Art Museum Visit
Julie Bogart
Narrative of Art Museum Visit
One thing I love about Cincinnati is that the art museum isn't *that* far away. We went to it
yesterday for the afternoon. We've been many, many times. It was especially apparent to
me yesterday. As we walked in the door, Liam exclaimed, "I love that Chihuly chandelier."
Jacob added, "I could look at it every day."
We made our way into the Greek and Egyptian displays and Caitrin noticed that they had
rearranged them. She went on to point out which of the vases she liked best compared to
last time. Liam wanted to stop and look at each of the hieroglyphs again.
We moved on and went into an exhibit that was put up by Proctor and Gamble - all
Cincinnati art. I honestly didn't recognize the exhibit but the kids did. They started
reminiscing about the pieces they had loved the last time we'd been there. We marveled at
the quality of the artwork.
Later we found an entire exhibit devoted to Frank Duveneck (Cincinnati native) and were
thrilled to see all his paintings together. That was new.
We made our way upstairs to see the Monets that are on loan from Paris and were blown
away by the size and colors. Caitrin (7) immediately told me the story of why this
particular "Bridge at Giverny" was so hard to see close-up - "because Monet lost his
eyesight as he got older and he would make paintings that were less and less realistic as a
result." She pointed out how much the bridge showed up if we were at the back of the
room compared to up close when we could see each swirl of the brush.
Liam (10) reminded me of the "Linnea in Monet's Garden" book we had read and Jacob
remembered the movie.
We were amazed that the Cathedral at Rouen was so dull close up and so vibrant at a
distance. You could see the source of light behind it and it glowed from across the room.
We walked into the modern art exhibit and all agreed again that we don't like modern art,
except that I really like Mark Rothko. Rothko asserts that he isn't interested in form, line or
color but in creating emotions. He says that he knows he communicates because when
people look at his work, many report that they cry. Jacob (10), who couldn't remember
who Rothko was when I spoke of him last week, was eager to see our Cincinnati Rothko.
He didn't cry. He didn't understand why anyone would. I didn't cry either, but I did feel this
weird surge in my chest.
Liam wanted to see a real Van Gogh so I took them to the only one in the museum. He
remembered it then and commented that, "that guy must really have liked paint. I like his
blue." Caitrin added, "He uses globs of it. It's nice to see the real painting so we can see
the globs up close." We wished for a Van Gogh exhibit to come to Cincinnati.
Our favorite rooms were closed for renovation. We were sad. So we went to other rooms
we frequent less and noticed all the Italians. Jacob asked, "Will some of these painters be
in Italy when we go next summer?" We discussed the benefits of great art being dispersed
throughout the world rather than collected all in one town. We talked about why the
Italians artwork was so much more dramatic than the British in the room next door. We
shuddered in front of a boyish, rosy-cheeked David holding the recently severed head of a
bloody Goliath.
We ended up in front of a painting that showed a woman deranged with a pale face,
flowers dripping down her white gown, restrained by a man in a renaissance costume.
They stood before a queen in anguish and a king with his face in his hands. Jacob called
out, "Mom, this is from Hamlet! That's Ophelia." And it was. The man was Laertes, her
brother. Apparently this artist had wanted to make a series of Shakespeare paintings to
display together in England, but the project failed and the pieces he painted have been
bought up by a variety of art connoisseurs. This painting is the first to have been
purchased for the Cincinnati Art Museum and its purchase preceded the museum's
construction by about five years.
It was a great afternoon. And it was fun to see that repeated visits yielded so much in my
kids.
Julie B
One thing I love about Cincinnati is that the art museum isn't *that* far away. We went to it
yesterday for the afternoon. We've been many, many times. It was especially apparent to
me yesterday. As we walked in the door, Liam exclaimed, "I love that Chihuly chandelier."
Jacob added, "I could look at it every day."
We made our way into the Greek and Egyptian displays and Caitrin noticed that they had
rearranged them. She went on to point out which of the vases she liked best compared to
last time. Liam wanted to stop and look at each of the hieroglyphs again.
We moved on and went into an exhibit that was put up by Proctor and Gamble - all
Cincinnati art. I honestly didn't recognize the exhibit but the kids did. They started
reminiscing about the pieces they had loved the last time we'd been there. We marveled at
the quality of the artwork.
Later we found an entire exhibit devoted to Frank Duveneck (Cincinnati native) and were
thrilled to see all his paintings together. That was new.
We made our way upstairs to see the Monets that are on loan from Paris and were blown
away by the size and colors. Caitrin (7) immediately told me the story of why this
particular "Bridge at Giverny" was so hard to see close-up - "because Monet lost his
eyesight as he got older and he would make paintings that were less and less realistic as a
result." She pointed out how much the bridge showed up if we were at the back of the
room compared to up close when we could see each swirl of the brush.
Liam (10) reminded me of the "Linnea in Monet's Garden" book we had read and Jacob
remembered the movie.
We were amazed that the Cathedral at Rouen was so dull close up and so vibrant at a
distance. You could see the source of light behind it and it glowed from across the room.
We walked into the modern art exhibit and all agreed again that we don't like modern art,
except that I really like Mark Rothko. Rothko asserts that he isn't interested in form, line or
color but in creating emotions. He says that he knows he communicates because when
people look at his work, many report that they cry. Jacob (10), who couldn't remember
who Rothko was when I spoke of him last week, was eager to see our Cincinnati Rothko.
He didn't cry. He didn't understand why anyone would. I didn't cry either, but I did feel this
weird surge in my chest.
Liam wanted to see a real Van Gogh so I took them to the only one in the museum. He
remembered it then and commented that, "that guy must really have liked paint. I like his
blue." Caitrin added, "He uses globs of it. It's nice to see the real painting so we can see
the globs up close." We wished for a Van Gogh exhibit to come to Cincinnati.
Our favorite rooms were closed for renovation. We were sad. So we went to other rooms
we frequent less and noticed all the Italians. Jacob asked, "Will some of these painters be
in Italy when we go next summer?" We discussed the benefits of great art being dispersed
throughout the world rather than collected all in one town. We talked about why the
Italians artwork was so much more dramatic than the British in the room next door. We
shuddered in front of a boyish, rosy-cheeked David holding the recently severed head of a
bloody Goliath.
We ended up in front of a painting that showed a woman deranged with a pale face,
flowers dripping down her white gown, restrained by a man in a renaissance costume.
They stood before a queen in anguish and a king with his face in his hands. Jacob called
out, "Mom, this is from Hamlet! That's Ophelia." And it was. The man was Laertes, her
brother. Apparently this artist had wanted to make a series of Shakespeare paintings to
display together in England, but the project failed and the pieces he painted have been
bought up by a variety of art connoisseurs. This painting is the first to have been
purchased for the Cincinnati Art Museum and its purchase preceded the museum's
construction by about five years.
It was a great afternoon. And it was fun to see that repeated visits yielded so much in my
kids.
Julie B
Robyn Coburn
Julie, thanks for sharing this. I look forward to reading your individual
narratives.
If you are ever visiting Houston, you might enjoy the Rothko Chapel. Usually
there is a Broken Obelisk sculpture outside in the fountain. Last time I was
there it was gone with an official sign posted: Broken Obelisk removed for
repair. It made me chuckle.
Robyn L. Coburn
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narratives.
If you are ever visiting Houston, you might enjoy the Rothko Chapel. Usually
there is a Broken Obelisk sculpture outside in the fountain. Last time I was
there it was gone with an official sign posted: Broken Obelisk removed for
repair. It made me chuckle.
Robyn L. Coburn
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.735 / Virus Database: 489 - Release Date: 8/6/2004