The Tuscan Spring  

 

Florence provided a two-week painting odyssey en pleine aire that led to an immersion into the Florentine style of living. It felt very much like we had followed in the footsteps of the many famous American painters who had worked in Florence in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.  Immersed in the beautiful secluded vistas of the city that so enchanted Sargent’s and all the artists of the past who made this pilgrimage, and inspired by the great monuments of the Renaissance, so too our group discovered the desire to paint and live in art morning, afternoon, and evening for two entire weeks. The results on these walls are a sample of a way of life that grew into strong friendships that continue today. Each person delved into his or her strengths, developing their own unique style of painting.
 

Works here reflect a selection of outdoor painting sites that include the Uffizi, the Arno River, the Duomo, Piazza SS. Annunziata, the Boboli Gardens, Fiesole, and the Cemetery at San Miniato. Influenced by such architectural greats as Brunelleschi, as well as a heavy saturation of sculpture and paintings left by a legacy of patrons in the arts including the Medicis, the distinct atmosphere of this unique city like no has left its mark on the work and the lives of everyone in the group.
 

An extension of this exhibition was shown in Florence at the Jules Maidoff Gallery (Saci Studio Art Centers International, Italy). 
 

This exhibition traveled from the Art Student's League to the Salmagundi Club.