In 2019 I got the inspiration or the idea that I had to expand my art knowledge, something like ok, I have been now creative for like 5 years, what am I going to do with it, I want to do more with it and I would like to some kind of training for that and I ended up with exploring the possiblities of a masters in Groningen on Art education and that was not a success. I had a meeting with someone, and showed my art and got without I even asked for it I got an assement of my art. Also with all my training and education I was discouraged to make an application for this masters in art education. I was not assumed, mainly because I did not ask for it, I was simply for myself exploring the option IF I wanted to this. I was pissed and irritated and told them that. Reminding them that I did not ask for their opinion and that I was only exploring the option and I myself will make the decision if I would apply or not and yes in case I would apply then yes fine give me your opinion about it. Anyway this door closes. Another remark they had was a lack of knowledge, around art, and I asked them if a couple of modules on art history would be able to fill that gap. They said yes, it would and actually, that brought me back to something I had already started 11 years ago, my study at Dutch Open University, cultural science. So that motivated me in 2019 to sign up for a renaissance module.
I started this module and somewhere in the second or third chapter, I saw a picture of the Bapistry San Giovanni in Florence. Seeing that picture I thought I have seen that before. I have been living in Italy, Verona, 1990-1992, and when living there I had made a trip to Rome and Florence. Florence was only one afternoon because it was raining, raining and raining, pouring down. And not just raining but also cold. I was there together with Annelise who had visited me twice I think while I was living there. So we decided to go home. What I do remember of that afternoon in Florence is walking of a bridge and also not really understanding what was not special about Florence.
Yet back to the picture, in my renaissance study book, thinking I had seen this before, I got up and browsed through my old Italy pictures and yes bingo there it was, the proof I had been there, even though I did not remember much of it, yes the bridge, the cold, the rain and wanting to go home (“home” was Verona, also in Italy, I like writing that it is better than “home back to the Netherlands”). But I had my picture proof.
Seeing that picture also reminded me why I was now in this Renaissance module. I thought I was doing it because of my soul art certification, becoming creative, a new business-life venture, needing some more theoretical body, and yes yes good plan to do some art-history modules “on paper a good combination”, “sounding like a great plan”. But that was not my deeper intrinsic motivation. My deeper motivation to do this renaissance module is rooted in my year in Italy in 1990-1991. I remember walking around there, all the old stuff, all that art, and actually, I had no clue where I was looking at and what it was all about. And somewhere deep inside me, I liked to know more about it, learn more about it. Yet then I did not get any further with it. There were so many other issues in my life at that moment. Yet, about 30 years later, I finally started doing, what I already wanted to in 1991, seeing all that art and other ancient stuff in Italy. That was my deeper intrinsic motivation to learn more about the art history of Italy and especially the Renaissance.
While I went through that book, it took me some time to eventually get started, I thought crossed my mind, wouldn’t it be great to also see all these art pieces on these pictures in reality? I actually thought how great it would be with my study book actually go to all these places and study them with the theory on the site. How much easier that would be rather than from pictures (I later started to include videos that I had found on YouTube, so also found my own way of studying). That did not happen, yet there was something that awakened an idea, a desire to see all these art pieces, especially in Florence to see them in reality.
Actually, it was a double motivation, one was because I had been there before, but only one afternoon, rain, cold, so that actually fell through or to say in Dutch “dropped into the water”. So a second chance going there again and this properly and the second one was the renaissance module itself, wanting to see all the art pieces on picture in reality.
Moving on nothing happened, until November 2022 when went on a trip to Switzerland to visit Janine in Zug. It was the opening of her soul alchemy lab. I got a great place to stay, my own apartment in the old city centre of Zug. One thing I really wanted to do is go to Rigi, the bench also once seen in a picture and say out loud “I want to go there”. One afternoon, having tea with Janine around midday, we talked about it and she said “You could go this afternoon” I said yes but is it not far and how do I get there etc. Making it complicated. I turned for more easy than I thought, and closer than I thought. One hour later I was on the train to Rigi and while I was on that train I saw that that train was on it's way to Milano and that that would take only 2,5 hours to get there. Oh, I thought Italy is far more closer than I thought.
Ideas of going a day to Milano crossed my mind, as I would do when I was living in Verona. Later I thought oh maybe I could go a few days to Verona. On my way back I chatted with a lady on train and shared some of my ideas and also talked about Florence and then she mentioned that there was also a fast train connection between Milano and Firenze. Overall it would be like 5 to 6 hours of travelling. And so in one afternoon, the idea was born to go a couple of days to Florence. It was all dead easy. Within 30 minutes I booked accommodation in Florence. I went to the train station to get my ticket and I was all set. I went for 3 nights, the journey was easy, and it was great to be back at the station in Milano, which still looked the same as 30 years ago. I still knew my way around.
So, from seeing pictures in a book, reminding me “I have been here before”, I actually was there now. It actually guided itself, going to Switzerland, being on the train to Rigi, in that train realizing how close Milano is, talking to someone who tells me there is a fast connection between Milano and Florence and two days later I went. The only thing I regret is that I did not go one night/day longer and also did not include a couple of nights in Verona in my trip.
Comments