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Blog 4: Impact of a Space

The Uffizi was a beautiful building filled with inspiring pieces of artwork. I felt that the space within the structure was very well used. The building itself is huge! The structure makes a big U-shape with a couple stories of brilliant artwork. There are tons of rooms and hallways. It is easy to get lost in there which I feel makes the experience so fun. To be lost in a museum among artwork is where we truly get to embrace the surroundings. As you walk through each room, you discover more. It is like you enter a whole new world.  As much as I found the Uffizi to be extraordinary, there was another building that I feel had the most impact on me: the Santa Maria Novella. 

I loved visiting the Santa Maria Novella. Both the exterior and interior were breathtaking to look out. designed around the building are very geometric which contrasts from other churches we’ve visited. While looking at the appearance of the structure, you notice that the bottom half is Tuscan styled while the upper half is all Renaissance. The triangular roof was pulled from greek and roman architecture influences. The patterns painted onto the marble are all of simple shapes in a repeated motion. Everything is symmetrical giving a clean and balanced look to the church. This is due to the architect Alberti’s love of classicism. He believed that beauty was found in geometry, symmetry and rational proportion. The structure itself was designed for priests to teach to the masses. The church has a very wide naive with repeating bands and bays along both sides. 
The interior mimics a Tuscan Gothic style with pointed arches and corinthian columns. Frescos on the walls are there to welcome the incoming guests and allow the people to be absorbed into a new world. The frescos live in harmony with the structure of the church which I feel makes the impact of the building that much stronger. I feel this way mainly because of the scale of this scale of the church and it’s frescos. When you first walk in, you get this rush of wonder and awe looking at everything at once. You then notice how small you are compared to everything else. This tells you that there is a greater power at work and it gives you a sense of peace knowing that you are being given shelter by something so beautiful. It was in the Exhibiting Intention article that I learned an object that is found interesting also makes a statement about the culture it comes from (Baxandall, 34). I feel that the culture behind this building is something that I relate to more which makes it more impactful for me. I do believe that my faith has something to do with my overall reaction to this church. It’s beauty reminds me of all that God has provided us and and that gives me hope for the future. I feel confident enough to say that this structure provides that same sense of peace to those of whom are not even considered religious. This huge structure gives a sense of wonder.

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