Finally, we took a chance on a road trip and went to the Clark. The virus was well managed there. Also, we made reservations for ten AM and so for most of our visit we had the museum to ourselves and just one or two others. It was the way to do it.
I really enjoyed the visit. We focused first on the old standbys and those are my favorite.
My favorite painting in the museum is this one and I'd go just to see it. I can sit on a bench and study each of the faces.. These are Italians, but they remind me very much of the Spanish. I'm tempted to get a print of this for my wall.
It is a huge painting. I like that much better than small paintings because I can see it so clearly.
So we visited the two two Goya paintings. This first is a grand favorite. Fifty years ago I walked the Prado with Christine from France and this series was her favorite. Of course, this it just a miniature version of the large painting, but it does remind me. I've been reading about Goya lately and his possible affair with an interesting woman of his time, The Duchess of Alba. She is perhaps one of the faces here.
This is one of the happy Goya paintings and very much unlike his darker works.
We also visited the Winslow Homer. I did not photograph them as I have them in books. Here is one. I always wonder at this one. These poor guides never get off the mountain.
Click here for a talk on this painting and a copy.
Interesting that he turned the rowboat that was in the earlier painting into a canoe.
Everytime I go to the museum I seem to be caught by some painting or painter that I've passed over quickly on other visits. This time is was George Innes, especially this winter scene that spoke to me on that aesthetic level that seems to have a will of its own.
I'll have to read up a bit on this fellow.
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Of course, I have an interest in the card playing paintings. It is interesting to see how long ago card playing was popular. However, I am put off by the girl's wide mouth and laugh?..
And rightly so, I guess. Looking this up later in the Art of Gambling I found that Dirk Hals had "a penchant for portraying human facial features as joyful but exaggerated, almost to the point of abnormality."
Perhaps it is not such a celebration of cards after all. Here are better ones.
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Now here is a face I can much better enjoy. However, cards are not involved. Wine is.
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Here is a delightful contrast between how a country fellow woos and how his city counterpart woos. It is not too complimentary on city folk.
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I've always liked these faces.
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I read a bit in a mary Cassatt book I have, but I saw nothing like this. I'll have to spend some time seeing what other views of Spain she took back from her visit. Here are notes from the virtual tour website
“Offering the Panel to the Bullfighter” by Mary Cassatt depicts a young woman flirtatiously offering a glass of water to a bullfighter, who dips panal (honeycomb) into it to make an energizing drink.
Cassatt made several paintings of local Spanish subjects during her stay in Spain in 1873. The vibrant colors and brushwork were inspired by Diego Velázquez, whose artworks, Cassatt studied during her travels to Madrid and Seville.
The Bullfighter costume is depicted with the decorations and elaborateness of a torero’s outfit that the Spanish call the “suit of lights.” The flamboyant matador costume is part of the drama of a bullfight, which is considered performance art.
I have always loved the look of this young woman. Delightful and very cheerful in all respects.
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We drove up to the top building to see a showing of The Emergence of the Animals by Lin May Saeed. The more modern exhibits up in this building rarely are my favorites, but it was worth seeing. I especially like the bull.
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In the museum I also took these photos.
Here is a wonderfully ornate piano.
And I took this shot looking up to the shelved books from the large sitting area outside the library.
We saw two other new exhibits, one on decorative things and another .... well, not memorable. However, we photographed this piece showing the work of mole hunters as a friend is having a huge infestation.
All in all a most wonderful visit that seemed very safe from the virus. It has been a couple years since I visited the paintings I best love. When we went for play readings there was never enough time. Then this music exhibit held us for a full visit. On my last few visits I needed a wheelchair. So grand to be beyond that.
