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A few of my friends and I were fortunate enough to catch one of the last nights of the De Young’s fabulous exhibition, Post-Impressionist Masterpieces. This was phase two of the De Young’s Impressionist focus, and really, impressed.
This exhibition shone a spotlight on Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gauguin and Degas, among others. I loved the paintings by Degas, as they are famous for depicting a dancer’s life, and are just what I would like to have hang on my wall, if I was lucky enough to have my own dressing room! And Rick and I were both stunned by a series of paintings and sketches that highlighted pointillism, a technique we’d never seen before.
I often find that the lesser-known paintings, or often just the small sketches and vignettes, are my favorite. And this was true again at this exhibition. But I have to say I was completely floored by the true star of the show, no pun intended, Van Gogh’s “Starry Night Over The Rhone.” It gives you chills to see such a famous and beautiful painting up close.
The colors? Stunning. The composition? Flawless. I definitely walked away feeling inspired, and taking a look around me on the web, looks like plenty of other people as well.
Here’s the painting itself:
(Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), Starry Night over the Rhone. 1888. © RMN (Musée d’Orsay)/Hervé Lewandowski)
And look at this bottle of San Pellegrino. New design, and definitely channelling…
What about for a wedding table?
From Junebug Weddings
Or a fashion fix?
From College Fashion
One of the most memorable and moving moments for Rick during our honeymoon, was understandably when he craned his neck to view the masterpiece that is the Sistine Chapel. We could have stayed for there for hours, even days, soaking it all up and taking it all in. Almost too much for the senses!
I loved it too. But my moment of truth and beauty came at the little-known Capuchin Crypt. This is a small crypt, unassumingly tucked away off one of Rome’s busiest streets. It is decorated (if decorated is the word) with the bones of hundreds of monks. Painstakingly arranged in beautiful patterns. I wanted to write about it, but then found this eloquent blog post from The Life of a Lost Muse, that did it for me: http://thelifeofalostmuse.blogspot.com/2010/05/capuchin-crypt.html
Thanks for putting it into words. So beautiful, heartbreaking, and such a useful reminder of our tiny place on the earth. I unearthed a few more pictures from Google images that i wanted to share (photography was not allowed inside):
I’ve been struck down by the same plague that seems to be circling my office like a grumpy vulture. Streaming eyes and nose, aching jaw and head, and a throat that feels like sandpaper. After a day spent trying to recuperate (but in reality, trying to do a little work so that i wouldn’t find myself buried for the rest of the week), i needed a little inspiration. So i turned to my bedroom wall (from where i write this, prone, with pillows!), and was cheered by this beautiful Georgia O’Keefe print, an abstract rose. Rick and I bought this last year after her SF MoMa exhibit, and have only just got around to hanging it in our new place. I get endless amounts of joy from looking at it, so was today’s ray of light:
(Georgia O’Keefe, Abstraction White Rose, 1927)
We’ve been debating the choice of an art piece to hang over our sofa for three months now, ever since we moved in. Obviously, funds are an issue, ever since the economy decided to go into free fall, but even on a limitless budget, i’m not sure we’d ever find the right thing! Our cottage is quite quaint, so we wanted something modern to shake things up a bit, but i’m not a fan of abstract modern and Rick’s Manga yearnings are not about to be fulfilled anytime soon!
We’ve had a few false starts and frustrated searches, but today’s post from anh-minh.com really caught my eye and captured my imagination. A wide mount of photos on Plexiglass, which looks great, is totally individual and isn’t expensive. Perfect! Also check out its old home in her dining room. For me, what really appeals is the opportunity to display all your photos in a non-cheesy way, yet without being pretentious. A delicate balancing act that most people don’t achieve, in my opinion. I also love the fact that the wall will become a true reflection of you and your life, comforting, yet soul-inspiring. Artistic, but realistic.
I think with our interior shades, we’ll need color photos rather than sepia, but i’m excited to try this out. Stay tuned to see if it actually happens…
P.S. there was a close runner-up in the race to become the wall art of choice, but i’m not sharing it yet. This is out of pure selfishness, as it’s a limited edition print, and I want to make sure i can nab one if i can agree on the rightful resting place for it!
I’ve been lucky enough to take in three awesome exhibitions in the last week. Maybe it’s good timing, maybe it’s just that now, more than ever, people need an escape from the everyday humdrum and economic stress, but I’ve definitely been craving more stimuli for my soul of late. The goodness started with the Chagall exhibit at the Contemporary Jewish Museum. I didn’t know a lot about Chagall as an artist, but it was a fascinating look at his life and early collaboration with the Russian Jewish Theater. There were huge murals covering walls, tiny detailed prints and frankly, lots of very macabre characters. I have a tendency toward the macabre, as does my boyfriend, Rick, and we were both drawn to the work of a Chagall collaborator, Robert Falk, who drew some scary skeleton people (an old lady still sticks in my mind, terrifying as she was, i kind of want her on my wall) for the play, The Wedding Feast. Not just a look at an artist, but at a movement that was stymied and ultimately crushed by an oppressive regime. Like i said, fascinating.
A few days later and for a complete change of pace, it was off to the SF MoMa for the Georgia O’Keeffe/Ansel Adams double header AND the Robert Frank ‘The Americans’. I can’t really do either exhibition justice, as they were amazing. Suffice to say, i came home with one Georgia print (a beautiful cream and grey abstract rose) and a wish list as long as my arm for more. To me, the best thing about the Georgia/Ansel exhibit was its demonstration of the abundance and power of nature, much of it local to Northern California, which sparked some interesting conversations about how helpless all humans ultimately are when faced with it. Hmm, tsunami discussions on a Saturday afternoon? We must have been inspired by something! And at the end of it all, it was just stunningly beautiful.
Onto ‘The Americans‘, Robert Frank’s unflinching, photographic look at American life. All black and white, immaculately themed and sequenced, with a story behind each series. Again, this exhibit sparked some serious conversations and some serious emotions, as we were faced with a mirror into the way we live. I still want to cry remembering one of the loneliest photos i’ve ever seen in my life. Go see it and you’ll find out which one i mean. 7×7 seems to know what I mean.
I won’t forget either of these exhibits, as each of them provoked thought, emotion and sheer wonder. And what better can you ask for from a $20 ticket? Get down to the MoMa while you can.
