a poem for sunday morning and what we did on father's day

morning song

a diamond of a morning

waked me an hour too soon;

dawn had taken in the stars

and left the faint white moon.

oh white moon, you are lonely,

it is the same with me,

but we have the world to roam over,

only the lonely are free.

by sara teasdale (1884-1933)

----

i almost forgot it was father's day, but thankfully, chanda remembered and so did her sisters. 

the breakfast table with our nice, new bookshelf doors in the background (on the left).

chanda read a poem from my tom bombadil book . . 

is pluto dreaming of feasting on beasts and tender men?

i think cricket mainly dreams of getting the door to the kitchen garbage open so he can feast on discarded refuse. he also hunts down dirty dishes in the sink and licks them all clean.

last weekend greg had mentioned he was hoping to visit the met museum soon, so that is where the two of us went today.

we usually go in the side entrance, making our first stop the greek and roman rooms on the first floor.

we walked through the great hall and through the medieval art galleries . . 

(virgin and child from the franciscan convent of the poor clares, poligny, burgandy, france. limestone with paint and gilding, 1415-17) (the iron gate behind them is the choir screen from the cathedral of valladolid, spain).

to the lehman wing . . in search of the exhibit titled hidden faces, covered portraits of the renaissance. some portraits of this time period were hidden beneath other paintings which served as an introduction and/or protection for the sitters' images. the cases could be portable and were comprised of hinged diptychs, sliding panels, double-sided panels operated by hook and chain, lockets and boxes.

portrait of a man by hans memling, netherlandish, 1480's, oil on panel, part of a triptych which would have included a center panel of the virgin and child and a right panel of the man's wife.

flowers in a jug, hans memling, oil on panel, 1480's. this would have accompanied the prior painting. christ's name on the vase points to it's function as part of a devotional triptych, along with the symbolism of the flowers: columbines, irises and lilies, signifying sorrow, compassion and purity of the virgin mary.

paintings attributed to ridolfo ghirlandaio, oil on wood panels, 1510. "to each his own mask," the cover slides up and reveals the woman beneath . . 

portrait of a woman, lorenzo lotto, venetian, oil on wood panel, 1505.

portrait cover with an allegory, lorenzo lotto, venetian, oil on wood panel, 1505: both paintings depict a mature woman with red hair. the panel cover creates a pastoral setting with cupid, signifying virtue, showering the woman with flower petals while she rests against a laurel tree, protected from vice represented by the two satyrs to the left and right of her.

another panel from a devotional triptych (the man is holding a rosary), this one by lucas cranach the elder, german, 1508, oil on oak panel. i was impressed with the man's expression . . and by the smoothness of the painting itself. all the paintings were rendered so fine and smooth. i couldn't see the brushstrokes, and i thought all shone with a delicate beauty. 

one more: girl making a garland (with cat!), 1508, oil on poplar panel, hans süss von kulmbach, german. the garland was of forget-me-knots indicating her devotion to the young man painted on the other side who was looking up towards her in the window, signifying his love (which i neglected to take a picture of).

tea and coffee break in the cafeteria . . 

and then a little bit of the harlem renaissance exhibit . . emerging from the 1920's and showing its role in the history of art and its cultural legacy.

langston hughes, by winold reiss, pastel on illustration board, 1925.

picnic, by archibald j. motley, jr., oil on canvas, 1934. i loved his use of purple and black sliding in and out of each other, and the pink and grey . .  

the barefoot prophet, by james van der zee, gelatin silver print, 1929. van der zee etched very fine lines into this photo to emphasize the light from the candles shining onto the open bible.

ballet dancers in the attic rotunda, paris, by yves brayer, oil on canvas, 1942.

maquette for ethiopia awakening, by meta vaux warrick fuller, painted plaster, 1921. (maquette: small preliminary model of a sculpture or a building).

marian anderson, by laura wheeler waring, oil on canvas, 1944.

i was excited to see these next two augusta savage pieces as i had just read an article and seen a documentary about her by sandra rattley a few months ago . . above is gamin, bronze, 1930 (her nephew, ellis ford, was the inspiration and model).

lift every voice and sing, (the harp), bonded bronze, 1939, model for the sixteen foot sculpture made for the 1939 world's fair, in plaster, which was destroyed when the fair ended.

twelve young singers, arranged as the strings on a harp, stand behind a kneeling figure who holds a plaque inscribed with the hymn by james weldon johnson (lyrics) and his brother j. rosamond johnson (music), "lift every voice and sing."

girl in pink dress, by laura wheeler waring, oil on canvas, 1927.

and then we took the bus downtown and met chanda for dinner at a burger place on houston street.

(egg creams!)

hydrangeas . . 

and bananagrams . .