Friday, March 17, 2017

An Afternoon in the National Gallery

Coming into Union Station
After getting off at the train in Union Station, I dropped my bags at the ClubAcela Lounge after getting off the train at Union Station.  The lounge is a nice perk which is available to anyone holding a sleeping berth (as I had on my next leg) or traveling first class.  It provided a safe place to leave my bags without paying and outrageous fee.  I then caught a quick bite to eat at a Japanese fast food outlet in Union Station and headed out across Columbia Square and down toward the Capitol, upon where I turned south and along the mall to my destination, the National Gallery.  I was probably 14 or 15 years old the last time I was here, so this promised to be a treat.  


Stuart Davis painting
By the time I arrived, I had nearly four hours to explore before they closed.  I decided to forgo the modern art section (which is in a separate building) and stick to the huge gallery that was build during the depression.   However, I did catch some modern art as their was a special exhibit on the work of Stuart Davis.  Although I didn't really recognize the name, I realized I had seen some of his work and, back in my 20s during a creative time of life, I had tried to imitate some of his abstract art which he created during his jazz period.  I still remember the piece, which I titled jazz, and gave it away an admirer some three decades ago.  While I found his work interesting, I really wanted to spend time with the the gallery's vast collection of art from the Hudson River School.  I have never tried painting with oils, but I have admired how such artist are able to capture light.  At my old age, I'll stick to the camera!  

Inness, "Lackawanna Valley"
One of the photos I enjoyed was George Inness’ work, “The Lackawanna Valley,” which he painted in 1855.  Although he was influenced by the Hudson River artists, I find this painting more “open” than most of the others from that movement.  Everything is bright and the painting depicts progress.  There’s a train coming out of the valley, reminding us of the country was becoming interconnected.  And there’s a boy, sitting on the hill, watching and perhaps wondering, like those who admire the work, where all this was leading.  When it comes time for me to check out, I hope I can do it like Inness.  He was traveling in Scotland and, according to his son, watched a sunset, threw his hands in the air, and proclaimed, “My God! Oh, how beautiful!”  And then he died.  


Church, "El Rio de Lux"
I was also amazed by the paintings of Frederic Edwin Church, also from the Hudson River school, who took his talents into the Amazon jungles in the mid-19th century.  El Rio de Lux (The River of Light) hangs in the gallery.  It is an amazing painting with so much detail.  The variety of plants and birds flourishing in the humid landscape.  Church traveled all over the world, including the arctic, making sketches.  He painted El Rio de Lux at home, in his studio, twenty years after traveling in South America, using hundreds of sketches that he’d made.  

But the highlight of my time in the National Gallery came when I stepped into a room with only four large paintings.  (One of the things I like about this museum compared to others I’ve been too, especially the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, is that the walls of the National Gallery are not overcrowded.  Such spacing allows you to enjoy each painting.  This set, by Thomas Cole, I’d read about fairly extensively in a book by a latter-day Thomas Cole, titled The Journey of Life: A Cultural History of Aging in America.  I don’t think the two Thomas Cole’s are related.  One writes academic history on aging and the other explored again through his paintings.  

In the first painting, titled childhood, features a small child in a boat, steered by an angel, emerging from a womb-like cavern in a boat.  The sun is just about to rise over the horizon.  The painting shows the promise of a new day as the child begins his exploration of the world.






In the second, titled “Youth”, the child is older and is able to take the helm and guide the boat.  He’s dreaming big as there is a castle in the sky  The angel is still present. But she lets the boat continue was she watches from the bank.  Like the first, there is a lot of optimism and hope.  






In the third painting, the colors darken and storms rage.  It is titled “Manhood.”  The man in the boat has lost his rudder and is approaching roaring rapids.  In the distance is the sea.  He prays.  There is still an angel in the painting, but she’s up in the sky, far away.  This dark view of adult life may have come from Cole’s on life, for he died young, in his forties.  This is a time of trial and the man, as depicted in the painting, is helpless.

The final painting, titled “Old Age”, has the boat out on the sea as the sun sets.  The man is older and an angel is beckoning him to come.  His time is over and all is calm.  You can only see a bit of land as the boat floats out into the depths, into eternity.  


Cole painted two sets of these paintings.  The first was commissioned by a man in New York state, who died before he finished.  His heirs did not want to "show" the paintings publicly, so he painted a second series from memory.  The second series hangs in the National Galley.  The first is in a museum in Utica, New York.

