerly A.) mentioned during our Skype session if I would like to go to the MFA to see the Botticelli exhibit. I told her if we were going to see the exhibit, it would have to be soon as the exhibit was closing on July 9, 2017. We made plans to meet in town (Boston) on Friday. The Commuter Rail which I was taking and the Orange Line on the T (subway line) crossed at Back Bay Station in the Copley Square area of the city. Across the street is Copley Place, an upscale mall. We arranged to meet in the Au Bon Pain, a cafe around 9 AM. We could sit and chat before walking to the Copley subway station to catch a trolley to the museum. The MFA opens at 10 AM.

Waiting for the E Line - Heath St. trolley at Copley Station

Waiting for the MFA doors to open

Botticelli. This way.

According to the PBS production Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance, "Botticelli" was a nickname given to Sandro by an older brother who raised him. Botticelli means "Little Barrel" Alessandro Filipepi, must have been chubby as a little fellow. I think it's cute, and the nickname stuck.

Virgin and Child, Filippo Lippi,

Botticelli apprenticed under Filippo Lippi. I wonder if the clam shell in Botticelli's famous painting of The Birth of Venus was inspired by the shell surrounding Mary and her child.

Paintings by other contemporary artists were also on exhibit.

The exhibit was crowded so it was hard to get close enough to take pictures. Waiting for the crowds to move away, was worth the wait. Here she is, Venus. Just beautiful.

 The exhibit was subtitled The Search for the Divine. In his early works, Botticelli painted stories from classical mythology.

A shift in his art occurred after he heard fiery sermons by Friar Savonarola. Botticelli's artistic subject became more religious especially after the death of his patron, Lorenzo de Medici. I don't doubt the artist's piety, but I wonder if the shift was also due to "go along to get along" and paid.

I saw a movie about King Arthur starring Julianna Margulies. Margulies played Arthur's half sister, Morgana. She followed the old pagan ways and tried not to get swept up in the new religious fervor. At the end of the movie, Morgana is looking at a statue of the Virgin Mary. The thought occurs to her that she does not have to abandon her worship of the Goddess, earth mother. She sees Mary as the Goddess, just a different way of looking at her.

I wonder if some of that figured into Botticelli's later works.

As Game of Thrones followers, Nan pointed out that Lorenzo's death mask looked like it was right out of the House of Black and White in Braavos.

Death Mask of Lorenzo de Medici
attributed to Benintendi and Sogliani

By this time it was lunchtime, but there were long lines at the museums 4 restaurants. We decided to brave the crowds viewing the Matisse exhibit. I'll save those for next week. We were also thinking of going over to the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum as it was Free Friday and admission to the Gardner was free. By this time it was pouring buckets, and the Gardner was closing early at 5 PM. We decided to save the Gardner for another outing.

By 2 PM, there was still a line at the American Cafe just as we were about to get in line, one of the wait staff put up a closed sign behind the last people in line. If only we had been 5 minutes earlier. We were worried that all the restaurants would be closing, but only this one as there was a museum function coming in.

We decided we would try Bravo, a fancy restaurant. We were on an outing so we were going to treat ourselves. As we neared Bravo, it seemed promising as there were several empty tables. The host informed us we needed a reservation and they were booked.

There was a cafeteria in the basement, but just not suitable for a special outing. There was still a long line for another cafe that offered beer, wine, salads, and Sandwich 1 and Sandwich 2. The sandwich offerings were a pulled chicken and a veggie offering. Nothing to write home about.

Nan mentioned the Flour Bakery near Back Bay Station (where we needed to catch our trains). She said her daughter who worked nearby raved about the sandwiches. So we opted for amazing sandwiches rather than ho-hum, and we weren't disappointed.

I had applewood-smoked bacon, arugula, tomato, mayo, balsamic vinaigrette, on toasted focaccia with iced tea with lemon. Nan had smoked turkey, zucchini relish, arugula, aged cheddar, mayo, on toasted multigrain. I think her beverage was a Morrocan mint iced tea.


Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.