Amusant Musees

Last weekend I visited Paris with my Art History class which was a treat because our professor accompanied us as our museum guide.  We visited three art museums but I’ll only discuss two because the third was more particular about photos.  The Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay allowed photos with no flash but the Orangery didn’t allow any and their room minders were a tad overzealous about keeping people away from the art anyway.  I liked the artwork but not the museum atmosphere.  Alas, I find that this is often case in smaller museums.

We started at the Musée d’Orsay which houses a wonderful collection of impressionist art.  The museum itself is a work of art.  It was built in 1898 as a grand railway station and at the time  was considered state-of-the-art with glass ceilings and steel construction.  Later, the building served many purposes and was finally converted into a museum in 1986.  It sits on the left bank of the Seine and houses French art but since they had some Van Gogh, who was Dutch, I think they must define “French Art” loosely.  I believe the Van Gogh paintings in the museum were painted in France so perhaps that’s what counts.

The history of Impressionism in a nutshell…for about 400 years there was a conservative stranglehold on art in France.  A group called the Académie des Beaux-Arts functioned to preserve art in a manner acceptable to the King(s) pretty much keeping art in France in a Baroque rut  from about the late 1600’s. So nothing but Rubenesque art being cranked out year after year.  Click  here to see that rascal Rubens and learn more about Baroque art.   To have your art shown in the grand exhibitions it had to be reviewed and approved by this group.  The group did not approve of political statements or new techniques.  They did approve of historical scenes, real or imagined, battles, naked Venus’, Kings/Queens, portraits, and religious art painted with “tight” brushstrokes and technique.  Very little changed in the intervening years because artists had to make living after all, didn’t they?

In the late 1700’s and early 1800’s some artists who were already popular or well-heeled started to change this with non-traditional subject matter while the paintings themselves were only somewhat different in technique than “approved” artworks.  Later, when Monet and Renoir, etc hit the scene they were vilified for their style and subject matter selections.  They struggled to make a new way and some, such as Renoir, moved to a slightly tighter, less loose technique later in his career due to some reflection based on the prevailing climate of disapproval.  Others either persevered or went out in a blaze of glory/gory (drugs, drink…etc).  The Impressionists, by the way “Impressionist” was considered to be an insulting description of their style at the time that they only embraced later in their careers, anyway, the Impressionists didn’t receive recognition until later in their lives and careers (for those that lived long, such as Monet).

Here are a few shots of some of the paintings I liked a lot and that are also famous.  Some that I also liked a lot didn’t come out so well in photographs so I am not able to show them to you.

Gauguin – from when he ran off to the south Pacific after he got freaked out by Van Gogh who he used to hang and paint with in Provence.  They argued a lot and it’s thought that Van Gogh cut his ear off to silence the voices telling him to knock off his buddy Gauguin. Creepy colleague.

Degas

Van Gogh self-portrait (his good “ear” side).  Poor Vinnie, sad tale of a genius.

Renoir I actually I only like some of Renoir’s work, like his still lifes.

Monet, note that the subject is not profound or politically or historically important.  This is one of the reasons Impressionism was frowned upon.  That and landscapes were considered bottom of the barrel for subject matter.

Gauguin still life, which was considered almost as “bad” as a landscape. I like this one.

Le Louvre

We walked ALL DAY  in the Louvre which of course meant we barely scratched the surface.  We saw a number of sculptures, paintings and even some painters.

The Louvre is a huge building which sits on the right bank of the Seine and is not far from the Musée d’Orsay.  Originally, it was  a fortress built in the 12^th century.  We were able to see some of the original fortress walls while we were inside the museum which was later used as a palace and expanded over the years until it was converted into a museum. It is one of France’s most loved national landmarks.  Inside there are multiple floors, wings, an inverted glass pyramid and even a food court with a McDonalds and more than one Starbucks.

We started with sculptures, below.  My favorite was the Winged Victory/Nike piece.  By the way, please don’t anyone sculpt me because sooner or later the nose would come off and that always looks so creepy.

Magic Mike Michelangelo

Venus de Milo, Greek, 130 -100 BC, she’s a popular chick even with no arms and let’s face it really really old!

Winged Victory of Samothrace, Greek, 220 – 190 BC, one of my favorites.

We also saw some Michaelangelo paintings but I’ll have to go on record to say I like his sculpture but his paintings do not thrill me at all.

The most famous painting housed in the Louvre is the Mona Lisa.  Naturally, it is a lovely painting  and Leonardo Da Vinci was a genius in so many ways. It may not be the best painting ever though and only really became famous after being stolen a couple of times.  Did you know that Leo thought of himself first as an engineer and last as a painter?  Ya, neither did I.

Mona Lisa, Leonardo Da Vinci. This is the 137 zillionth picture of this painting, plus/minus.

I also didn’t know that you can paint inside the Louvre.  Ya, with permission of course,  you can copy a masterpiece.  To do so you have to submit your portfolio to show you are a serious artist and they require that you change the painting somewhat.  These guys were fun to watch.  What a neat experience to paint inside the Louvre!

Cool dude. That is another Leonardo da Vinci he’s copying.

Another cool dude copying a Titian

Some additional art I saw.

I can’t remember the name of this artist but isn’t the lighting effect cool? It’s a painting of Joseph and Jesus.  You can click on the picture to see it larger and in more detail.

Botticelli

Canaletto

Gotta love the Dutch Masters!

Rembrandt self portrait

Vermeer.  Am I starting to like Vermeer more than Rembrandt? Hm maybe.

Finally….

Napoléon III’s apartments in the Louvre. Note that I am wearing something other than the Pink Scarf! What can I say, that pink one is warm.  The apartments were too ostentatious for my taste, blech.

À bientot! JW~~

About these ads