Museum Monday

There is a lot of discussion on the relevancy of museums, collections and the online museum experience.  Budget reductions have curtailed museum hours diminishing the enjoyment of a physical visit, but a virtual tour can reveal an abundance of images and new information expanding the scope of a museum’s outreach.  The Getty Museum offers a seemingly unending number of images in their online gallery from the permanent collection.  Keeping the virtual museum updated with current exhibits, classes, after-hours activities and blog entries can lead to another level of interest not available for a normal museum visit. Two unique features of the Getty are the Research Institute and the Conservation Institute.  Digging deeper on their site one can find distinctive pieces showcased through interactive tools as with the current project, Cranach Magnified.

A comparative image tool working with several paintings from the career of Lucas Cranach the Elder allows the viewer to choose different areas of the picture to study in closer detail in a three step process.
A leading painter of the German Renaissance, Lucas Cranach served Duke Frederick from 1507-1553.  He oversaw a busy workshop, meeting the high demand for portraits, popular religious and mythological scenes.  Multiple versions created at the workshop have complicated Cranach studies, but his signature approach to the nude form, calligraphic brushwork, textured foliage and surprising minute features are characteristic of his style.  This tool of comparison is intended to help researchers better understand the painter’s technique.

Below are some choice favorites of mine from the pages of the Getty galleries.
Entrance to the Jardin Turc
Louis Leopold Boilly, French, 1812

A resident of this Marais neighborhood where the scene occurs, Boilly placed a self-portrait in the painting’s crowd on the right edge.  He is depicted in spectacles and top hat.  Napoleonic Paris on the shaded boulevard outside the Jardin Turn (Turkish Garden Cafe), a popular establishment that offered the middle class clientele pleasures reserved for the aristocracy.  Two young street performers entertain the crowd; one showing an elegant couple his tame marmot, while the other puts on a puppet show for children.
Abduction of Europa
Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, Dutch, 1632

Ovid, the ancient Roman poet, told the story of Jupiter disguising himself as a white bull in order to seduce the princess Europa away from her companions and carry her across the sea to the distant land that would bear her name.   Rembrandt rarely painted mythological subjects, but this painting conveys the narrative story through dramatic gesture and visual effects.  The varied textures of the sumptuous costumes and glittering gold highlights on the carriage and dresses add to the depth of the visual depiction.

Mischief and Repose
John William Godward, English, 1895

The continued excavations of Pompeii fascinated artists with Greek and Roman life.  John William Godward painted many scenes of the ancient times with idealized beauties in calm environments.  Like their antique settings, the models possess a monumental quality, resembling Greek statues frozen in time.

Storm on a Mediterranean Port
Claude Joseph Vernet, French, 1767

A storm’s aftermath; dark clouds above an angry sea, a shipwrecked boat, anxious survivors, and listing ships in the distance.  With the sea beating furiously against the shoreline, waves explode beyond the rocks in a spray of foam.  Suggesting the powerful force of nature over man, the lighthouse stands solidly upright at the center, countering the chaos.

 

Thank you for sharing this Museum Monday with me.  Next week I will take a virtual tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright Museum, suggested by Leonard Grossman.  Friday will bring another Cabinet of Curiosities, no telling what I will find whilst doing my research this week, perhaps another great hamster of the Alsace, or a story from the Medici treasury.

Cheers!

Mary Jo

Chicago Art Institute, The Museum Experience

July 18, 2011

By Mary Jo Gibson

My last Museum Monday introduced a virtual tour of the Chicago Art Institute with a promise of a true museum experience to follow.  I was able to meet with Social Media Coordinator, Jocelin Shalom and future Coordinator Robby Sexton who shared time from their busy schedule to discuss the changes social media has brought to their institution, making the museum visit itself an even greater experience.  Their enthusiasm for this new medium was evident.  With web interaction on several platforms, they are seeing positive and measurable results that are now becoming accepted public relations practice in museums around the country.

The Chicago Art Institute has an immense collection and I was only able to brush the surface as we wandered from room to room, taking in all the artifacts, paintings and sculpture.  My favorite area is the Renaissance wing, offering great paintings of epic size from old masters.  Highly detailed classical sculptures of varying religious and secular images abound; each room waiting to fill the senses as you reflect on the images, the history, the lives of the subject and the artist.  For every step along the way, one meets with jewels.  Chicago’s world class collection of art ranges from an entire wing of the biggest names in modern art, to architectural fragments, Greek, Egyptian and Roman sculpture, Renaissance jewelry bearing minute detail, American folk art, European furniture, and the Thorne rooms, a collection of miniature period rooms covering several styles and history of interior and architectural design.

The Grand Staircase of the Museum displays the artwork of Jitish Kallat, Public Notice 3, commemorating two American events.  The first World Parliament of Religions held on September 11, 1893 in Chicago at the World’s Columbian Exposition at what is now the museum’s Fullerton Hall, and the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on the same date, 108 years later.  A moving speech given by Swami Vivekananda at the Parliament arguing for an end to fanaticism and respectful recognition of all traditions of belief through universal tolerance displayed in LED lit text on each of the 118 risers.  An ingenious installation, connecting two historical moments of time and catching just a few words is enough to entice the viewer to read more.

Above the grand staircase is a large collection of salvaged artifacts from some of the great architects of Chicago.  Beautiful deco designs that once graced buildings in the city, recalling a time when architecture was truly an art form.  Pieces from Frank Lloyd Wright, Adler and Sullivan, Charles Atwood, Frederick Baumann, Burnham and Root, Marion Mahony Griffin, Holabird and Roche, tell the story of Chicago’s memorable and now demolished past through their collection of fragments.

No trip to the Art Institute would be complete without a look at “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte” by George Seuart.  Made famous for a new generation in the John Hughes film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” this painting commands the room, with plenty of viewing area reflecting its popularity.  I watched several people studying it at length, commenting on new discoveries even noticing the border for the first time.

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884, George Seurat 1859-1891

I feel compelled to make a small comment about the food court at the Art Institute.  Not only are the choices first class, sandwiches, salads, fruit, pasta, everything Chicago eating is famously known for, the dining area is situated alongside a sculpture fountain to complete the experience.  The area offers a calm repast of delicious food and a moment or two for reflection before returning to the wonders found inside.

Lunch by the fountain

The belief that the internet will replace an actual museum visit is an obvious misnomer; one only needs to find the museum that drives your passion; filling the mind with visions is the utmost pleasure of a physical visit to a museum and the experiences it waits to share. While the Google Art Project allows access to faraway places and the media available therein, participating in the actual viewing of the collection is what keeps people coming back to see more.  If the crowds at the Chicago Art Institute are any indication, attendance is not suffering.

I am excited to share the Art Institute’s upcoming show “Windows on the War”, Soviet Tass posters at home and abroad, 1941-1945.  Discovered in storage and not seen in the United States since WWII, 250 of these immense propaganda posters will be on display from July 31-October 23.  Ranging in size from five feet to ten feet, these images of industrial art are unique, reflecting the collaboration between Russia, Britain and the United States.  Follow the Tumblr link for a glance at this exhibit.

Again, my thanks to Robby and Jocelin and the exceptionally knowledgeable staff at the Chicago Art Institute.  It was a wonderful visit and I look forward to perusing the Japanese, Korean, Indian and Islamic areas on my next visit.
I leave you with one of my favorite, unexpected pieces of art, The Monkey Band, by the German Meissen Porcelain Company, created in the 18th century.

Cheers!

Mary Jo