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!