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Post by htmb on Aug 3, 2012 6:07:25 GMT
I recently set out to visit the National Gallery of Art, where I am sure I could easily spend most of a day. However, I was delayed for a few hours by afternoon thunderstorms, and when I got to the DC mall area I also found most of it was under construction. By the time I reached the entrance to the National Gallery West building I only had 45 minutes before closing, just enough time to visit some of the highlights. Leonardo da Vinci, Ginevra de' Benci, c. 1474/1478 On the reverse side of the painting, a wreath of laurel and palm encircles a sprig of juniper and a scroll has the Latin inscription "Beauty Adorns Virtue." Rembrandt, The Mill, 1645/1648 Edouard Manet, Masked Ball at the Opera, 1873 Camille Pissarro, Charing Cross Bridge, London, 1890 There were several paintings by Monet
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Post by htmb on Aug 3, 2012 13:10:28 GMT
In the collection there are a few different paintings by Degas, along with a small sculpture. Auguste Renoir, A Girl With a Watering Can, 1876 One of my very favorites Paul Cézanne, Still Life With Apples and Peaches, 1905 Vincent Van Gogh, Self-Portrait, 1889 Eugène Delacroix, Arabs Skirmishing in the Mountains, 1863 Henri Rousseau, Tropical Forest with Monkeys, 1910 Boy on the Rocks, 1895/1897 The museum closes at 5:00 PM so everyone made their way to the exits.
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Post by htmb on Aug 3, 2012 15:20:00 GMT
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Post by nycgirl on Aug 7, 2012 4:51:15 GMT
I think I remember visiting the sculpture garden once and really enjoying it, but I don't think I've been inside the museum. Looks like a good collection. I have been to the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History, though. I like Roxy Paine's work. I saw a huge installation of his on the roof of the Met. It had that "wow factor." I love those Art Noveau metro signs. There's one inside MoMA's sculpture garden. These photos make me want to pay another visit to DC.
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Post by htmb on Aug 7, 2012 5:07:11 GMT
Thanks for the comments, nycgirl. I visited some of the war memorials and monuments today, plus the Museum of American History and the National Archives. I hope to get pictures up soon. I'm dying to get back to the National Gallery, and also need to schedule several hours for the Museum of Natural History.
It is very nice to walk into the museums and not have to pay anything. I read somewhere that the museums were about 70% federally funded, so think of it as your tax dollars at work.
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Post by htmb on Oct 20, 2012 3:24:29 GMT
Did you ever have one of those days? Four Seasons in One Head Oil on Canvas, 1590 Giuseppe Arcimboldo Italian, 1526 - 1593
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2012 3:51:05 GMT
Not since I had to pop pimples at age 15!
I was just catching up on some of the remarkable scenes here. I really like the outdoor metal sculptures!
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Post by htmb on Oct 21, 2012 3:15:59 GMT
Yes, I really enjoyed the sculpture in the garden; usually it is a very peaceful place to sit quietly. On this trip, however, there was a lot of work going on so I never ventured inside. I did, however, return to the west building of the National Gallery on this trip in mid-October and finally made it to the east building as well.
The west building is huge and I can only estimate I've now seen about a quarter of the collection currently on display. And I was surprised at how little there actually was to see in the east building. It looks bigger from the outside and I can only assume that a lot of space is taken up by offices and storage. Though I don't care too much for some contemporary art I found that the east building houses a fabulous collection of French paintings including artists such as Monet, Braque, Boudin, Picasso, Matisse, Klimpt, Gris, and others. Also interesting to me were the Calder mobiles, as well as a Jackson Pollock.
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Post by htmb on Oct 21, 2012 3:58:38 GMT
Pont Neuf, Paris August Renoir 1872 Odalisque August Renoir 1870 Haystacks in Brittany Paul Gauguin 1890 Roses Vincent Van Gogh 1890 Hamlet at Payanne, Near Gardanne Paul Cézanne 1885 - 1886 Oarsmen at Chatou Auguste Renoir 1872 Seashore with Fishermen Thomas Gainesborough 1781/1782 Keelmen Heaving in Coals By Moonlight Joseph Mallord William Turner 1835 The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries Jacques-Louis David 1812
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Post by htmb on Oct 21, 2012 12:33:33 GMT
Young Woman With Peonies Frédéric Bazille 1870 Pietà Giovanni Della Robbia c. 1510 - 1520 The Adoration of the Child Andrea Della Robbia After 1477
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 21, 2012 12:39:15 GMT
I've certainly enjoyed this thread, but see I failed to comment on it ~~ sorry!
What treasures! It would be interesting to know the history behind some of the acquisitions, as the collection is astounding. Well, I guess the Nat'l Gallery has a pretty impressive budget, but still ...... great stuff!
You really outdid yourself on the photography of this latest batch. That's so hard to do with paintings, too, but your photos are so clear, so true, & so unmarred by reflections.
I love that fence around the sculpture garden.
