Back to normal and another Date Day. We met at the main train station and headed to the city center. Yow, hungry! First a stop at "Kleiner Ratskeller" - The Small Ratskeller.
Here they serve traditional Bremen dishes. There are only 10 tables in the place, and when we arrive only 6 - 8 customers. English-speaking visitors have a hard time figuring out the menu since translating some of these dishes is near impossible.
But we know what we like and ordered (Bremer Knipp for me and Pan-fried potatoes and Sulze - meat in aspic - for Werner) and then of course, we shared. That's what we do!
Then it was off to the Gerhard Marcks Haus to look at the current exhibit: various sculptures depicting Daphne.
Daphe was a wood nymph. The gods got into a little quarrel: Cupid and Apollo argued about their skills, so Cupid thought he'd show the big guy a thing or two. He hit Apollo with a love arrow and Daphne with a not-ever-in-your-wildest-dreams-will-I-let-you-near-me arrow. Then Apollo chased Daphne and when she despaired of being caught by the man/god, she begged (BESEACHED) her father to save her. So, she was turned into a laurel tree: her arms turned to branches, her legs to trunk and roots. Her lovely face was buried in the leaves of the tree.
But Apollo decided to honor her and forever after wore the leaves of the laurel and granted them to champions. Sigh. Sigh.
So, the myth. Now the realization.
Here is a very classical rendition of the two, based on Bernini.
This one was interesting - modern, featureless, but the elements are clearly Daphne.
This one was my favorite: the torso is slightly smaller than life, there's almost a 2-dimensionality to this 3-dimensional piece since her limbs (literally!) only grow to the side. From the front, it looks almost like the ribs of a fan with a decorative handle.
Intrestingly, at least half of the sculptures were done by women artists. I guess it's a theme that resonates.
No comments:
Post a Comment