From Texas to Beyond

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Tag: Caravaggio (Page 1 of 2)

This Massive Palace Now Houses the Musée du Louvre

The Art of Paris: The Top 5 Experiences at the Louvre

October 27, 2015 / / 0 Comments

In continuing our series The Art of Paris, one must include the Louvre. With this impressive and giant museum, the only way I could think of tackling a blog article about it was to create a top 5 must see list.  You could spend months inside the museum and still not view every object.  So when you go, it is helpful if you do a little research, figure out what you want to see, it’s location, and everything in between is a bonus.

Originally the structure was built as a fortress in the 12th century.  Since then, it has had a history of never ending remodeling to meet the needs of various purposes with its latest addition in 2012.  It was once a home to Francois I and later to Louis XIV, which he found to be too busy so he built Versailles just outside of town as a retreat or place to get away.  The palace was established as a museum in 1793.

Top 5 Experiences in no particular order…

Musée du Louvre - The Flying Carpet Structure of the Islamic Gallery

The Flying Carpet Structure of the Islamic Gallery

  1. The Islamic Galleries “Flying Carpet” – This beautiful addition was complete in September of 2012.  Located in an internal courtyard, the roof or flying carpet, does not touch the original facade of the Louvre.   It is a beautiful marriage of traditional architecture of the Louvre, and valuing progress with a modern structure.   The exhibit space is submerged 40 feet into the ground to provide light sensitive objects a safe viewing space.  I am not sure how much time I spent looking at the structure.  It was truly stunning.

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Chasing Caravaggio: Caravaggios of the National Gallery, Part 2

June 12, 2015 / / 0 Comments

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 conclude the 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.

Picking up where we left off during the previous Chasing Caravaggio, I was standing before three great works of art by Caravaggio in The Nation Gallery in London.  While the first two pieces, Boy bitten by a Lizard and Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist were delightful, my favorite of the three now had my full attention.

The Supper at Emmaus

Caravaggio's The Supper at Emmaus - Courtesy of Wikipedia

Caravaggio’s The Supper at Emmaus – Courtesy of Wikipedia

The final and greatest Caravaggio painting in The National Gallery, The Supper at Emmaus, was much large than I expected.  The scale of the painting accentuates the viewer’s ability to enter into the scene as Christ stretches his hand out of the painting’s surface, directly to us.

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Chasing Caravaggio: Caravaggios of the National Gallery, Part 1

May 22, 2015 / / 0 Comments

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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The National Gallery

April 29, 2015 / / 0 Comments

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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Caravaggio's The Cardsharps - Courtesy of KimbellArt.org

Chasing Caravaggio – The Cardsharps

April 17, 2015 / / 42 Comments

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. 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.

As a follow-up to my earlier review of the Kimbell Art Museum, there is one artwork by one artist in particular that I absolutely love:  The Cardsharps by Caravaggio.

Discovering Caravaggio

Caravaggio’s creations reignited my love of art.  As a child, I always loved art.  However, in 8th grade, I quickly learned that others were much more talented than myself.  Gradually I lost interest as I realized I would never be a great artist.  Or a good artist.  Or even a mediocre artist.

What I learned recently is a simple truth: you do not have to be an accomplished artist to appreciate the artwork of others.

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