Adding: We simul-posted, so I'm only now seeing Reply #9. By latest batch I mean 8 & 9. This is a wonderful presentation!
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Post by htmb on Oct 21, 2012 21:25:32 GMT
Thank you, bixa. The earlier photos were taken with my point and shoot Panasonic, so I'm sure much of the difference you see between photos taken in August and this October is due to the new camera. It's really doing its job well.
More photos to come.
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Post by htmb on Oct 27, 2012 17:34:09 GMT
I am a big fan of David McCullough for his book The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris. McCullough details the lives of many creative Americans - artists, physicians, musicians, authors - who traveled to Paris during the years 1830 to 1890. Among these were people such as Charles Sumner, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Samuel F. B. Morse and Mary Cassatt. Many of the names McCullough mentions were familiar to me, while others were quite unfamiliar. A name I hadn't heard much before, but who I would come to remember later when touring the National Gallery, was that of Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848 - 1907), the son of a French shoemaker father and an Irish mother. Saint-Gaudens, who was born in Ireland, but moved to New York before the age of one, studied art and architecture as a young man. He moved to Paris at the age of nineteen where he continued his studies and began working as a professional sculptor. He later became known as one of the most significant American artists of the 19th century. Saint-Gaudens spent much of his early life working in Paris and McCullough dedicates the majority of the last section of his book to telling this story. One of the major works Saint-Gaudens completed was the Robert Gould Shaw and Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial. The Boston memorial serves to honor a group of men who were among the first African Americans to fight in the Civil War. Saint-Gaudens, ever the perfectionist, immediately began a second version of this very detailed sculpture as soon as he had completed the first. It was with surprise and wonder that I came upon this second sculpture in the National Gallery. The piece, featured in its own display room, is truly amazing to behold. Unfortunately, my photograph does not do it justice, but the details, the facial expressions, and the feeling of "aliveness" in this work were all very moving for me. Next: The Gallery East building.
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Post by htmb on Oct 27, 2012 23:13:58 GMT
Excited about having an opportunity to visit the Eastern Building of the National Gallery, I entered to experience this Alexander Calder mobile hanging in the huge interior hall. I was also to discover other Calder mobiles displayed in a smaller room of the museum. In the great hall this bronze sculpture by Max Ernst was also displayed. Capricorn Max Ernst 1948/1975 In doing a little research I found a very interesting description of the work on the Acting Out Politics website. Two large shows were being featured upstairs, but I didn't have the time to visit either exhibit on this particular day. Instead, I headed to the "Small French Paintings" permanent collection. What follows is but a sampling of some of my favorites. What an absolutely delightful collection! Mountain Stream in the Auvergne Théodore Rousseau 1830 Yacht Basin in Trouville-Deauville Eugène Boudin 1895/1896 Ships Riding on the Seine at Rouen Claude Monet 1872/1873 Classical Head Pablo Picasso 1922 Lourette with Turban, Yellow Jacket Henri Matisse 1917 After leaving the small French paintings, I had a few minutes to visit another section of the museum. Harbor Georges Braque 1909 Baby (Cradle) Gustav Klimt 1917/1918 Harlequin Musician Pablo Picasso 1924 The Farm Joan Miró 1921 - 1922 Lavender Mist Jackson Pollock 1950 I really needed to return to Virginia, but decided to exit via the tunnel linking to the West Building across the street. The tunnel has these cool lights and moving walkways. It opens up into an area I didn't know existed, a huge museum shop and what looked like several restaurants. I maneuvered through the underground section and quickly found my way to the domed entry of the West Building. There is so much to see at the National Gallery I look forward to returning to explore another day and, perhaps, participate in some of the many scheduled docent tours. What a marvelous place. But now it was time to leave the city. National Gallery of Art Homepage ******** I have divided up reports of my visits to Washington, DC area monuments, memorials, historic places, and art galleries by placing them in other AnyPort threads listed below. The different threads contain numerous photographs of my travels around the area.
Washington, DC, October, 2012
Monuments and Memorials of Washington, DC
Intriguing Structures, Washington, DC and Virginia
[/url] Smithsonian National American History Museum Smithsonian National Air and Space MuseumOld Town, Alexandria, Virginia[/b]
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 28, 2012 17:50:41 GMT
You just move from triumph to triumph on this thread! The images are a huge treat and I really appreciate the background info and links. But what I think I enjoy most of all is the very intimate (& beautifully photographed) way you share your favorites with us. That is the surest way to get someone -- me, anyway -- to really look at and absorb a painting. Can't wait until you get to go back!
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Post by htmb on Oct 28, 2012 17:57:54 GMT
Thank you, bixa. Your enthusiastic comments are very much appreciated.
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Post by lola on Oct 28, 2012 22:08:32 GMT
htmb, really nice. I love Washington in the fall, and could happily spend days at the National Gallery. (I sketched that Renoir Odalisque last time I was there.) Glad to see my tax dollars working that way.
