Museums: Palazzo Vecchio (Part 2 of 3)

Throughout the Palazzo Vecchio are many works of art--paintings and sculptures.  Most of the artwork seems to project the greatness of Florence in its prime.  Here is a sampling. 

According to a Wikipedia article, Michelangelo's unfinished Genius of Victory marble sculpture "depicts the winner who dominates the submissive loser with great agility, with one leg that blocks the body of the captive, who is folded and chained. The young man who is the genius is beautiful and elegant, while the dominated man is old and bearded, with a flabby body and a resigned expression."

The marble sculpture pictured below depicts Hercules fighting the tyrant Diomedes.  Hercules was tasked with taking from Diomedes his man-eating wild mares that spit fire from their nostrils.  The sculpture captures a moment during the fight when Diomedes grabs Hercules' junk.  (Look closely to see for yourself.)  Apparently, the move did not deter Hercules who bested Diomedes and then fed him to the wild mares.  The sculpture stands for two propositions:  there are just desserts for tyrants, and protect your junk when fighting. 

If you have seen the 2016 film Inferno, then you will recognize the mask below. 

Another Florentine featured in the museum is Niccolo Machiavelli, a Renaissance writer and politician in Florence.  In his book The Prince (1513), he gave some advice:  to obtain and retain political power, it is sometimes appropriate to do whatever is necessary.  

Picture below is Donatello's Judith and Holofernes, a bronze sculpture that depicts the moment when Judith saves her people by slaying the invading Assyrian general Holofernes after seducing him and getting him drunk.  Perhaps Judith was a precursor to Macchiavelli?  

Below is a painting that caught our attention.  The painting's style seemed to be relatively modern, perhaps from the 1800's or 1900's.  We were surprised to learn it was painted around 1500. 

Next Up:  Let's head down to the "basement".

P.S. The Hercules fighting Diomedes sculpture reminded Greg of an old joke that his father loved to tell. It went something like this:

At a wrestling event, an infamous wrestler uses his much-feared "pretzel" hold on his opponent.  No one has ever escaped the "pretzel".  The opponent is trapped and can barely move.  The spectators know the match is over.

Suddenly, there is a long shrieking scream and the two wrestlers separate.  The once trapped opponent then pins the infamous wrestler and wins the match.  

When asked after the match how he escaped the "pretzel" and won, the victor said, "Once he got me in the "pretzel", I knew I was going to lose.  Then, I saw this pair of balls right in front of my face.  I knew I had nothing to lose.  So, I bit them as hard as I could.  You'd be amazed how strong you get when you bite your own balls!"