Museum exhibitions
Waxing realistic
Most of my posts wax poetically over the wonders of life in Florence or Italy in general. And, there are many beautiful things about living on the peninsula.
But, there are some annoying drawbacks too, as anyone with experience can tell you. I thought I’d mention one that has been on my mind.
According to documents you can find on the internet, Italy has an open for free policy on the first Sunday of the month for certain museums. Fortunately, I am at a time in life when a 10 Euro entrance fee doesn’t decide for me whether or not I visit a museum, but when you hear about a free day and decide to take advantage of it, you expect the state museum to be opened as promised.
After consulting my handy-dandy list of which museums in Florence constitute a “state museum,” I discovered that two candidates for last Sunday would be the museum of San Marco and the Bargello. I had read that the policy of free first Sundays had been changed to only the months of October through March, and I thought I had the whole thing figured out and could pay a quick visit for free to San Marco.
When I arrived at the door to the museum part of San Marco on Sunday, March 1, which was obviously the first Monday of the month, I was greeted by a door bolted shut and a sign on the door that said the Museum is closed on the first, third and some other Sunday of every month.
So much for San Marco being a candidate for a free visit the first Sunday.
So, I headed for the Bargello. Incidentally, I had read the Google Map app that the Bargello was closed on March 1, and I wondered if that was because of the coronavirus scare (I read the the Louvre was closed for this reason) or if maybe the museum was actually open despite what the app said.
When I arrived at the entrance to the Bargello, primed for my free visit, I encountered another bolted door and a temporary sign:
This drenched paper states that the Bargello has suspended the free Sunday visits as of March 1, 2020. It further states that the museum will be open but at the regular cost. But then, the museum was closed.
Chissa? E’ Italia! Welcome to my world!
South doors (newly restored) of Florentine Baptistery on display
Musée Picasso, Paris
Paris and its infinite treasures! The Musée Picasso is just one example.
First, the building!
Lunch at the Musee d’Orsay, a spectacular treat
Hector Guimard and Art Nouveau at the Musee d’Orsay, Paris
You may know the work of Hector Guimard if you are familiar with his iconic Paris Metro signs and stations.
What you may not know is that the Musee d’Orsay has a fabulous collection of his furniture. The collection also includes outstanding furniture by other Art Nouveau artists.
Here is just a glimpse of some of the wonders I saw:
A true confession from a former, rabid art historian
Hi Janis, I’m disappointed we didn’t get a chance to meet up again before our trips to the US! I hope you are well again. I am happy to say I am almost well. The 2nd round of antibiotics and nebulizer did the trick.
I’ve been wanting to share a couple of things from my Paris trip that only you will understand! You know how we are always saying that “things aren’t like they used to be” in the art world in Italy. You can’t just pop in at the Medici Chapel and expect to find it open and empty like it would have been in the olden days! We are ancient!
And you know how we are always saying that we don’t like going to special exhibitions nowadays because you have to fight the crowds to get close to a painting. It is too much work and it ruins the experience.
So, in that vein, I have a couple of things:
First, I can spend an entire vacation without going into an art museum at all nowadays! I think that not only do I dislike the two items above, but I am just tired of art museums in general and my interests have evolved. I have to face the fact that I’m no longer a devoted student of art.
So, on one of our first days in Paris, staying well out of the center of the city and relying on the Metro, but the Metro was on strike…we decided to walk to the Pompidou Center. I haven’t been there in 30 years. My son has never been there. We had a lovely walk through a fascinating section of Paris and, when we arrived at the Pompidou, we joined a small group of people waiting to enter. We got inside, I looked around, and every fiber in my being said “leave!” There is all of Paris to experience and I don’t feel like getting lost in this big, modern building looking at art I really couldn’t care less about. My son was only too happy to leave. He was drug into so many art museums as a child that his right arm is longer than his left, or so we joke.
