The Value Of Art Is Not The Price-Melinda
Art can be crazy, and the art world — you know, all those stuffy, know-it-all judges and critics who tell us what’s worthy of our interest — can be the craziest of the lot. While reading from an art history textbook recently, I came across an amusing little story. It made me laugh. I rolled my eyes […]
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Art Show — Artistcoveries
Right on Michigan Avenue a short walk from the water you will find a small but mighty museum in the Art Institute Chicago. I had the privilege of spending a day taking in the museum at a lazy pace.
Here are some of the highlights of the museum’s history along with some of my favorites pieces of work.
Located in downtown Chicago, the Art Institute is one of the world’s great art museums, housing a collection that spans centuries and the globe.
The Art Institute of Chicago collects, preserves, and interprets works of art of the highest quality, representing the world’s diverse artistic traditions, for the inspiration and education of the public and in accordance with our profession’s highest ethical standards and practices.
The Art Institute of Chicago was founded as both a museum and school for the fine arts in 1879, a critical era in the history of Chicago as civic energies were devoted to rebuilding the metropolis that had been destroyed by the Great Fire of 1871. The Art Institute found its permanent home in 1893, when it moved into a building constructed on what is recognized today as the traditional homelands of the Council of Three Fires—the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples. Built jointly with the city of Chicago for the World’s Columbian Exposition at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Adams Street, that building—its entry flanked by the two famous bronze lions—remains the “front door” of the museum even today.
In keeping with the academic origins of the institution, a research library was constructed in 1901; eight major expansions for gallery and administrative space have followed, with the latest being the Modern Wing, which opened in 2009. The permanent collection has grown from plaster casts to nearly 300,000 works of art in fields ranging from Chinese bronzes to contemporary design and from textiles to installation art. Together, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the museum of the Art Institute of Chicago are now internationally recognized as two of the leading fine-arts institutions in the United States.
There so many masterpieces here it’s hard to narrow down my favorites but here are a few.
Water Lilies, 1906Claude Monet
On the Bank of the Seine, Bennecourt, 1868Claude Monet
White Shell with Red, 1938Georgia O’Keeffe
The photos of the artwork weren’t working well so please click on the links to view these great pieces.
I would highly recommend a trip to Chicago to see the museum, take in all the great food, architecture, and the Frank Lloyd Wright Museum. There are also some beautiful cathedrals to attend.
Happy Travels
Melinda.
A short train ride outside of Paris you will find The Palace Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche. This is a must see, the experience is like no other. The museum compares to the top museums in Paris. The gardens are magnificent and perfectly manicured, beautiful waterfall statues are strategically placed. This is before you enter The Palace. Enjoy! Melinda
The Palace of Versailles, whose origins date back to the seventeenth century, was successively a hunting lodge, a seat of power and , from the nineteenth century , a museum. With the gardens and the Palaces of Trianon, the park of the Château de Versailles spreads over 800 hectares.
« It’s not a palace, it’s an entire city. Superb in its size, superb in its matter.»
With 60,000 artworks, collections of Versailles illustrate 5 centuries of French History. This set reflects the dual vocation of the Palace once inhabited by the sovereigns and then a museum dedicated “to all the glories of France” inaugurated by Louis-Philippe in 1837.
Water features of all kinds are an important part of French gardens, even more so than plant designs and groves. At Versailles, they include waterfalls in some of the groves, spurts of water in the fountains, and the calm surface of the water reflecting the sky and sun in the Water Parterre or the Grand Canal.
Visitors looking through the central window in the Hall of Mirrors will see the Grande Perspective stretching away towards the horizon from the Water Parterre. This unique east-west perspective originally dates from before the reign of Louis XIV, but it was developed and extended by the gardener André Le Nôtre, who widened the Royal Way and dug the Grand Canal.
In 1661 Louis XIV entrusted André Le Nôtre with the creation and renovation of the gardens of Versailles, which he considered just as important as the Palace. Work on the gardens was started at the same time as the work on the palace and lasted for 40 or so years. During this time André Le Nôtre collaborated with the likes of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Superintendant of Buildings to the King from 1664 to 1683, who managed the project, and Charles Le Brun, who was made First Painter to the King in January 1664 and provided the drawings for a large number of the statues and fountains. Last but not least, each project was reviewed by the King himself, who was keen to see “every detail”. Not long after, the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart, having been made First Architect to the King and Superintendant of Buildings, built the Orangery and simplified the outlines of the Park, in particular by modifying or opening up some of the groves.
