Museums you've visited (or want to see)

[Spineur]

1) The centenial Rodin exhibit at the Grand Palais which in addition to scultures had his drawings
below: le fils prodige
aquarelle portraying a woman

[Spineur]

A Paul Cezanne exhibit of his portraits at the musée d'Orsay

It is fantastic.  If it wasnt for the silly 500k attachment limit I would share many of them with you.  So you will have to settle wirh just one

[NikF]

What a pleasure. Good stuff.


We have a few pieces by Rodin displayed at one time in a few of our galleries, but...



'Fallen Angel'

(not my photo)

If it gets noticed, then it's usually only when someone climbs on it in order to take a photo of the aeroplane behind, although I once saw it being used as a seat.

[Karl Henning]

There's a Matisse exhibit at the MFA which I need to get to before it shuts down on 9 July:

http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/matisse-in-the-studio

[vandermolen]

1) The centenial Rodin exhibit at the Grand Palais which in addition to scultures had his drawings
below: le fils prodige
aquarelle portraying a woman

Excellent! I attended a fine exhibition of Rodin's sculpture at the Royal Academy in London some years ago.

[Wanderer]

1) The centenial Rodin exhibit at the Grand Palais which in addition to scultures had his drawings
below: le fils prodige
aquarelle portraying a woman

I was in Paris for a few days in early April and this is the first thing I visited (well, after a few churches and some pit stops for sustenance). A splendid exhibition, featuring not only Rodin's work, but also works of quite a number of others (Claudel, Bourdelle, Lehmbruck et al.) he worked with or influenced one way or another; quite a number of modern pieces in the last section of the exhibition, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was fearing crowds (I went on a Saturday), but thankfully there were none, five people or less per room during my entire visit. I returned to the Grand Palais later in the week for the Jardins exhibition, in which I recognized a couple of paintings I saw in Vienna the year before.

I also visited the Vermeer and Valentin de Boulogne exhibitions at the Louvre. It seems I chose my time slot wisely and I only waited for 30 minutes to gain entry to Hall Napoléon. Crowds were quite manageable at the Vermeer exhibit and one could find oneself in front of each painting quite easily and stay there for as long as one wished. And I did. There were no crowds at the Valentin de Boulogne exhibition next door; it was equally superbly thought-out and presented. This was my first visit to the Louvre in 17 years and I don't remember the main area under the pyramid being so crowded, noisy and hot. The Pyramid may be pretty to look at, but it works like a hothouse (and, I suspect, an amplifier); the atmosphere in the main concourse (combined with the constant, hellish din of the roaring crowd) was very uncomfortable and not at all inviting.

Another highlight of this trip was visiting the two Pissarro exhibitions at the Marmottan Monet and the Musée du Luxembourg. They were both outstanding. The one at the Musée du Luxembourg, which focused on Pissarro's last period in Éragny, was especially splendid. At the Marmottan Monet, I was there early and the majority of visitors understandably flocked to the Pissarro exhibit, which meant I also had a chance to be alone in the basement with the Monet paintings for an inordinate amount of time before anyone ventured downstairs. Whilst there, I managed to locate Monet's Impression, soleil levant, the search for which proved so futile last year, and ascertained beyond doubt that it was not on display when I visited in 2016. Whereas all the Monet paintings were there, I noticed that this time it was some of the Morisot works on the upper floor that were missing, including my favourite Eugène Manet on the Isle of Wight (lent to another institution for a temporary exhibit most likely).

Some distance across the Seine, even if it weren't for the superb (if not vaguely defined) exhibition Au-delà des étoiles, Le paysage mystique de Monet à Kandinsky, I could not have omitted a visit to the Musée d'Orsay. The exhibition itself held some spectacular works by Monet, Klimt, van Gogh, Strindberg (yes, the playwright), Munch, Jansson and others and the rest of the museum was as splendid as always. And contrary to last year, when they were refurbishing the hall it was in and I could only see it at an uncomfortable angle through glass and reflections, Courbet's L'Atelier du peintre was now properly displayed in all its glory.

There was a wealth of things to see in the newly refurbished halls of the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris: Ingres et ses élèves (a selection of very fine sketches by Ingres and his pupils), D'Antigone à Marianne, Rêves et réalités de la République dans les collections des Beaux-Arts de Paris (which included, among others, a number of quite potent mythologically-themed paintings, Ingres' Romulus, vainqueur d'Acron among them) and a most impressive film installation by Julian Rosefeldt (Manifesto, with an incandescent Cate Blanchett).

There was, also, the superb Tokyo-Paris, Chefs-d'œuvre du Bridgestone Museum of Art, Collection Ishibashi Foundation at the Musée de l'Orangerie. Still on (until 21 August) and very highly recommended.

