I visited Les Invalides twice over the summer months, the first time to see the Historial devoted to General de Gaulle, and the second time to explore the museum on the two World Wars. Of the two I much preferred the former, partly because it incorporates more modern museographic techniques but mostly because it is easier to find one's way around when the focus is on just one person. I felt there was just too much to see (and hear) in the other museum.
When visiting an art museum, I sometimes wonder whether I'm not interested in everything except the painting itself. That is an exaggeration of course, but it is true that I prefer the picture to come to me rather than the other way round. (That's just given me an idea: perhaps I should install an art screensaver on my computer? Have just tried to do this and it seems too much of a hassle.) In that case, you might ask, why don't I spend more time exploring works of art on the computer via sites like the Google Art Project or Art Authority (on the iPad) and less time traipsing around a museum? Or why don't I just head straight for the boutique and buy my bookmarkers there?
In this blog I try to be honest most of the time even if that means I am also incoherent, as here. Art for me is often an exercise in reverie or nostalgia. I ask for a picture to awaken a memory or emotion, and for that to happen I need to trudge along to the museum and pay my admission fee, like any good Jesuit-educated boy!
Pathetic, I know, but it's part of the deal. The reverie will include information on the artist's life, often so much more interesting than the painting itself.
When visiting an art museum, I sometimes wonder whether I'm not interested in everything except the painting itself. That is an exaggeration of course, but it is true that I prefer the picture to come to me rather than the other way round. (That's just given me an idea: perhaps I should install an art screensaver on my computer? Have just tried to do this and it seems too much of a hassle.) In that case, you might ask, why don't I spend more time exploring works of art on the computer via sites like the Google Art Project or Art Authority (on the iPad) and less time traipsing around a museum? Or why don't I just head straight for the boutique and buy my bookmarkers there?
In this blog I try to be honest most of the time even if that means I am also incoherent, as here. Art for me is often an exercise in reverie or nostalgia. I ask for a picture to awaken a memory or emotion, and for that to happen I need to trudge along to the museum and pay my admission fee, like any good Jesuit-educated boy!
Pathetic, I know, but it's part of the deal. The reverie will include information on the artist's life, often so much more interesting than the painting itself.
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