In the flesh - art up close
Posted Sunday, September 21, 2008, 6:56 PM by Lonely Planet
They're everywhere - in books and magazines, on postcards and tea towels, coffee mugs, fridge magnets and t-shirts - artistic masterpieces so familiar and endlessly reproduced they could be wallpaper for our collective consciousness. Warhol's soup cans, Monet's waterlilies, Van Gogh's swirling skies, Munch's The Scream, Picasso's Weeping Woman... our world would look a whole lot different without them.
But nothing can compare to seeing these artworks in the flesh, exhibited in the great galleries of the world. To be taken by surprise by a painting's presence - overwhelmed by its power - can be an emotional experience that's hard to put into words.
On a recent visit to Spain, I had the opportunity to see Picasso's masterpiece Guernica in its current (contested) home, the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid. Wandering this stunning gallery, I wondered what it'd be like to see this painting I'd studied and read so much about over the years... I should've known.
I'm always amazed when I see Picasso's paintings in the flesh - the energy and life force they emit is intense. Guernica, painted as a protest against the Franco-sanctioned bombing of the Basque town Gernika by Hitler's troops in 1937, is no exception. This huge canvas explodes with the artist's fury; the effect on the viewer is devastating. Its black-and-white colour scheme is grimly powerful, and its myriad details - so much starker when hanging on a wall in front of you - are chilling. Seeing Guernica up so close in all its enormity is like being punched in the face.
Not far away, at the Museo del Prado, it was Velazquez's luminous, painstaking portraits of 17th-century Spanish aristocracy and their servants that blew me away. There was something unexpectedly poignant about all these posturing royals, long gone and forgotten; while the artist's empathy for the clowns, freaks and lackeys common to the Spanish courts of the day could not be missed. Las Meninas brought tears to my eyes.
Yet reproduced on the printed page, Velazquez's paintings are more striking for their historic interest and fine composition than for their overwhelming emotional impact.
What work of art has most affected you on your travels? Where did you see it?
- Suzy Watusi
Labels: Art, Madrid, Picasso, travel blog
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6 Comments:
I've seen some amazing art on my travels too. But what about the anti-climax of seeing a famous painting that doesn't live up to its legend? I'm talking about the Mona Lisa here. First you have to queue up with a million other tourists, then there it is on the wall in front of you, little and - frankly - not that special. I felt ripped off!!
I had heard that Michelangelo's David was pretty special, but I was not expecting to be so moved by it. I have also felt the punch in the face of La Guernica. No other painting has made me feel so sad. I had no idea it was as large as it is. That is perhaps the best thing about seeing something for real. You get to see the things that don't translate in photographs, the scale, the brush strokes and depth of a painting.
In Bali there are some places,you can see beautiful painting, i.e antonio blanco museum (ubud), le mayeur (sanur)museum and many more...
It is very amazing…
john singer sargent's el jaleo and hassam's boston common at twilight; both in boston.
Hey, I saw an amazing slide show today. It was very touching, I have been over sea’s before but, every time i see a photo like the ones on this slide show it still hits me hard. I think it is a wonderful slide show it is at http://www.petergreenberg.com/portraits-by-alison-wright-1/
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