August 22, art museum, still

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Corot. View of Lake Garda, ca 1870.

While I'm not terribly crazy about this, I think it's interesting how the value gets darker and darker from the background to the foreground.





And I like this detail.





Egyptian ibis head. Not sure from when, during all those ancient Egyptian centuries.

(Wondering why it was so dark in this room........... I understand why they are verrrrry careful about lighting works which can be damaged by light, but ... when all the works in the room are stone or metal........ ???)





Roman portrait bust. Greek sculpture was idealized and stylized. It was meant to show a perfect athlete, say, rather than depict an individual.

The Romans, on the other hand, wanted individuals to be identifiable.

This is Caracalla, "one of Rome's more emotionally disturbed emperors."

(Ed. note -- wow, you've got to go some to earn that distinction in that crowd!)

ca 215 AD.





There was an exhibit of Chinese painting, which, alas, I failed to document by photographing the labels. Old. Dimly lit, to preserve the work.

These first two were in the same case -- they didn't look that different in overall color in person. I have lessened the green in the second one, and I think it is still too green...........







This was part of a scroll. I like the bamboo, and like seeing it through the tree.





Love the shape and color. (Wish its neighbors weren't so prominently reflected. Ah well.)

Tang Dynasty (618-907).





The museum has a collection of works by Henry Moore. I wasn't especially fond of any of them, and don't particularly like this one, either. It is supposed to be a sheep. Or be about sheep. Or something.

I was amused by a sheepish piece, surrounded by sheep.





And was particularly amused by this particular sheep, rubbing an itchy shoulder on the sculpture.





Once upon a time, many moons ago, when I was a History of Art minor in college, we saw this in my Asian Art course.

I was very surprised to see it, the first time I saw it here in the museum, as I had not known it was no longer in China.

I have had a soft spot in my heart for it ever since.

It was carved from the living rock inside a cave, and the sculptor worked with the intent that the piece should be seen from this vantage point, lit by the light coming in through the mouth of the cave (which would have been to our left, just as we see the light here).

It looks a bit strange if you see it as you would have from the mouth of the cave, but the shadows are just right from this vantage point.



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