Time for a little culture.

This past break I made two trips into Manhattan. Did I go exploring? Not necessarily, I did however visit two museums based off the two periods based off of the visits I made. For the 1910- 1950, I went traversed to midtown and went to the MoMA. On the following day, the upper East side was calling my name and I paid a visit to the Frick Gallery on 70th street.

While at the MoMa, I was privy to the works of two artists, I blogged -is that even a word-about, there I got to see the works of Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Matisse. Lets start first with Dali.


Unfortunately, I was unable to find most of the pieces I used in the blog, so instead I went with some substitutes. Whislst at the Dali exhibit, I saw two of his works, Persistence in Memory and Illumined Pleasures. From what I saw online, I was not aware of how much detail Dali put in Persistence in Memory. The ants were surprising factor to me, the black of them on the clock popped out much more so in person than online. Also, the blue hues on the clocks and amber tones of the cliff in the background were of a richer quality. Definitely was much more appreciative of it in person than online. Also by Dali, I got to see a more recent work of his, Immortal Pleasures, published in 1929. Like his latter works, Dali utilizes a desert as his main area for his subjects. Here he showcases an abstract array of objects and figures all enacting in pleasure. Two faces are conversing on the top of an aquarium, a nymph blowing bubbles and other bizarre figures. Following Dali, I ran into Matisse, not of the latter blog but from the prior. Again, I was unable to find the work I blogged but I stumbled upon a piece that was covered in class several weeks ago. They had the Red Studio piece there and as just the word “Red” is one heck of an understatement. The color of the whole set pops out right at you as does the green leaves on the wine bottle. Other than the pallete, not much is different online as it is in person but otherwise it’s a fantastic piece. Also by Matisse was the women on a high stool. Drab greys abound in the one, but the draftsmanship in is remarkable with bold outlines on the table and the woman herself. One thing I would say that applies to all the pieces seen in the past visits are that online, you can’t get a clear view of the brushstrokes. In person, all of the pieces I’ve observed save for Dali’s have very pronounced strokes that look positively awesome. Seeing them up close is gives you a true sense of appreciation for the time and effort put in by the artist.


Finally, from MoMa, I happened upon the Picasso gallery, from there I happened upon Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Out of all the pieces in the exhibit, this one was the most striking. First of all the piece is gigantic, certainly the largest I saw at MoMa’s save for the Jackson Pollock piece. My friend and I had to stand back in to completely see the piece in its entirety. The different tones such as the reds and pinks also stood out to me in person. Even the strokes left by Picasso stood out, especially on the nudes, every little finite little stroke of the brush was there in full detail.
The next day, I went uptown and went to the Frick to check out pieces by Reńoir and Manet. As previously stated, I was unable to find the exact pieces I used in the blog so I used what was available at the exhibit. There was privy see Reńoir’s the umbrellas. Like with Picasso’s piece one of the highlights of seeing a piece right in front of you, you can see every bit of detail used such as the brush strokes and such. The umbrellas also showcased Reńoir’s transition of human figures, with the three woman in the front are fully realized and detailed while the figures in the back or more abstract characters without any real definition to them. The hues of indigo and blue were quite a standout.


As for Manet, I capriciously found a lone Manet in the whole Gallery. The piece in question, Manet’s “The Bullfight” from 1863. The bullfight represents a few things about Manet, which I do enjoy. One of which is his use of primary colors especially dark re on the arena and the yellow on fighter’s capes. A highlight of the piece for me was the fresh look of the paint, it still looked like it was just dapped right out of the pallet and put on the easel, most notably the blacks on the bull and the toreador’s hats. However. One thing I noticed from seeing online as well as in person is the awkward stances of the toreador’s. They look very staged and not so much in the moment of the fight.


Privy to my viewing at the other exhibit were some other pieces I thoroughly enjoyed. One of these were the portrait of Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein. The portrait has a photogenic quality to it, More appears as if he is right there in the frame just waiting for me to talk to him. The highlights of the piece are definitely More’s attire, the ruffles on his sleeve and his fur cuirass are meticulously detailed to the point that I could almost touch them. The second, more recent piece was Otterhounds by Edwin Landseer. Done in a draftsmanship style, the water colors of the piece give it a faded quality which went hand-in-hand with the the shadows on the figures of the dog. And finally, a sculpture caught my eye ( Bust of Antoine Cosevox). Like the portrait of More, it was eerily lifelike, with realistic whirls and a pronounced nose.


All in all, I had a fantastic time in the city at these galleries. I hope to see these again soon. Come the film screenings I think I may have something more precise in mind for a future trip.