i've been steadily working on knitting napkins . . and began the fourth lime stripes sugar 'n cream one yesterday. i also cast on for a pair of socks in la bien amiée's happy feet colorway last friday when at the met museum.
for the past two weeks i've been consistently immersed in steven naifeh's and gregory white smith's van gogh: the life. they've put together an erudite and exciting account of his ups and downs; his brilliant bursts of energy and his debilitating lows of despair. i've always been captivated with his life and visited amsterdam and arles as a young student. i'm presently in the chapter "starry night" and have been looking at photos and maps online of the monastery, now psychiatric hospital, of saint paul de mausole in saint rémy. google maps allows you to go into a street view to see the present day asylum and the countryside. along the avenue vincent van gogh they have small plaques with a photo of a painting placed in front of what looks like the actual scene he portrayed. i discovered two very beautiful paintings of olive trees that i didn't even know existed! and one of them is at the museum of modern art here in manhattan!
last friday we were at the met museum and i enjoyed watching everyone bask in the glow of his paintings.
people love standing next to his self portrait and having their picture taken. i love this. i love how his paintings speak to all of us in 2016. they weren't most peoples' cup of tea in the 1880's, and one painter even declined to have his own paintings exhibited with vincent's.
after viewing his work in the 19th and early 20th century european paintings and sculpture wing, we walked along a corridor to a see a new exhibition of paintings from india from the rajput court. a drawing on the wall caught my eye and i thought . . hmmm . . that looks like something from vincent . .
it was his water color sketch of a hallway in saint paul. it's exciting to be reading about this time of his life and to have seen his actual drawing of where he lived for a year. it was exciting to also be able to recognize his distinct style so quickly.
joining ginny and friends . .