I spent a long time looking at each of the paintings.  I really liked them, but the more I looked and thought about them, I began to think that he had missed something important.  In the paintings, the man is always alone, except for an angel.  There are no parents to guide the infant, or a community to help the young man as he goes in search of his dream.  Nor are their peers or a spouse to help the man as an adult or to comfort the man as he ages.  Certainly Cole captures the idea of divine providence (as represented by the angels), but his paintings focus on the individual and forgets the community.  Maybe I am just cynical, but a problem in America is the cult of the individual. One of our recent candidates for President titled her book, It takes a Village to Raise a Child.  Too often we get hung up on the individual and forget that we depend on others and they on us.
I enjoy watching artists work!
The gallery closed at 5 PM. I walked back to Union Station and enjoyed the lounge as I waited for my train to Savannah. We boarded a little after 7 PM. After stowing my stuff in my roomette, I headed to dining car where I enjoyed a wonderful Flat Iron Steak dinner while talking to a guy who used to be an Amtrak police officer. He had a lot of interesting stories! Then it was time to sleep.

27 comments:

  1. I'm always surprised at how many artists are at museums copying works. We were never allowed to do that in art class!

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  2. There are so many wonderful paintings in the National Gallery. One of my favorite Titian's hangs there, the portrait of the boy Ranuccio Farnese. along with Bellini's magnificent (Feast of the Gods).

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  3. Although I appreciate all art, I really enjoy modern art the most. I really enjoy museums that have an artist in residence who is working on the art piece as we watch him. It fascinates me to see how they work.

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  4. You make such an interesting point about Cole's four paintings and the lack of community. Beautiful paintings, though.

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  5. Perhaps they are the journey of a death. Where he is mixing the Classical tradition of the Styx with the guidance of the Christian angels in the stead of Charon. Again perhaps the commissioner of the images lost a number of children at various times of their lives.

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  6. Well, now... that just adds another museum that I'd like to visit someday.

    As for Inness - what a way to go! it might even beat "go to sleep and never wake up".

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  7. The National Gallery is, truly, a national treasure.

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  8. I used to watch Bob Ross on tv when he would paint and do tutorials. He was so much fun to watch. Those paintings are wonderful, love the pictures.

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  9. I've never been to the National Gallery, but I hope to visit it someday. I would also like to leave this world the way Inness did.

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  10. I've never visited the National Gallery but it looks amazing. I love the photos you picked for this post!

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  11. It takes great patience and talent to paint like that. I've dabbled a bit with oils, water color and acrylic. What I'm most impressed by is how these artists depict light. It's gorgeous.

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  12. Great paintings. Our National Gallery is also one of my favourite places in London.

    Greetings from London.

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    1. I need to visit--I have spent time in the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh and it was delightful.

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  13. Thanx 4 showing me around your travels and impressions, friend Sage ... but now that we did that ... maybe sum more boating and ocean/ river travel pics are 2 come soon ? Excellent post though ... smiles ... Love, cat.

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    1. ... and maybe pics of whales and dolphins frolicking ? ... :D

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    2. I spent the afternoon sailing--good wind, four great races, but we just couldn't beat this one boat and ended up with 3 seconds and a fourth (which was because our spinnaker went into the water as we were dousing it and our boat which was in first place, was passed by three boats during our recovery).

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  14. Art galleries are such good places to visit.

    We have the National Gallery in London, which is great ... but even the smaller galleries can provide many hours of enjoyment.

    I'm glad you were able to share some of the paintings you saw.

    All the best Jan

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  15. What an surprising blog!Iam very happy to see and read your storie..Beautiful oilpaintings..but I also love the first one of the railway station..so true in the age we are living in..I will come back and read more of your travels and wonderful exhibitions

    Greetings from far up in the North

    Anita

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  16. El Rio de Lux is amazing. I love the way the light shines in on the water. What a fun trip!

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  17. One of my favorite places in the world! I've been through it many, many times. The last time I went to the American Folk Life Festival with my sister and her husband, it was over 100 degrees. She suggested I go to the National Gallery to cool off while they walked around outside. I didn't need to be pushed - off I went. :)

    My favorite story about the National Gallery: On one visit, I asked a docent the best way to get to the modern art gallery - he pointed me to a stairway that would take me to a tunnel to the other side, saying, "Don't take the lift or you'll miss Salvadore Dali!" (He had a British accent.) Sure enough - Dali's painting of The Last Supper is in the stairwell. It's amazing (and enormous.)

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  18. The paintings are beautiful! I love to stroll through art galleries. Thank you so much for sharing.

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  19. The Hudson River School's landscapes are always awe inspiring. One of my favorite painters is Thomas Cole. I almost feel as if I could hike his mountains. You had a wonderful day among some beautiful art.

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  20. Those paintings are stunning. I like searching for the angel in each one. :)

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  21. I cried the first time I encountered "The Journey of Life" series. The Youth painting in particular touches on something so primal, so true, and seeing it transported me back to a time when the shimmering castle on the horizon seemed just within reach. Remarkably powerful work of art.

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  22. Thanks for sharing your visit with us. Glad you had time to soak up some of the artwork. Always a lot to take in at any museum and the National Gallery looks like it has amazing pieces. I like that art always makes me think- and not always in a way I expect.

    Your train trip sounds like fun too. I have never eaten a meal on a train!
    ~Jess

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