The Fabulous Met

Just came out from the Met museum and it is simply enormous. There is also a diverse range of exhibits; everything from Asian art to Eygpt (whole temples and tombs) and of course Western Art. Our friend in NY Iris told us to offer a price for entry, it is not $25 as advertised. I find this quite strange. Suppose that it traps tourists and those who do not read the fine print.



The exhibition of Impressionism and fashion was on its last day, with crowds to match. This painting was by the American woman artist Mary Cassatt, who was based in Paris. It struck me as wonderfully evocative of the opera scene - a young woman savouring her first opera with gusto.


I've often seen and admired the works of Bonnard especially his use of vibrant complementary colours. But this painting is actually huge with great impact. The figures are close to life size. The viewer is swallowed into a world of orange.



There were rooms full of Degas - his pastel technique is unique. Some earlier paintings were rather drab but the later pieces became more vibrant.


The Met had lots of Monets but this one was most realistic in capturing the ripples in the water and the reflection of the sky plus greenery. Wonderful ...

National art gallery East Wing

The East Wing was a treasure trove which would have taken me a week to do it justice. My first stop was the French Impressionist paintings. There were rooms full of Cezanne, Monet, Degas, Renoir and Van Gogh.


Artist garden at Vetheil by Monet.



House of Pere Lacroix by Cezanne.

The amazing thing is that they are worth a mint but nobody stops you from photographing the works. I returned the next day but was saddled with Miss 9 who was none too pleased when we could not borrow the audio tour for kids because mum forgot her photo ID. Nevertheless the Gallery had some great paper guides for keeping kids entertained. We started at the Dutch 17 century paintings. The likes of Pieter Van Hooch, Jan van Huysum and Rembrandt illustrated their glazing techniques to super realistic effect. Not exactly my sort of art but you have to admire the perfection of peaches with fuzz, the grapes with dull and shiny surfaces and silky tulip petals.

Miss 9 was reminded that Holland was flat, had lots of canals and windmills. We then turned to Italian art and compared it pre and post Renaissance.


The subject matter does not change - all biblical subjects but their rendition changes. The colours become more lively and poses more realistic. The use of perspective became more sophisticated. This beauty is the 'Adoration of the Magi' by monks Fra Angelico and Fra Fillippi Lippi circa 1450. By this time Miss 9 had had enough and demanded to experience the Hollywood style walkalator. Fair enough.

National Art Gallery west wing Washington DC

Who could imagine that half the best and most renown European masterpieces are actually in Washington or NY? Being the most capitalist nation of the world, there are many extremely wealthy (as well as many poor) people in the US. The wealthy can afford to purchase the best of European art to decorate their mansions. These were often subsequently bequeathed to public institutions with the result that the best works are viewable in USA.


This painting by the Spanish artist Miro is rather less surreal than his usual. Called the Farm, it is an early depiction of his life on the farm as a young person.


The Bathers is a common subject in classical art, with numerous modern depictions from Cezanne to Renoir. This subject was treated differently by Roger de la Fresnaye in a cubism manner.

We attended a special exhibition titled "When art danced with music" about Diaghilev the Russian exile who started the Ballet Russes in Paris. Regarded as the finest ballet company in the 20th century, Ballet Russes' productions combined new dance, art and music, and created a huge sensation around the world. This exhibition showed costumes and backdrops, many of which were designed by famous artists such as Picasso and Matisse.

This backdrop was designed by Natalia Goncharova, another Russian exile for the ballet "Firebird". This depicts exotic old Russia with golden onion domes, lost after the Revolution.



Picasso's painting "Two women running on beach" was enlarged and painted by another artist for the "Blue train".


This groovy walkway connected the West Wing (modern art) with the East Wing (13 to 18 century art). It's got a touch of Hollywood about it!

MOMA

MOMA is the museum of modern art in NY and it has a fabulous selection of art showing the roots of modern art; ie before it became incomprehensible to the likes of me. This progression took several decades and probably began with Impressionism. The Impressionists attempted to capture the light and atmosphere. My favourite impressionists Monet and Cezanne were well represented.

This Cezanne showed how he captured "vibrations of light" and movement through his brushstrokes and colour. Have you noticed how Cezanne uses these short but directional strokes always? Seurat is another artist attempting the same but through tiny dots of colours (pointillism).
Monet late in his life made these room sized paintings of the famous pond at Giverny. The most extreme examples are held at elliptical rooms at the Musee L'Orangerie in Paris. MOMA has several examples that are smaller. These later Monets are much more abstract and due to the size and composition, I felt that I was actually immersed in the water. What a great idea for a painting!

This Picasso is my favourite - a great example of early Cubism - the bodies are more geometric but still recognisable. I have seen it years ago in Sydney on loan and attempted my own version but that was before I was confident in life drawing so the results failed to live up to my expectations.

This is an abstract of swifts flying by Giocomo Balla. The notion is to capture the movement of flight.
Gino Severini also did some fabulous work of capturing motion with his 'Dynamic Hieroglyphic of the Bal Tabarin' - a study of dance motions. In my time I've attempted some studies of Flamenco dancers but nothing quite as accomplished as these masters. Another great direction to pursue when I get home!

Brooklyn museum NY

A post from New York!
Readers, I've finally made one dream come through and am in New York City. This was an opportunistic trip taken in between R's jobs. As he had been with the previous organisation for 12 years, I had to grab my chance when it presented. The short notice nearly drove me balmy in making travel plans.



Today was cold and wet in NY so it was definitely a museum sort of day. I took child to Brooklyn Museum as R had the man flu and lolled in bed all day. This sculpture of voluptuous Standing Woman by Gaston Lachaise was much to my liking. There was a marvellous collection of Egyptian artefacts and S was freaked out when she learnt that the mummy was a real body. Never mind that its 4000 years old.


This painting and drawing caught my eye. A whimsical illustration of Huck and Tom by Santi Moix, beautifully rendered.



The blockbuster was a watercolour exhibition of John Singer Sargent. The subjects ranged from women lounging in pastoral settings, Italian gardens, Venice, Bedouins and some landscapes. Doubtless he was a master - just look at how he painted white on white.



My favourites were his landscapes. This one is the Crags. The following are two renditions of the same subject, one in watercolour and the other in oils.





See how the water ripples and sparkles? Sargent's watercolours are lively and vivid. He does this in that infuriating, unforgiving medium what I fail to capture using acrylics. There are definitely lessons to be learnt here.....

Art in the dialysis clinic

My sister Dr Mun Woo who lives in Glasgow Scotland is a nephrologist - a kidney doctor. Like me, she has had an enduring love for visual arts and although she seldom practises it, she has managed to incorporate art into her occupation.


Dialysis is a long tedious process that is vital for the health of the patient. The process could be made more enjoyable if patients had something to occupy themselves. So this enterprising woman sought and won a grant to teach dialysis patients how to paint. The works are amazing - noting too that patients may sometimes have to paint using their non dominant hand due to demands of dialysis.



Can you imagine the great sense of achievement that some patients have felt since they took up art? You can read more about this program here.