Napoli 3

Today we went to the archaelogical museum and viewed many of the mosaics and paintings that were unearthed in Pompeii. Some of the mosaics were composed of very fine pieces and were incredibly lively.

The paintings were very richly coloured. There were a number of erotic paintings that were used to decorate the love nests of the more wealthy citizens. 

This Roman sculpture struck me as a particularly personal (rather than idealistic) portrait.

What do sculptures do when they're off-duty?

I also visited the MADRE museum of contemporary art. The following photo is a detail of an installation by Rebecca Horn called 'Spirits' (2005). The installation was accompanied by haunting music.

Next, one of a series of photographic negatives on plates by Antonio Biasucci.

Detail of 'Alfabetiere Murale' (1976) by Tomasa Binga.

'TV Buddha' (1985) by Nam June Paik.

The next two images come from a series of tiny watercolour paintings by Nahia Hassan. She was a topographer in Lebanon and part of her job was to investigate missile attacks. The paintings are derived from the photographs she took.

The following image is one of a series of polaroid photos altered by Souheil Bachar. Bachar was held captive in Beirut for 20 years. He was frequently photographed by his captors and sometimes had the photographs returned to him with his image cut out. He had access to paints and brushes and passed some time filling in the blank spaces left by the excisions.

A view through a gallery window.

Another window view into the school of restoration.

More street scenes. The next three photos are taken in the street where we are staying.

A typical snarl of traffic.

Tomorrow we head to the small town of San Gimignano in Tuscany. I don't think I will have internet access there so will have a break from the blog for a few days. Ci vediamo!