Romping and Roming

Today, I saw the:
- Galleria Nazionale d.Arte Moderna
- Capitoline Museums
- MACRO (Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome)
- Mercati Di Traiano

It was pretty much bollocks from start to finish. I don't enjoy Italian art from the 17th century on - it all came to a screeching halt with the Baroque period and only devolves from there (with exceptions, such as the Caravaggio school, Guido Reni, etc.).

The turn of the century work in the Galleria Nazionale d.Arte Moderna was downright embarrassing. They had their Picasso imitator, their Degas imitator, etc., all of them arriving 20 years too late and blatantly jacking their style. The GNAM is a beautiful facility, but the work looks like it was done by undergrads. Even their few holdings from non-Italian artists were poorly chosen. There was some nice work from the 60s though.

I've figured out how to find good restaurants in Rome - chowhound.com. I've heard a lot of people hate on chowhound, but the discussion threads are priceless.

I've decided to got to Venice the weekend of June 27-29th. I'm fighting the urge to overplan since I'll have so little time there. Would appreciate recommendations... I'm still trying to secure a place in Barthelona.

One thing that struck me while living in Paris was how easy it was to learn French in that immersive environment. There's an analogous thing with looking at this art in person. I'm really trying that hard to study, besides doing some (re)reading and seeing as much work as I can - but appreciating the work and integrating it into a narrative is far easier in person.

Question of the day: is there a way to mechanically reproduce paintings? ie. are there any printers that can lay down acrylic/oil paint? Are there scanners that captures depth, so that impasto etc. can be reproduced? Are there scanners that can record glossiness, iridescence, reflectivity?

Song of the Day: J. J. Fad - Supersonic, Carlton Livingston - 100 Weight Of Collie Weed.