GHL Journal, Florence, 21-22 May 1860
Title
GHL Journal, Florence, 21-22 May 1860
Title
GHL Journal, Florence, 21-22 May 1860
Sender
Ghl Journal
Recipient
U
Date(s)
- 1860-05-21–<br /> 1860-05-22
Place
Florence
Letter Content
GHL Journal, Florence, 21-22 May 1860
MS: Yale. Extract published: Kitchel, pp. 200-201.
Monday 21st May.
This morning while reading about Savonarola it occurred to me that his life and times afford fine material for an historical romance. 540 Polly at once caught at the idea with enthusiasm. It is a subject which will fall in with much of her studies and sympathies; and it will give fresh interest to our stay in Florence. . . .
Tuesday 22nd May.
Went to Baptistry, sat there some time in the cool. Then went to the Accademia della Bella Arte -- the collection of early Tuscan painters of extreme interest. . . . These were all we had time to study, except a very striking portrait of Savonarola by Fra Bartolommeo. From this we went to St. Marco, and Polly remained in a room where the great Fra Angelico -- Crucifixion -- may be seen by ladies while I went over the monastery and took notes for her. In the cells I saw several frescos by Angelico, among them a bambino of ideal beauty, and in another a Virgin (in the Coronation of the Virgin) more graceful in attitude and in the flow of drapery than anything I remember. In the chapel beside Savonarola's rooms there is a much defaced Mother and Child by Bartolommeo, the child more lifelike and noble than any but Raphael's Sistine children. The Crucifixion is the largest and finest of Angelico's works. We then spent some time in old booksellers shops, and bought Savonarola's poems. Lunched and went to the Post -- letters from Thornie and Mrs. Congreve. Went to the
Uffizi to see pictures and statues again. Bought Perrens's Vie de Savonarola. 541 After dinner drove to a print shop and bought engravings of Fra Angelico; then drove for two hours and a half amid the lanes and orchards of this charming place. Read Kugler, 542 went to caf'e9 for ices, and returned to read.
MS: Yale. Extract published: Kitchel, pp. 200-201.
Monday 21st May.
This morning while reading about Savonarola it occurred to me that his life and times afford fine material for an historical romance. 540 Polly at once caught at the idea with enthusiasm. It is a subject which will fall in with much of her studies and sympathies; and it will give fresh interest to our stay in Florence. . . .
Tuesday 22nd May.
Went to Baptistry, sat there some time in the cool. Then went to the Accademia della Bella Arte -- the collection of early Tuscan painters of extreme interest. . . . These were all we had time to study, except a very striking portrait of Savonarola by Fra Bartolommeo. From this we went to St. Marco, and Polly remained in a room where the great Fra Angelico -- Crucifixion -- may be seen by ladies while I went over the monastery and took notes for her. In the cells I saw several frescos by Angelico, among them a bambino of ideal beauty, and in another a Virgin (in the Coronation of the Virgin) more graceful in attitude and in the flow of drapery than anything I remember. In the chapel beside Savonarola's rooms there is a much defaced Mother and Child by Bartolommeo, the child more lifelike and noble than any but Raphael's Sistine children. The Crucifixion is the largest and finest of Angelico's works. We then spent some time in old booksellers shops, and bought Savonarola's poems. Lunched and went to the Post -- letters from Thornie and Mrs. Congreve. Went to the
Uffizi to see pictures and statues again. Bought Perrens's Vie de Savonarola. 541 After dinner drove to a print shop and bought engravings of Fra Angelico; then drove for two hours and a half amid the lanes and orchards of this charming place. Read Kugler, 542 went to caf'e9 for ices, and returned to read.
Citation
Ghl Journal, GHL Journal, Florence, 21-22 May 1860, Complete George Eliot Letters(2026), George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett. https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/94301