The Florentines have always had a unique ability to transform
one medium into something completely different. Windows of pastry shops are lined with dishes of marzipan fruits that have been sculpted and rendered so realistically to fool the senses. A plate of artfully arranged ripe marzipan pears might have an occasional bruise painted with food coloring. These trompe l'oeil effects do indeed fool the eye as well as tease the senses.



Similarly, several years ago,in the Piazza della Republica,
there were mimes draped in white plastered rags and whiteface standing completely frozen like sculpture. They would very slowly come to life with slight movement or the wink of an eye, and all of a sudden you would realize that these are "living sculptures." On the same street, artists created chalk renderings that were carefully drawn on the sidewalks replicating masterworks from the Uffizi with such depth that you felt you could fall into them. The original renaissance portraits in the museum were painted so realistically in creamy oil paint that they seemed to re-create the actual skin of the subject.



Amazing, the magic of the Italian artist.

- Margery