First Stop Sunday morning: All Saints Anglican Church, Charlottesville, VA
Second stop was the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, VA. They have a lovely collection:
a portrait by John Singer Sargent;
landscapes by Asher B. Durand, Frederick Church, Thomas Cole, Martin Johnson Heade, and Thomas Moran;
a couple of horse paintings by Albert Bierstadt;
assorted paintings by Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Edgar Degas, and Pablo Picasso;
and a Henry Moore sculpture outside.
My two favorites here are by Claude Monet and Thomas Moran
"Irises by the Pond", 1914-1917, is a (relatively) large canvas by Monet, and is displayed in a room decorated as it may have been in Paul Mellon's home. It does a beautiful job of taking your breath away
"Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite Valley", 1904, is a wonderful example of Moran Western paintings - combining color, light and texture to bring a beautiful vista to vibrant life
Which brings us to the editorial part of this blog. Maybe the art that moves me most is art that does not just accurately portray the landscape/waterfall/mountain range/seashore, but does more - it makes the view more alive than it really is (or at least more exciting/alive than you would see if you were there). They tease out that little piece of color, expand on that little shaft of light, and make the whole scene come alive. Their talent is in continuing to make it believable, and not degenerating into a cartoon. The further you try to take it away from "realism/reality", the stronger your talent must be to avoid the "cartoon". This may be why I love JMW Turner and Claude Monet - to me, they are the ones who have talent strong enough to pull it off.
and, of course, it is REALLY NICE that these museums are Beautiful Buildings located amongst Beautiful Landscapes (lunch in the sun with Henry Moore sculpture in the background)
The afternoon took us down to The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, VA. Although none of the five pieces of art I was hoping to see were on display, we enjoyed ourselves with our one-hour visit.
a very nice Cartography exhibit, with ancient maps
a room with low light and spotlights on ship models
Wendy thinking about sailing off into the sunset
and it was A LOT OF FUN to see the Sunfish in their "International Small Craft Center", with boats from around the world! (Don't forget to email Alex and Tim!)
Up to Fredericksburg for dinner with John and Lonnie, then a good night's sleep.
Sunday, April 27
Red Roof Inn, Charlottesville, VA
1/2 hour -- All Saints Anglican Church, Charlottesville, VA
1 1/4 hour -- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA
1 1/4 hour -- The Mariners' Museum, Newport News, VA
3 hours (in traffic) -- Fredericksburg, VA
here is today's playlist:
Paul Simon - Rhythm of the Saints
John Mayer - Heavier Things
Dave Matthews Band - Live at Red Rocks (2 cds)
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