I took this photo several years ago when I led a Watertown High School student trip to Rome. We had a free afternoon and one of my students and I made the trip to the church of San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome. This church is remarkable in many ways but I was captured by this statue of St. Bartholomew, carved in 1712 by Pierre Legros.In brief, Bartholomew was martyred by being skinned alive. But during the Second Coming, he is resurrected with a new skin. The artistic version of this story that I am most familiar with is in the Sistine Chapel in Michelangelo's brilliant Last Judgement of Christ. In that version, too, he is holding both his old skin and the knife that was used to flay him. In Michelangelo's version, some art historians say that the face on the old skin is the face of the artist.I don't know whose face is on the sculpted version I am showing here[smugbuy gallery="http://scottshephardphoto.smugmug.com/Fine-Art-Photography/Fine-Art/21122937_fHW9Lh"]
Art
The African Gallery
Just beyond the pottery featured in yesterday's post I encountered this scene. Maybe it's not at special as I think it is, but I liked how the human on the left complemented the figure on the right. It results in symmetry that would be absent with the standing woman. This was taken at the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Fixed Orbits
In this case I was confronted by this collection of pottery at the beginning of the museum's African collection. The spherical shape and the brilliant arrangement of these pots reminded me of circling planets. Thus the title of today's post.
The Metal Flower Trees - The Getty Center (LA)
in Architecture, Art
Another Frank Photo
in Art
This isn't the first time I've posted Frank, by the artist Chuck Close. Frank resides in the Minneapolis Institute of Art and I've observed that he seems to get around since this is at least the 4th different gallery I remember seeing him in. Frank, incidentally, is a photo-realistic painting done from a photo of someone named Frank.If you follow this blog and click on the "art museum" tag, you'll see that I like to take shots of galleries in art museums. I especially like quiet moments like the one pictured here. It is rare to get a whole gallery (or two) to myself. Though I guess Frank is here with me, isn't he?
Table & Chairs
in Architecture, Art
This is a room at the Minneapolis Institute of Art that features the design work of Frank Lloyd Wright. The chairs at this dining table don't look all that comfortable. But they are certainly stylish. I'm guessing that high-heeled shoes share the same quality.
Another Kind of Trinity
in Art
I took my Photo/Media students to the Twin Cities last week and one of the stops was the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. While they were wandering on their own, I wandered, too.This glass display case has been part of the Design collection for many years and I have photographed the beautiful glass before. But I've never posted anything to this blog.As you can see, I used a large aperture (f4) to blur the background. The dark purple jar stands out because of the color but the blur does even more to emphasize this specimen. What I like about the display case that the glass is sitting in is that everything else is pure white. It's as if the glassware is floating in space.
Avant Garde
in Art
Today's offering is another art museum interior - this time a shot of some of the work of the "crackpot" leaders of the Modern Art movement as seen at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. I happen to like the crackpots. :-)
11-01-09 A Human Interface
in Architecture, Art, Favorites
You may have noticed that I like to take photographs of art museum interiors. This photo comes from the Denver Art Museum. The inspiration for the title is the fact that the design and color of the space that showcases the art are so welcoming.
Art museums are often busy and full of the sound of voices and footsteps echoing off the walls and wooden floors in the spacious galleries. But because it was snowing outside, the museum was quiet and I had this floor almost to myself. I was looking for serenity, warmth and color on this particular morning and I found it.
For those who might be curious, the painting on the wall directly opposite my camera is called "Childhood Idyll" by Bourguereau. Click here to see a better view of the painting.
Canon 5D II 1/30s f/4.0 ISO800 35mm
08-29-09 nspired By Art
I think I've mentioned that I enjoy taking candid photos in art museums. This photo was taken in Tacoma, Washington, at The Museum of Glass. This art lover seems exhausted by the experience of seeing all that glass. He's sitting on a glass, leather and chrome bench.
Canon 5D 1/30s f/4.0 ISO640 60mm Some rights reserved under Creative Commons Copyright