exhibit favorites

A couple of months ago I went to the art museum to see an exhibit about masters in Venice. It was actually pretty cool, and had some of the works of art that I studied back in AP Art History on display, in addition to some really cool ancient instruments. Like a giant sax/bassoon thing that curved in a million places like a snake but was wood. And ancient clavichords. And other such things.



There were some pretty cool pictures there, too. Here are a few of my favorites. The one with the cow-looking creature that I'm pointing to is, I believe, actually called "The Ox" and it's by Van Gogh. It's a little creepy in person, I suppose, because everything looks a little dingy and hopeless in the shading, but you all know how I feel about paintings with cows in them.

The one at the top left is St. Mark's in Venice, by Canaletto, I think. The landscape is beautiful, and also has the requisite cow in it, if you look hard enough. And the last one, I don't know who did it, but I loved the light. It seemed like it was early morning, and maybe the one sister was catching fish for breakfast and the other is keeping her company as she reads her book. I was struck by the relaxed nature of the painting, and kind of longed for days when we were smart-phone and technology free and the biggest thing to do in the morning was go down to the river and fish for awhile. I realize that life has other problems that come with it, but it just seemed so relaxed, and a time where people moved more slowly and appreciated smaller things in life, and really valued conversation and relationships--maybe because back then, most people didn't have a whole lot of things and didn't really have an expectation that material goods would come their way, so they didn't let it interfere. Maybe I'm just making stuff up. Either way, these paintings were beautiful to see, and if you're ever in Portland, you should go see them. The Canaletto won't be there, but the rest are part of the permanent collection.