Local, Near and Far: Our journey of exploring the world.

Category: Art (Page 4 of 6)

The Menil Collection

Although I called Houston home for the first 18 years of my life, my first trip to The Menil Collection was on a college architectural field trip. Growing up, my family had always visited the more popular Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. I was surprised to find such a gem in my hometown!

Curved Roof Panels

Curved Roof Panels

On this first trip, my classmates and I examined this thoughtful building. Renowned architect Renzo Piano designed the main building, as well as the adjacent Cy Twombly Gallery. Piano also designed the recent expansion of the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. The challenge of any art museum is bringing natural light inside to illuminate the artwork without damaging them with harmful UV rays. At The Menil, Piano used curved roof panels to safely direct and filter the light into the spaces below, creating a distinctive rhythm throughout the structure. In addition to the roof panels, I love the long wood plank flooring that make the galleries seem even longer. The heavy wearing of the wood reveals the countless number of people who have enjoyed this space previously.

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Chasing Caravaggio: Caravaggios of the National Gallery, Part 1

Every Friday we take a break from our regular blogging schedule to allow the authors an opportunity to feature a certain topic they are passionate about. In the past you’ve read about art, studying abroad, experiencing culture through food, and the great burger adventure. Through this and other future posts we hope you’ll enjoy reading, we hope to share with you our personalities, passions, and interests on a more personal level.

As part of our continuing desire to bring beauty into focus, From Texas to Beyond will periodically feature brilliant pieces of art that have influenced our lives.  We are excited to showcase these universal works of beauty with you.

Today, we begin a two-part miniseries examining the Caravaggio painting from the National Gallery in London.  As I mentioned in my first post in the Chasing Caravaggio Series, I am on a quest to view all of Caravaggio’s masterpieces firsthand.  Thanks to a short layover at London Heathrow I found three more in the National Gallery.

As Rebekah discussed in her earlier post, The National Gallery owns countless magnificent pieces of art.  While on a guided tour of the museum, I caught my first glimpse of the pieces I desired to see the most:  all three Caravaggio paintings hung next to each other along a long wall.  Once the tour concluded, we backtracked to Room 32.

Boy bitten by a Lizard

Caravaggio's Boy bitten by a Lizard - Courtesy of Wikipedia

Caravaggio’s Boy bitten by a Lizard – Courtesy of Wikipedia

Enjoying the Caravaggio’s one at a time, I first viewed Boy bitten by a Lizard.  I had previously seen a later version of Boy bitten by a Lizard (from the Fondazione Roberto Longhi) at the Kimbell Art Museum during a traveling exhibition.  Caravaggio’s earlier version was just as good.  This painting was one of the first the artist produced after arriving in Rome, sometime between 1595 and 1600.  While straightforward at first glance, the piece is full of symbolism.  If you listen to most contemporary commentaries on this piece of art, they will mention Caravaggio’s overt interest in young men.  After reading more on the artist, it is hard to believe he did not love men.  However, he definitely loved women as well.  To me, Boy bitten by a Lizard seems to show that something as beautiful as fruit, a symbol of love, may end in unexpected pain, such as a bite from a hidden lizard.

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Saint Vitus Cathedral – Prague

When you think of Prague, you think of a giant castle on top of a hill overlooking the Vltava River with the stunning spires of St. Vitus Cathedral pointing to the heavens.  So when David and I made our plans to visit Prague, we knew the Cathedral was on our must see list.

The official name is the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saints, Vitus, Wenceslaus, and Adalbert.  It is open daily from 9:00am to 5:00pm April – October and 9:00am-4:00pm November – March.  No tours are available Sunday mornings, but you can attend mass and experience Czech culture first hand.  The church is a beautiful example of Gothic and Neo-Gothic architecture with flying buttresses that took 600 years to build!

St. Vitus Cathedral 61Now, you can walk up that big ol’ hill to access the Prague Castle complex, but we opted to take a tram up and walk down later that evening.  You can purchase tram tickets at some hotels, convenience stores or little kiosks along some of the major routes.  Tram 22 makes the steep ascent easy, with convenient pick-up near the Charles Bridge.

Once inside the Castle, you will need a ticket.  As discussed in the previous post, there are a few ticket options.  We purchased the short-tour ticket, which gave us access to Saint Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace, Saint George’s Basilica and the quaint Golden Lane for 250 Crowns ($12 at the time) per person.

St. Vitus Cathedral 57

Ceiling of St. Vitus

Actually, access to a portion of the Cathedral is free, but you are restricted to the very back of the church.  If you have tickets you are able to explore the full structure.  The story behind the tickets is an interesting issue of separation of Church and State.  The church is a national treasure for Czechs, and is one of the country’s most beloved pieces of art.  The church contains many relics and tombs of Czech kings, national heroes and local saints.  Three Habsburg kings are also buried inside.  After the fall of communism, the ownership rights of the Cathedral were disputed between the State and the Church, each claiming they were the rightful owners.  In 2006, a court ruled in favor of the Church against the popular opinion.  Strapped for cash, the Church immediately began charging an entrance fee.  This made many Czechs upset.  Then in 2008, the courts overturned the earlier decision, returning ownership of the Cathedral to the State, which eliminated the entrance fee.  Finally in 2011, an archbishop proposed a compromise of co-ownership between the Church and the State.  Now, any person may enter this national landmark for free.  However, if you want to pass the rope, you must pay for a ticket to gain access to the chapels and holy relics inside.

