I've
been wanting to go see a museum exhibit for the last month or so and kept
putting it off. I am the king of procrastinators and end up doing things at the
last minute. The exhibit was "Renaissance to Goya: Prints and Drawings
from Spain" at the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe. It is a touring
exhibit but Santa Fe is the only stop in the US and it is scheduled to leave in
a few days.
I only live a half hour away from Santa Fe but it usually takes me another half hour to find what I'm looking for and a reasonable place to park. This discourages me from going to Santa Fe very often but there is a commuter train that offers a great alternative to driving and I should go by train -- it's a $5.00 round trip. I drove instead. The museum is located on the plaza next to the Palace of the Governor's so parking can be difficult. I was lucky and found a spot only three blocks away.
The exhibit includes works by about a dozen or more artists from about 1600 to about 1830. Most of the art work consists of drawings or prints, mostly in black chalk or some pen and ink. The drawings and prints are small, usually less than ten inches square. Subject matter is mostly religious events but there are some facial studies and some secular subjects. Goya's pieces include some of his warfare prints and some on bull fighting.
When I entered the exhibit gallery I was right behind a grade school class on a field trip. These looked like fourth or fifth graders. The class was being escorted by a museum staff person who was explaining the various pieces of art and trying to add a little context. The students were well behaved and quiet but I'm sure that most of them didn't grasp what the museum guide was trying to explain. The pieces were so small that it was hard to make out the image unless you were fairly close.
There are lots of fairly obscure religious stories depicted in the collection. Saint Anthony of Padua was a busy man based on some of the drawings...lots of miracles. Other saints were being butchered. Heretics were being garroted or placed on trial during the inquisition. Baby Jesus was being circumcised. There were lots of angels, saints and demons. Goya's prints had folks being gored or trampled by bulls, lunatics on the loose and war heroes doing various heroic warlike things.
I suspect that there will be some interesting questions around the dinner table tonight in some of the students' homes.
I only live a half hour away from Santa Fe but it usually takes me another half hour to find what I'm looking for and a reasonable place to park. This discourages me from going to Santa Fe very often but there is a commuter train that offers a great alternative to driving and I should go by train -- it's a $5.00 round trip. I drove instead. The museum is located on the plaza next to the Palace of the Governor's so parking can be difficult. I was lucky and found a spot only three blocks away.
The exhibit includes works by about a dozen or more artists from about 1600 to about 1830. Most of the art work consists of drawings or prints, mostly in black chalk or some pen and ink. The drawings and prints are small, usually less than ten inches square. Subject matter is mostly religious events but there are some facial studies and some secular subjects. Goya's pieces include some of his warfare prints and some on bull fighting.
When I entered the exhibit gallery I was right behind a grade school class on a field trip. These looked like fourth or fifth graders. The class was being escorted by a museum staff person who was explaining the various pieces of art and trying to add a little context. The students were well behaved and quiet but I'm sure that most of them didn't grasp what the museum guide was trying to explain. The pieces were so small that it was hard to make out the image unless you were fairly close.
There are lots of fairly obscure religious stories depicted in the collection. Saint Anthony of Padua was a busy man based on some of the drawings...lots of miracles. Other saints were being butchered. Heretics were being garroted or placed on trial during the inquisition. Baby Jesus was being circumcised. There were lots of angels, saints and demons. Goya's prints had folks being gored or trampled by bulls, lunatics on the loose and war heroes doing various heroic warlike things.
I suspect that there will be some interesting questions around the dinner table tonight in some of the students' homes.
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