These two large rectangular pools reflect the sun’s rays and light up the outside wall of the Hall of Mirrors. Le Nôtre considered light as an element of decoration in the same way as plant life, and his designs combined a harmonious balance of light and shade.
The Gallery of Great Battles is the largest room in the Palace (120 metres long and 13 metres wide). It covers almost the entire first floor of the South Wing. It was designed in 1833 and construction started the same year. It was solemnly inaugurated on 10 June 1837, constituting the highlight of the visit of the Museum of the History of France.
The Hall of Mirrors, the most famous room in the Palace, was built to replace a large terrace designed by the architect Louis Le Vau, which opened onto the garden. The terrace originally stood between the King’s Apartments to the north and the Queen’s to the south, but was awkward and above all exposed to bad weather, and it was not long before the decision was made to demolish it. Le Vau’s successor, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, produced a more suitable design that replaced the terrace with a large gallery. Work started in 1678 and ended in 1684.
This prestigious series of seven rooms were parade apartments, used for hosting the sovereign’s official acts. For this reason, it was bedecked with lavish Italian-style decoration, much admired by the king at the time, composed of marble panelling and painted ceilings. During the day, the State Apartments were open to all who wished to see the king and the royal family passing through on their way to the chapel. During the reign of Louis XIV, evening gatherings were held here several times a week.
I’ve had the same theme for years and frankly it’s growing old. I’m looking for something that better fits my personality and offers the functionality we are all looking for. This is where your help is critical, I need feed back on what you would like to see, what widgets, functionality, content, you name it. […]
Looking for the Light is under construction — Looking For The Light
Here are my latest watercolor and illustrations!
Watercolor Show And Tell — Daphsam Photography & Art
In the midst of all the bad art I’m creating right now, I’m also exploring lots of fun things. In looking back at my philosophical rantings and ramblings yesterday about the why behind my bad art, I could probably have summed it up in a few words. True enough, bad art is something I need to […]
Blobs of Color — Artistcoveries
New Orleans is a great city, there is an activity and cultural center for everyone. I’ve been twice and have to admit I find myself going back to my favorite sites instead of venturing outside of my comfort zone. I encourage you to do some homework on all the great things New Orleans has to offer.
Have a great day and thank you for stopping by today, I appreciate. you.
Melinda
The New Orleans Museum of Art (or NOMA) is the oldest fine arts museum in the city of New Orleans. It is situated within City Park, a short distance from the intersection of Carrollton Avenueand Esplanade Avenue, and near the terminus of the “Canal Street – City Park” streetcar line. It was established in 1911 as the Delgado Museum of Art.[1]
The New Orleans Museum of Art was initially funded through a charitable grant by local philanthropist and art collector Isaac Delgado.[2] The museum building itself was partly designed by the former chief engineer of New Orleans Benjamin Morgan Harrod.
At the age of 71 Isaac Delgado, a wealthy sugar broker, wrote to the City Park Board about his intention to build an art museum in New Orleans. “I have been led to believe that you would willingly donate in the park the site for a building I propose erecting to be known as the ‘Isaac Delgado Museum of Art’. My desire is to give to the citizens of New Orleans a fire proof building where works of art may be collected through gifts or loans and where exhibits can be held from time to time by the Art Association of New Orleans”. The board approved his request and designated the circle, at the end of what would become Lelong Avenue, for the museum. On December 11, 1911, the Isaac Delgado Museum of Art opened its doors. Issac Delgado did not attend the opening due to medical issues; he died soon after on January 4, 1912. This legacy lives on in City Park today and into the future.
In 1970/1971, the Edward Wisner Foundation funded the Wisner Education Wing, which is a three level addition to NOMA’s left side. 1993 brought the opening of the $23 million expansion and renovation project to NOMA. The scale of the expansion and renovation, combined with amplified art acquisitions, positioned NOMA into the top 25 percent of the nation’s largest and most important fine art museums. Today, the art museum is rated among the best art institutions in the country, having presented many unique and rare exhibits.
