at the met on the fourth
the MET museum has holiday mondays. since it was the fourth of july, we decided to go.
we first listened to a group tour of the greek and roman art section.
and then we walked through the guitar heroes exhibit. it was impressive, with the most beautiful handmade guitars on display. they showcased three new york luthiers, john d'angelico, james d'aquisto, and john monteleone. in the 1920's john d'angelico combined elements of violin construction (carved tops and f-holes) into the design of his guitars (an idea first introduced by orville gibson in 1898 with his mandolins). prior to this, guitars were traditionally constructed with flat backs (or tops).
james d'aquisto started working with john d'angelico at the age of 17, first as a shop boy and then studying guitar making. he was the only worker with d'angelico for the last five years of d'angelico's life and bought the business, eventually moving out to long island. he followed d'angelico's traditional style of design for many years, but then introduced his own ideas of instrument construction. the above guitar was made by d'aquisto for paul simon, (who typically used flat-tops).
morgana was impressed with the seasonal guitars monteleone made. john monteleone is a self-taught luthier (he learned woodworking from his father who was a sculptor), and first became known for his innovative mandolin designs.
i took this picture because the woman at the fountain, across from the girls, reminded me of the female botero sculpture at columbus circle.
(i have a post about the sculptures here.)
we also visited the rooms with a view exhibit, which i found particularly entrancing. it featured paintings and sketches by german, danish, french and russian artists between the years 1810 - 1820. the museum description used the phrase 'poetic play of light and perceptible silence" to describe how the artists composed their works of various interiors (studios, drawing rooms, kitchens, hallways, etc.). i found that a thoughtful way of expressing the contemplative and peaceful, sometimes humorous, scenes that we saw. my favorite was one by adolph menzel called "sleeping seamstress by the window." it depicted his younger sister emilie, who was always too busy to pose for him, leaning back in a chair, asleep by a window.
it was a busy day. we also sketched the female dancer in the asian art section. this figure is a spirit god who would have been placed in a chinese tomb during the first millennium.
i like to imagine her brightly painted with the pigments and slip they used.
we thought this fellow looked like jack.
greg read anna karenina while waiting for us to finish the sketches.
we left the museum in the late afternoon and walked through central park. it felt hot in the sun, but nice in the shade, and the boaters on the water looked refreshing . .
as did the duckweed on the pond.
we were home in time to put together a nice dinner: meatballs and pasta with olive oil and garlic, and a salad.
the MET museum has holiday mondays. since it was the fourth of july, we decided to go.
we first listened to a group tour of the greek and roman art section.
and then we walked through the guitar heroes exhibit. it was impressive, with the most beautiful handmade guitars on display. they showcased three new york luthiers, john d'angelico, james d'aquisto, and john monteleone. in the 1920's john d'angelico combined elements of violin construction (carved tops and f-holes) into the design of his guitars (an idea first introduced by orville gibson in 1898 with his mandolins). prior to this, guitars were traditionally constructed with flat backs (or tops).
james d'aquisto started working with john d'angelico at the age of 17, first as a shop boy and then studying guitar making. he was the only worker with d'angelico for the last five years of d'angelico's life and bought the business, eventually moving out to long island. he followed d'angelico's traditional style of design for many years, but then introduced his own ideas of instrument construction. the above guitar was made by d'aquisto for paul simon, (who typically used flat-tops).
morgana was impressed with the seasonal guitars monteleone made. john monteleone is a self-taught luthier (he learned woodworking from his father who was a sculptor), and first became known for his innovative mandolin designs.
i took this picture because the woman at the fountain, across from the girls, reminded me of the female botero sculpture at columbus circle.
we also visited the rooms with a view exhibit, which i found particularly entrancing. it featured paintings and sketches by german, danish, french and russian artists between the years 1810 - 1820. the museum description used the phrase 'poetic play of light and perceptible silence" to describe how the artists composed their works of various interiors (studios, drawing rooms, kitchens, hallways, etc.). i found that a thoughtful way of expressing the contemplative and peaceful, sometimes humorous, scenes that we saw. my favorite was one by adolph menzel called "sleeping seamstress by the window." it depicted his younger sister emilie, who was always too busy to pose for him, leaning back in a chair, asleep by a window.
it was a busy day. we also sketched the female dancer in the asian art section. this figure is a spirit god who would have been placed in a chinese tomb during the first millennium.
i like to imagine her brightly painted with the pigments and slip they used.
greg read anna karenina while waiting for us to finish the sketches.
we left the museum in the late afternoon and walked through central park. it felt hot in the sun, but nice in the shade, and the boaters on the water looked refreshing . .
as did the duckweed on the pond.
we were home in time to put together a nice dinner: meatballs and pasta with olive oil and garlic, and a salad.
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