Blog 9- Chapter 30 Monet- Impressionists

My whole life I have been drawn to Monet and his paintings. Hanging in my house are 36” square reproductions of Water Lilies and Bridge over a pond of Water Lilies at Giverny. I did not know what it was in his work that drew me in, but whatever it was, it resonated with me at a very deep level. When I traveled to Europe for college in1985, I went on a pilgrimage to Paris to see Claude Monet’s Water Lilies in the Musee de L’Orangerie. It was a breathtaking experience to sit in front of the 8 paintings, 4 in each of 2 oval rooms designed specifically for these monumental works (each about 19 feet long by 6 feet tall). The museum closed from 1999 to 2006 and reopened just in time for me to see it in its newly remodeled space the summer of 06 with my kids. The museum has kept the original 2 oval rooms that I saw in 85 that were designed specifically for these paintings, but they created openings in the ceiling to flood the rooms with natural sunlight to view them in a more natural setting. When I was reading about Monet this week in the text book, I came across a quote that helped me to understand why I so love Monet, and have always connected to his works. This is the statement made by Monet when he spoke to an artist friend, “When you go out to paint, try to forget what objects you have before you- a tree, a house, a field or whatever. Merely think, here is a little square of blue, here is an oblong of pink, here is a streak of yellow, and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact color and shape, until it gives your own naïve impression of the scene before you.” This is what draws me to Monet. He paints the way light plays off surfaces, the ever-changing color of life. And this is what I love and identify with. When my children were young, I found a book about Monet’s garden that I fell in love with and still have today. It is called “Linnea in Monet’s Garden” by C. Bjork. It is the story of a little girl who goes to visit Monet’s garden, and the adventure she has in discovering that world. Although the premise of the story is improbable in our day (she travels with an elderly male neighbor to the gardens) the story is full of details about the garden and allows the reader to enter into the magic of Monet’s life through a child’s eyes. I would highly recommend it. As Monet is my favorite of all painters, its only fitting that I end our blog adventure in this class with a tribute to this great man.

Blog #8 Museum Visits this Semester

Since there is no topic listed for this blog, I will do it on my visits to the museums of the bay area. I started my tour of our museums at the De Young Museum on Feb 17th. I was there the weekend after the Warhol exhibit went in. I arrived just as the museum opened and took the first guided tour of the day, which was empty except for me.. so I got a private tour of the exhibit! It was wonderful to hear all about Andy Warhol’s life and have the tour guide all to myself, to ask questions and get into a dialogue about Warhol. You are not allowed to take photos of special exhibits, so I don’t have any of Warhol, but I did take some pretty cool pictures of Dale Chihuly’s glass works, including Rover’s Garden Grows. This is his piece. I decided that it would be really great to learn how to blow glass.

On March 5th, I went to The Cantor Arts Center. I went to see the new Rodin Exhibit, but I was there on a day when they were not giving a tour. So I went around and took lots of photographs of the art works that were outside, and began to explore the inside before I had to leave. I knew I would have to return. This is me in front of the Gates of Hell by Rodin.





On April 3rd, I made a visit to the San Jose Museum of Art. I realized that it was not one of the museums on our list of places to visit, but I wanted to check it out. It is a contemporary art museum, displaying works of artists in the last 100 years. They also are hosting a Warhol exhibit and it is worth visiting. Also, there is a fantastic 3 piece chandelier in the 2 story entrance hall of the museum. You are not allowed to photograph any of the exhibits, but you can take a photo in the lobby… so I photographed myself from the 2nd floor with the Chihuly chandeliers behind me.



On April 5th, I returned to the Cantor Museum and took the 1 hour docent led Rodin tour. I am writing on Michelangelo and Rodin, so I took lots of notes and photographs. The museum was nice enough to allow photographs of the pieces. It was very interesting to go on the tour, and I found that I actually knew a lot about Rodin, having read a book on him, and that made the tour even more enriching.
I was able to get the tour guide to take my picture against the Gates of Hell.. a better picture that my self portrait of before!









On April 14th, I visited the Portland Art Museum and saw the special collection of French Paintings in the age of Madame de Pompadour, entitled “ La Volupte du Gout”. Again, the museum does not allow photographs, but it was very good timing as we started on Rococo paintings the very next week!











And finally today, almost as an afterthought, I visited the Legion of Honor Museum. I had a free day and took my daughter and her friend. I was very surprised and impressed with this museum. It was the perfect museum for us to see, having taken this class. The 19 rooms on the main floor are organized by time and artistic style periods, starting with Medieval, Renaissance and Mannerist art in rooms 2-5 and ending with 18th -20th century neoclassical art through post impressionism in rooms 16-19. It was very nicely organized, and each room had a wallboard explaining the period, and the significance of the style being presented. Additionally, the center 3 galleries contained a very extensive collection of Rodin with his bronze castings as well as his plaster carvings, and a few marble pieces. The information plaque said that the Spreckels family, who donated the museum and this collection to the city of San Francisco, had acquired many of the pieces from Rodin or his friend and got pieces cast while the artist was alive! And- I was very happy to find that this museum allows you to take photographs of the pieces as long as you don’t use a flash. I ended up with over 200 photographs of the works of art.. and was able to find examples of art from every period we have studied so far!
I was very impressed with the Legion of Honor, and would have enjoyed spending much more time there, but my 12 year old daughter and her friend were ready to move on… they were saturated! So my last photograph is of me, in the mirror (pink jacket) in the recreated Neoclassical room from the Salon of the Hotel d’ Humieres, Paris, 1788.


What I have learned is that there is a fantastic wealth of art in the bay area that we can enjoy. Art museums have gone the extra mile to provide informative placards, made hand held devices to listen to tour guides, provided docents to give free tours on a regular basis, and even gone to ipod downloads that you can get ahead of time and listen to while in the museum. All you have to do is have the time, curiosity and the willingness to dig a bit deeper when there- and you can learn a whole lot from the artists of our past!