There are many reasons to visit the Cathedral, such as the Wenceslas Chapel.  Yes that is the same Wenceslas from the Christmas carol, Good King Wenceslas.  Wenceslas was considered the Czech’s most enlightened, beloved and honored king.  However, the stained glass windows mesmerized me!  They were just breathtaking.  I have never seen stained glass windows so beautiful.  The colors used were so rich and vibrant, that the walls and pews glowed!

Mucha's Stained Glass Window

Mucha’s Stained Glass Window

By far, the most admired stained glass window features the work of the pioneering Art Nouveau Czech artist, Alfons Mucha.  Those who did not pay the church’s entrance fee will barely see this window.  We highly recommend paying the entrance fee so you can stand directly in front of this stained glass masterpiece.  In general when viewing Mucha’s work, consider that he used colors to convey different ideas.  White represents peace, red for war, blue for the past and orange for the future.  He used stained glass but also painted on the glass to achieve a wonderfully-different effect.  Most stained glass windows in a cathedral focus on biblical themes, but Mucha’s theme traces the history of the Czech people, including religious and historical figures.  If you love this window, David shared about Mucha’s nationalistic series of masterpieces, The Slav Epic, in an earlier post.

The crowds will come and go.  If you want to look at something in more detail, just wait for the tour groups to pass.  Soon you will have a break from the crowds, and then you can devote your full attention to the scene that grabbed your attention.

For one last memory of this great church, stroll through the Castle complex at night.  It is beautiful!

View of St. Vitus Cathedral from Strahov Monastary

View of St. Vitus Cathedral from Strahov Monastary

The Slav Epic

Alfons Mucha’s Slav Epic was the highlight of our trip to Prague!

You may not have heard of Alfons Mucha before, but if you spend time in the Czech Republic, you will see his work and influence all around you! Mucha’s style became the foundation for Art Nouveau. Even without prior knowledge of Mucha, the Slav Epic is a must see cultural gem!

The Massive Paintings

The Massive Paintings

On 20 canvases, Alfons Mucha portrays the history and mythology of the Slavic people, spanning 1,500 years. Mucha devoted 18 years to completing the series. These nationalistic pieces of art helped unify the Slavic people, ultimately gaining their own country after World War I.

Exterior of the Veletrzni Palace

Exterior of the Veletrzni Palace

The Location: The enormous canvasses, some as large as 25 feet by 20 feet, are well-displayed in the Veletržní Palace. Located just outside the main touristic district, we caught a tram (Line 12, 14, 15 or 17), which dropped us at the museum entrance.

Viewing the Art: Today, viewing this collection provides a great overview for a modern visitor to Prague. Each piece chronologically portrays a scene from history or cultural folklore. The paintings will introduce you to the major political figures, which you will see celebrated throughout the Czech Republic. For example, find Jan Hus in the artwork. Hus tried to reform the Catholic Church more than 100 years before Martin Luther, but was burned at the stake for heresy. You will also find his statue in the center of the Old Town Square, and in Mucha’s stained glass window in St. Vitus Cathedral. Learning these historical figures will add depth and understanding to your visit as you find them at attractions across Prague and the Czech Republic.

Detail of the Apotheosis of the Slavs

Detail of the Apotheosis of the Slavs

When viewing the paintings, consider that colors are symbolic: white for peace, red for war, blue for the past and orange for the future. In addition, Mucha highlights the focal points in each work with extra detail applied with oil paint, making these figures pop out of the canvas.

The Cost: The Veletržní Palace has other great artwork as well, but with limited time, Rebekah and I only visited the Slav Epic exhibit. Based on the collections you wish to see, there are multiple choices when buying tickets at the front desk. Admission for the Slav Epic exhibition only is 180 CZK (about $9.00 at the time). Once inside the exhibit, there is a desk where you can purchase the English informational pamphlet for 10 CZK ($0.50). You SHOULD definitely do this! The descriptions of each piece bring the paintings to life with the background required to properly enjoy the works. Allow two hours to view the Slav Epic and read the descriptions.

The Gallery

The Gallery

Other Noteworthy Items:  If you find yourself in love with Mucha’s style after visiting the Slav Epic, there are two additional attractions in Prague where you can view more of his work.  As mentioned above, Mucha created a stained glass window in St. Vitus Catherdral, located within Prague Castle.  The window is simply stunning; a must see.  The second option, which we did not have time to visit, is the Alfons Mucha Museum in the New Town.

UPDATE:  The Slav Epic is currently closed.  Please check this link to verify that the Gallery has reopened prior to visiting.  The expected reopening is August 1, 2015.

The National Gallery

With only two hours in central London via a long layover, David and I decided to spend our time at The National Gallery.  We love art and wanted to see the gems that are housed in London.  The Gallery is open every day and is free so it was a perfect fit for us.

Trafalgar Square - View from the Museum

Trafalgar Square – View from the Museum

From the airport, we headed into London via the Tube and after a short walk, ended up in Trafalgar Square at The National Gallery.  When we arrived at the museum, I had to eat something before I could enjoy the art.  We headed down to the café, a little afraid of the prices; to our surprise, it was very reasonable.  The chicken curry sandwich, carrot cake and coffee were delicious and perfect.

Once we arrived, we realized we were right on time for a tour.  Guided tours are offered daily at 11:30 AM and 2:30 PM.  We joined at least 50 other patrons as a docent guided us through the busy rooms.  At first, I was discouraged when the docent stated she would show us only 4 pieces on the hour-long tour due to the large size of the group. But, I can honestly say, it was the best museum tour I have ever experienced.

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