Writing for Fun
It Happened In The Gallery - Jenni Bowers
November 2014
How my legs ached, standing in line outside the Uffizi gallery in Florence for two hours had taken it's toll, no longer young and with low blood pressure I'd begun to feel faint when at last we entered the gallery, famous for the housing Sandro Botticelli's Primavera - Birth of Venus – a painting I'd longed to see for years.
Having seen Leonardo de Vinci's Mona Lisa at the Louvre when I was sixteen on a visit to Paris, there were certain works of art on my bucket list, The Fighting Temeraire by J.M.W. Turner, at the National Gallery in London also having been ticked off not long ago and of course Van Gogh's 4th version of The Sunflowers also at the National Gallery in London. So the long wait at this Italian gallery had been a must do, I hadn't managed to see the original David by Michaelangelo as it was housed at the Accademia Gallery and this was not on our itinerary on this trip, but the numerous replicas around Florence had at least ticked off a sighting of that work of art.
Collapsing onto a very welcome sofa at the entrance I took a swig of my bottled water, the must have travelling companion! Then looked around, my it was crowded, a few of my travelling companions had dispersed already, to the coffee shop, toilets and cloakrooms to hand bags over. I noticed a young couple kissing passionately every few steps on their way to the staircase and decided to follow slowly.
'Shirley where are you going?' my friend called, 'we're having coffee before we 'do' the paintings,' so I retraced my steps and enjoyed a very expensive Cappuccino in the beautiful restaurant, ticking off the main paintings of interest including 'Venus' on my guide book. Then we all followed our tour leader as she led us around the gallery, explaining the merits of each image.
From the corner of my eye I noticed the young couple again, but this time they were arguing about a picture, the blonde, pretty lady was hissing at the man who had stepped right up to the canvas and taken his glasses off, he was almost kissing the lady depicted! Pulling his arm she frantically whispered, 'It's just a painting', come away.'
'I can't, I have to be with her,' he replied and reached out his hands to the beauty in the picture – suddenly he disappeared!
I put my hand to my head, I must be fainting again, must sit down, where's he gone, I can still see her but she's also looking as if she'll faint.
Walking over to her, I put a hand on her arm and lead her to a sofa where we both sat and stared at each other. 'I can't believe it,' she cried, 'he's been obsessed with that painting for years and even told me he couldn't marry me because he is in love with her – but she's just a painting! Our wedding is in two weeks time, what can I do, where is he now?'
Telling me her name, Juliet, she went on between sobs, 'We met in Verona two years ago, he was so handsome and courted me so romantically, he proposed but he did keep bringing me here to look at that painting, telling me I look like the lady depicted.'
'What's the painting called?' I asked,
'It's of the young Juliet of the famous Romeo and Juliet story,' she replied.
'What is your fiance's name?' but I already knew what she would say.
'It's Roberto Montague.'
She was calmer now so we rose and returned to the gallery, the painting was surrounded by tourists all gasping in amazement, over their heads we could see the lady in the arms of her Romeo!
