Two pictures

I saw this snail as I was walking up and then around the Quirinale Hill. There was a stack of crates, and some friends will know my love for these ephemeral wooden boxes, that every time I see them I have to stop, look, and contemplate taking. Alas, I walked around the boxes, was looking at them, and there was the snail!


At the Scuderie Papale al Quirinale (The Papal Stables on the Quirinal Hill), I saw the exhibit of Antonello da Messina, a late Gothic painter from Southern Italy who was highly influenced by Flemish art, although not so much the International Style. He grew up in Naples and the court at the time was I think Aragonese or something Northern. The stunning Annunciation above was the centerpiece of the exhibit, which was very impressive and brought pieces from all over Europe and even the Metropolitan Museum.
There was one very strange St. Sebastian, not painted by da Messina but similar to one that he did do, where there was this Adonis of a St. Sebastian, with only one arrow sticking out of the thigh, no blood or anything. It looked so sculptural, but also so not normal compared to other, more gory St. Sebastians that are more common perhaps.