We were in Paris for 10 days and the one Metro line that you could count on working was the #1, which goes East to West, stopping at the Louvre. We rode that line almost every day and many a time we got off at the Louvre, the center of the city.
We walked by the pyramid almost daily, and even though the museum was always open, we decided not to go in and save our complete Louvre experience for the 17th, when we had Leonardo tickets.
So the days go by and we are planning to see the Louvre on the 17th. We depart Paris on the 19th.
We arrive at the Louvre about 11 a.m. on the 17th, even though our tickets were for 1 pm. I notice immediately that the usual line to enter the pyramid is not there and there is a pretty good sized group of people in the area, but it is helter scelter. I find a Louvre official and show him my Leonardo ticket on my phone. He scoffs. I’m confused. Then it becomes clear, on the 17th of January (my birthday and Michelle Obama’s too, btw!) the Louvre employees decided to join the strike. No one is getting into the museum!
I am in shock. This was one scenario I didn’t see coming. We planned our entire trip around this exhibition.
And yet, another part of me was just fine with this outcome. We gathered ourselves up and headed to the Left Bank where I treated us to a delicious birthday lunch at Les Deux Magots! It was perfect.
I hasten to add that during the 10 days I was in Paris I did attend 2 special art exhibitions: Toulouse Lautrec at the Grand Palais and Degas at the Opera at the Musee d’ Orsay. Both exhibitions were very crowded (in January for god’s sake!) and not enjoyable from that standpoint. I had been dreading the Leonardo show because I assumed it would be even more crowded.
So, what did I learn? I learned that I have made my last plan around a special art exhibition. Those days are officially over for me. Yes, I will always look at art. But, no more blockbusters unless I get a personal invitation to visit privately when the museum is closed to the public. And, while that used to happen in my life, that ain’t gonna happen again in this lifetime!
Only a fellow (sister?) art historian can understand the greatness of this tale!!
Ciao for now, sister, Lauretta
Edgar Degas at the Opera, exhibition at Musee d’Orsay, Paris
There was a wonderful exhibition on Edgar Degas at the Musee d’Orsay when I was there recently. Here are some of the works that caught my eye:
I had a copy of the print below hanging in my childhood bedroom. I know and love this beautiful work as well as I know my own hands.
Below, I wonder…little dreamers? And, if so, dreaming of being a ballerina or a painter?
The Rodin Museum, Paris
What a glorious place in Paris!
What a glorious winter afternoon! January 2020. So glad I came to Paris, despite the record breaking long strikes of the Metro system and other things.
What a glorious city!
The Gates of Hell:
The Burghers of Calais:
The Musée Rodin was opened in 1919, primarily dedicated to the works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. It has two sites: the Hôtel Biron and surrounding grounds in central Paris, as well as just outside Paris at Rodin’s old home, the Villa des Brillants at Meudon, Hauts-de-Seine. The collection includes 6,600 sculptures, 8,000 drawings, 8,000 old photographs and 7,000 objets d’art. The museum receives 700,000 visitors annually.
From 1908, while living in the Villa des Brillants, Rodin used the Hôtel Biron as his workshop. He subsequently donated his entire collection of sculptures – along with paintings that he owned by Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir to the French State on the condition that they turn the buildings into a museum dedicated to his works.
The Musée Rodin contains most of Rodin’s significant creations. Many of his sculptures are displayed in the museum’s extensive garden. The museum includes a room dedicated to the works of Camille Claudel and one of her two castings of The Mature Age.
The gardens around the museum building contain many of the famous sculptures in natural settings. Behind the museum building are a small lake and casual restaurant. Additionally, the nearby Métro stop, Varenne, features some of Rodin’s sculptures on the platform.
Musée National Eugène-Delacroix, Paris
For a long time I have wanted to visit this small, but excellent museum. Last week I got my chance. I enjoyed it a lot and the lovely hidden garden was a delight to discover! This left bank artist home is well worth a visit.
get back, lauretta! 
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