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Post by htmb on Oct 29, 2012 2:24:47 GMT
What a fabulous piece that is! I got lost in just looking at the detail.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2012 13:09:46 GMT
There really is a big difference in the quality, so I guess you will have to go back to Washington and take the first set of pictures again. What I really like are the shadows left by the Calders. When I see there are so many versions of the same subjects by the French painters, it's almost as though they purposely painted a half dozen or a dozen of each so that the major museums would not get jealous.
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Post by htmb on Oct 30, 2012 15:04:19 GMT
There really is a big difference in the quality, so I guess you will have to go back to Washington and take the first set of pictures again. What I really like are the shadows left by the Calders. When I see there are so many versions of the same subjects by the French painters, it's almost as though they purposely painted a half dozen or a dozen of each so that the major museums would not get jealous. Well, Monet certainly did! Interesting that you can see the differences in the quality of the photos. I also like the shadows cast by the smaller Calders, Kerouac. There were some mobiles hanging up high that I wasn't able to satisfactorily photograph, but there was a higher access place and I hope to take some pictures from that spot later. I loved having the freedom to photograph all the art in the permanent collections, and really wish the Orsay would change their policy. I recently heard one of my local acquaintances obtained special permission pass to photograph photos at the Orsay. He was practically attacked by both patrons and security as he went from room to room taking pictures.
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Post by htmb on Nov 4, 2012 3:13:58 GMT
Here are two pieces from the east building that I failed to upload earlier. Each so very different from the other. Lorenzo de' Medici Painted terra cotta 15th/16th Century Wind from the Sea Andrew Wyeth 1947
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Post by mossie on Nov 4, 2012 20:04:05 GMT
I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of Lorenzo . And you can feel the breeze fluttering those curtains.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 5, 2012 4:36:44 GMT
Gad, those are striking in, as you say, such different ways.
The terra cotta is so very realistic, yet somehow so modern. And the Wyeth is simply exquisite.
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Post by nycgirl on Nov 7, 2012 16:53:59 GMT
Those diaphanous curtains in the Wyeth painting are so lovely, and I feel like I could reach out and touch them.
The Calder mobiles are fun.
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Post by nycgirl on Nov 8, 2012 3:00:08 GMT
I loved having the freedom to photograph all the art in the permanent collections, and really wish the Orsay would change their policy. I recently heard one of my local acquaintances obtained special permission pass to photograph photos at the Orsay. He was practically attacked by both patrons and security as he went from room to room taking pictures. I forgot to say, I really hate that policy. Being able to take photos of the art helps make a lasting impression in my memory. I see no point to it at all to the ban. They can't even say it's for the protection of the artwork, because they don't even allow photos of the building. I really wish I could get a picture of that neat clock they have, as well as a shot of the building from the top floor looking down.
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Post by htmb on Nov 8, 2012 13:53:38 GMT
I forgot to say, I really hate that policy. Being able to take photos of the art helps make a lasting impression in my memory. I see no point to it at all to the ban. They can't even say it's for the protection of the artwork, because they don't even allow photos of the building. I really wish I could get a picture of that neat clock they have, as well as a shot of the building from the top floor looking down. Actually, you can get pictures looking through two different clocks, as well as from the top floor. When I was at the Orsay in June 2012, they had opened the area around one of the clocks that I think had been blocked off from visitors before. Lots or people were taking photos in that one area. It appears to be allowed (or overlooked on purpose). There is actually a photo in the image back taken by kimby that might have been taken looking through the clock in the cafe. I've taken pictures there also. To take a picture from the top floor, there is a little stairway that leads to a platform overlooking the ground floor, and from there you may also take photos, as well as through the little openings on one of the walkways on the opposite side of the building. But still, why not photos of the paintings? Perhaps it is so people will purchase copies of the Orsay photo books instead?
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Post by nycgirl on Nov 8, 2012 18:24:33 GMT
That's funny, we went at the same time in June 2012 and my husband was told to check his camera before he even walked in. Maybe we just look extra suspicious. Well, next time I'm going to hide my camera just in case and get those shots you mention. My first time at the D'Orsay I just had a disposable camera and my photos were complete crap, so I've always wanted a "redo." I also suspect capitalist reasoning is behind the policy, but it still doesn't make sense. The Louvre doesn't ban photography in the hopes that it will lead to a surge in their books sales. Grrr. Ok, I'll stop ranting now.
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Post by mossie on Nov 8, 2012 20:03:35 GMT
The policy may depend on the camera. If they see someone toting a huge cannon, pardon the pun, the mindset goes "Professional Photgrapher, must be stopped", whereas if you have a little P&S job, you are harmless.
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Post by htmb on Nov 9, 2012 1:06:28 GMT
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Post by nycgirl on Nov 9, 2012 3:48:54 GMT
Interesting articles, thanks for sharing. Sorry to take the thread off-topic. I can always talk about those highfalutin Paris museums elsewhere. Anyway, good reporting!
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