[Spineur]

Some distance across the Seine, even if it weren't for the superb (if not vaguely defined) exhibition Au-delà des étoiles, Le paysage mystique de Monet à Kandinsky, I could not have omitted a visit to the Musée d'Orsay. The exhibition itself held some spectacular works by Monet, Klimt, van Gogh, Strindberg (yes, the playwright), Munch, Jansson and others and the rest of the museum was as splendid as always. And contrary to last year, when they were refurbishing the hall it was in and I could only see it at an uncomfortable angle through glass and reflections, Courbet's L'Atelier du peintre was now properly displayed in all its glory.

I also saw this exhibit Au-delà des étoiles, Le paysage mystique de Monet à Kandinsky this week end.  I thought it was ok, except for a few exceptional pieces.  Many painters use nature as inspiration for their inner selves and their own mystic view.  But I thought only one could transcend nature into a truely oniric world.

[Spineur]

But I thought only one could transcend nature into a truely oniric world.

[Spineur]

So this gave me a very strong Van Gogh envy !  I will use this as an excuse to visit my dad who as a house near Arles.  This winter, I will go and see an opera in Amsterdam.  Van Gogh, I am coming !!

[Spineur]

. Whereas all the Monet paintings were there, I noticed that this time it was some of the Morisot works on the upper floor that were missing, including my favourite Eugène Manet on the Isle of Wight (lent to another institution for a temporary exhibit most likely).

Ah !  Berthe Morisot, what an outstanding painter.  She reached an extraordinary level, and equaled most of the most famous impressionists.  Her paintings can be acquired at auctions and do not reach the stratospheric levels of Renoir or Cézanne.

[Christo]

This winter, I will go and see an opera in Amsterdam. Van Gogh, I am coming !!

Which one? And BTW: more Van Gogh in the Kröller-Müller Museum (in the midst of a national park): https://krollermuller.nl/en/van-gogh-gallery

[Wanderer]

But I thought only one could transcend nature into a truely oniric world.

van Gogh is indeed quite special. Le semeur from Amsterdam was strikingly evocative (along with his other works on display). I was also very impressed by Jansson's and Strindberg's works. Apart from the big names, I was particularly enthralled by a starry night scene by the Scottish painter Grace Henry. And then, there was the eye-catching Le château de cristal en mer by Wenzel Hablik, postcards of which were sought out by several people at the gift shop (in vain).

This winter, I will go and see an opera in Amsterdam.  Van Gogh, I am coming !!

Excellent! 

[kishnevi]

That is a rather cool one

[Wanderer]

That is a rather cool one

That's the one. As it usually happens, it's even more impressive than the photograph suggests.

Ah !  Berthe Morisot, what an outstanding painter.  She reached an extraordinary level, and equaled most of the most famous impressionists.  Her paintings can be acquired at auctions and do not reach the stratospheric levels of Renoir or Cézanne.

Indeed. She's in a special category of favourite not-universally-known artists (along with, say, Gustave Moreau, Emil Nolde or Richard Gerstl) the work or which I always take note of when visiting a museum.

And BTW: more Van Gogh in the Kröller-Müller Museum (in the midst of a national park): https://krollermuller.nl/en/van-gogh-gallery

Thanks for the reminder! Definitely one to visit someday.

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Our upcoming trip to Ireland we will see the Cork Butter Museum!

[The new erato]

We have a few Munchs here in Bergen (the 3rd largest Munch collection):

[vandermolen]

We have a few Munchs here in Bergen (the 3rd largest Munch collection):

Ah 'Evening on Karl Johan Street' - one of my favourites.

[pjme]

Two weeks ago I went to Colmar for a re-visit of Musée Unterlinden. it is most famous for the Issenheim altarpiece / Mathias Grünewald - which inspired, as we all know,  Paul Hindemith ( the opera and the symphony).

The museum went through ample transformations and reopened in december 2015. As usual/expected ...the works turned out to be more expensive as hoped for...:

C'est finalement 48,7 millions d'euros que coûteront les travaux de rénovation du musée Unterlinden de Colmar. La mairie devra payer un surcoût de 1,9 millions d'euros, soit 10% de plus par rapport au coût initial.

http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/grand-est/emissions/la-france-en-docs/unterlinden-mon-musee-en-chantier.html

I think the transformation was well done and gives Colmar a splendid home to some extraordinary art. Colmar is a small city , but it is very atttractiv and has still some quite authentic corners.
The Alsace region was exceptionally beautiful in the hot summer light.



I will be back!

http://www.musee-unterlinden.com/



Peter

[Spineur]

Van Gogh foundation Arles.  This museum opened in 2014.  About 10 van Gogh from the Brühle collection (Zurich) plus temporary exhibits.  The new building is beautiful.  There is a terasse on top with a nice view on the city

[Spineur]

Another painting from the Arles period