The Museum is festive in the winter with its red bows and green wreaths hung.
White lights and a long invitation of steps, rise to the front entrance which encloses more art in flat and sculptural forms than anyone can take in on a single visit...but the heaven of trying awaits.
I managed this piece of heaven with my daughter who stands beside the vase found in Sargent's painting of 'The Daughters of Edward Darley Boi', an image I visit for its lush, painterly handling, and dark, sculptural space.
Stop and enjoy the thick, buttery surface of Sargent's 'Artist in the Studio' at the same time.
But I get ahead of myself in the excitement of trying to explain the pleasure of visiting this museum and it's wide range of available art to view.
When we first walked in the side entrance, while still in line for tickets, we were able to catch a peripheral view of the contemporary work by Scott Prior,
Fairfield Porter,
and Alice Neel, a psychological and figurative treat.
The inside space has moments of pure happiness where the architecture is clean, but the variety of art works is sassy and eclectic. Sculpted children float above you,
a painting by the artist Anthony Green presents a self portrait of a distorted man in a fishbowl, green-gardened world begging you to his Oz Land, close to a quiet, poetic Alex Katz image of branches,... soft, inviting, rainy day branches, all out of focus while the man in his green world is all edges and crisply defined oddity.
If you're willing to walk around the hall, past the Hockney, past the psychedelic black and white stripes of the hall by the bookstore, you'll find a mesmerizing glass sculpture by McElheny, seemingly endless reflections that are beautiful and mysterious, a curiously philosophical image worth viewing.
There's an inviting, curvy Botero with her hand on hip,
and a hall brimming with French posters, including brilliant lithographs by Toulouse-Lautrec.
These are funny, sardonic, and intelligently designed pieces.
In the same hall, you may find a colorful, rhythmical print by Edouard Vuillard called 'The Pastry Shop'
and a couple of lithos by Theophile Alexandre-Steinlen called 'In the Street' and 'the Black Cat', which are likeable with their force of energy and bold shapes.
There's also the Modern European room with paintings by Beckmann,
a glorious sculpture of 'the Lovers' by Kollwitz,
a sculpture by Giacometti,
and his wonderful painting 'Head of Diego'...which is penetrating, psychologically astute, and both simple and really complex. I love these images!
There's also a gentle Morandi with quiet, encouraging neutrals,
a Gauguin that I've visited since childhood for its rich color and intriguing narrative,
a small Moore sculpture,
and the list goes on.
I have my favorites as I bet anyone reading this does, including the print and drawing areas (don't forget to visit the Durer's), the Egyptian wing with its glorious figures, some of the Asian tapestry, and the incredibly beautiful relief work in the Chinese wing,...all the lightly etched drawings on those pensive, shaded walls that if I was allowed to touch, I surely would! There's so much temptation here!
As it turns out, I enjoy some of Jim Dine's work, particularly his self portraits, the images of his wife, and in this museum, his tool series. This last series mentioned hangs in the member's area...terrific etchings and drypoints with hairy marks that manage to be both delicately sensual and powerful in the same stroke,...rich, black, velvety marks that invite the viewer to hang out and enjoy these forms.
So...love the Matisse,
and the carved Bellano,
adore the Donatello,
be drawn to the intensity of the Tchelitchew,
the Kara Walker wall,
and the sheer, visual beauty of Khan's digital C type print...
it's all to be mixed up and shuffled around in this great melting pot called the
Museum of Fine Arts!
