La Specola is one of my favourite museums I have ever visited. The museum is a branch of the Natural History Museum of the University of Florence and is one of the oldest science museums in Europe, built in 1775 with the aim of gathering the natural treasures collected by different generations of the Medici family, such as fossils, animals, minerals and exotic plants. You really have to go. The displays are stunning and odd, also the Zoological Collection is full of specimens and old taxidermy pieces. On top of that there is also a quite “scary” collection of about 1,400 pieces of anatomical waxworks (made between the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century).
CATHRINE RABEN DAVIDSEN
Historical accounts, works of fiction and mythological material combined with personal memory often form the point of departure for the work of Danish artist Cathrine Raben Davidsen. Her activities are characterized by a strong fascination with the material and the urge constantly to experiment with and explore different artistic techniques. From early on she has also drawn inspiration from the history of art and from a variety of textual references associated with Western and Eastern mythology and literature. The traditional hierarchies among art, artist-craftsmanship and design are negated in an artistic oeuvre that ranges wide from painting, drawing and ceramics to costumes and stage design.
Cathrine Raben Davidsen (b. 1972) has exhibited widely in Denmark and abroad and is represented in several national and international art collections. Public collections include: SMK, The National Gallery of Denmark, Trapholt Museum of Modern Art, Applied Art, Design and Architecture, Horsens Art Museum and The New Carlsberg Foundation among others. She has created costumes and set design for The Royal Danish Ballet and has received numerous prestigious awards, grants and scholarships. She is educated in Italy, The Netherlands and in Denmark at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. She lives and works in Copenhagen.
