Population 800: Vatican City

I went to the Vatican with my Renaissance Apprenticeship class yesterday. We spent the day drawing statues and being photographed by tourists. Apparently I do the whole "art-student-casually-sketching-in-the-Vatican" look very well. I didn't end up finishing my drawings; however, I did get a nutella crepe before leaving, so I would say the day was very successful.

Laocoon and His Sons. Yes, it's the original. It's such an incredible piece-- I wanted to sketch it but it was swarmed by tourist groups and there was no way for me to get an unobstructed view (this picture is an anomaly because there were SO MANY people around).

The dude I drew.

Early stages of my drawing. Note the feather: it is what we have to use instead of an eraser when laying out our drawings. Our teacher is a purist when it comes to emulating the techniques of the renaissance.

My friend Maggie causally sketching in the Vatican.

Veronica in the Vatican playing the role of TOURIST.

I do love me some peace signs.

We were supposed to sketch these statues but they had closed the wing off so they could move one of the statues. They later closed down the entire building. I hope the statue was important and really needed to get moved...

Hermes, I believe.

Sfera con Sfera. A very strange statue to juxtapose with the antiquities housed in the buildings surrounding this courtyard. I had a bit of deja vu when I saw this, as there is an almost identical statue at Trinity College in Dublin (and, I discoverd upon doing more research, in six more locations around the world). Apparently, there is also a modern art collection at the Vatican, but I did not manage to sneak away to see it.

Me and my unfinished drawing.

Riding home on the train with Maggie.

Midterms are coming up then I'm off to Paris for a week! This semester is flying by...

Arrivederci,

V