The museum includes the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, a 5-acre (20,000 m2) landscaped area behind the main building. The gated garden features fifty modern sculptures set among live oaks, pines, magnolias, camellias, lagoons, several bridges, and a walking trail.
The museum also includes a gift shop, a small theater for film screenings, and the “Courtyard Cafe: A Ralph Brennan Restaurant.”
Although City Park suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina, the museum is elevated and located on relatively high ground. As such, flooding was restricted to the basement, and most of the museum’s permanent collection was not affected by the storm.[3]
Renoir‘s Seamstress at the WindowLouisiana Indians Walking Along a Bayou – Alfred Boisseau, 1847
The permanent collection at the museum features over 40,000 objects, from the Italian Renaissance to the modern era.[4]
NOMA’s furniture collection includes important examples of 18th and 19th century American furniture and a small group of exquisite 18th century French pieces. Highlights include The Rosemonde E. and Emile Kuntz Rooms, exhibiting choice examples of America’s fine and decorative arts heritage in New Orleans. The rooms were first conceived by Felix H. Kuntz [1890-1971], the Dean of Americana fine & decorative arts, books, and ephemera. His brother Emile N. Kuntz was charged with constructing and furnishing the rooms as a memorial to their parents. The rooms were completed by Mr. Emile Kuntz’s widow, Julia Hardin Kuntz, and daughters, Rosemonde K. Capomazza di Campolattaro and Karolyn K. Westervelt. The Louisiana Federal Bedchamber, shows how a room of this type might have looked in a fine New Orleans townhouse or great south Louisiana plantation house during the first quarter of the 19th Century.[5]
The museum is noted for its collection of European and American works, including works by Degas, Monet, Renoir, Picasso, Matisse, Pissarro, Rodin, Gauguin, Braque, Dufy, Miró, Jackson Pollock, Mary Cassatt, and Georgia O’Keeffe. The museum features a comprehensive survey of French art, including several important works by the French Impressionist Edgar Degas, who lived with his mother’s family in New Orleans between 1871 and 1872.[6]
Among the permanent exhibition is a survey of local Louisiana artists, as well as other American artists.[7] The museum also features a significant collection of art photography with over 12,000 works from the beginnings of photography to the present.,[8] Other holdings include collections of glass, ceramics, portrait miniatures, Native American Art, Central American art from pre-Columbian and Spanish eras, Chinese ceramics, Japanese painting, Indian sculpture and folk arts from Africa, Indonesia, and the South Pacific.
The museum works in close collaboration with other local museums, especially The Historic New Orleans Collectionand the Louisiana State Museum, in developing its special exhibitions. Special exhibitions in the past have included the treasures of Tutankhamun‘s tomb, relics of Alexander the Great and his times, artifacts from the Louisiana Purchase and that era, a retrospective of Edgar Degas in Louisiana, “Femme! Femme! Femme!” featuring depictions of women in 18th century French painting, “Carneval!” focusing on pre-Lenten festivals across several European and American cultures (including Mardi Gras in New Orleans), and several anniversary exhibitions related to Hurricane Katrina.
The museum offers guided group tours, teacher workshops, online teacher guides, and visits to local schools through a museum-on-wheels known as “Van Go.” The museum also hosts festivals, film screenings, music programs, lectures, and wellness activities [9]
Le Confinement continues, all things considered we are doing quite well. I am experimenting with some new techniques, getting my Pochade Box out for some Plein Air painting on the golf course, and I am almost finished with my 30 days of sketching from travel photos. How does a virtual workshop sound? I know a […]
Staying-in and sketching an update — theTravelsketcher
Le confinement continues. Not so bad so far. The weather has been sunny so lots of folks are walking their dogs to get a break from being inside, thus I have a parade to watch out the window. I revisited three places by sketching them. An old pub in Brugge, Belgium. A pump house in Kilsyth, […]
First 3 days of sketching from pics – sans me dèplacer — theTravelsketcher
Girl with Peaches by Valentin Serov (1887) I’m listening to Understanding Russia, A Cultural History. When Professor Hartnett mentioned this painting, on a whim, I sat down at my computer and searched for it. And fell in love. Serov’s own commentary: All I wanted was freshness, that special freshness that you can always feel in […] […]
Fine Art Friday Revisited — A Living Pencil — EverydayVibes
Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), also known as The Great Wave, from the series “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)”, 1830/33Katsushika Hokusai
