How to Spend a Saturday Afternoon

This past weekend my wife and I visited the Cincinnati Art Museum. She was there to see the What, Me Worry? The Art and Humor of MAD Magazine exhibit* and I was just there to enjoy the regular exhibit halls.

The view from the grand staircase to one of the
second floor alcoves. I just love the quirkyness
of the place. And yes, that's all marble.

The regular part of the Art Museum is free to all attendees, and has been free since 2003. So from my perspective there's almost no reason to not go, unless you're not really fond of art. 

***

One of the things that I've pondered while wandering the halls is what the subjects of the art were thinking about while the creation process unfolded. 

Now, admittedly the subjects of modern art don't necessarily need to be the center of attention for more than the minimal amount of time it takes to take plenty of snapshots, but in previous centuries, that was not the case. The subject of a painting or sculpture may have to pose for hours or days or more at a time before the artist no longer needed the subject, and in some of the paintings I wondered how on earth they kept the kids still, let alone the adults...

Self-portrait of Erasmus Quellinus
with his wife Catherina de Hemelaer
and son Jan Erasmus Quellinus.
Found in the Dutch Gallery at CAM.

Portrait of The Hodges Family, circa 1766,
by Nathaniel Dance-Holland.
Found in the British Gallery at CAM.

And then there are scenes from life, and I couldn't help but wonder how much of this was purely the vision in the artist's head and how much was something they saw that they wanted to capture...

The Music Party by Gerard ter Borch,
circa 1670. The man's heart is in his eyes
while he watches the young woman playing.
Found in the Dutch Gallery at CAM.

Two Girls Fishing by John Singer Sargent, 1912.
Despite clothing definitely not suited toward
fishing (at least from today's eyes), the girls
are bound and determined to have a good time.
Found in one of the American Galleries at CAM.

The Italian Comedians, by Philip Mercier,
circa 1735-1740. And I have NO idea where
he's looking at... /snicker
I believe I found it in the French Gallery at CAM.

And then you get to some paintings that are just purely out of the mind of the artist. You can't say that and not pull out this Hogarth:

Southwick Fair by William Hogarth, 1733.
No, this is not the original, as it is supposedly
held in a private collection, but this is one of the
prints found here and at other major art institutions.
Found in the British Gallery at CAM.

***

Paintings are one thing, but sculpture? That's quite another. Sure, there's a vision in the marble that the artist wants to come out, but often there's also a model involved. 

Dour is a good description of this
bust of The Reverend Lyman A. Beecher
by Caroline Wilson (~1860). And yes, if that name
rings a bell, he was a prominent abolitionist
and the father of Harriet Beecher Stowe, who
wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin. Found in one of 
the CAM American Galleries.

When I think of Prosperine, the Roman
Goddess of the Underworld, I don't think
of such a thoughtful gaze as that found on
this bust by Hiram Powers (~1843).
Found in the Cincinnati Wing of CAM.

Eve Disconsolate, by Hiram Powers
(1858-1860). Given that the alternate
title is Paradise Lost, I get the reason for Eve's
expression, but when I gaze upon her I often
wonder what the model for this statue was
thinking when Hiram began his work.
Found in the Cincinnati Wing of CAM.

The Last Arrow by Randolph Rogers, (1879-1880).
There's also a casting at the Metropolitan Museum of
Art in New York City. Found in the American Wing of CAM.

***

But perhaps my single favorite piece of artwork found at the Cincinnati Art Museum is a rather unassuming still life painted by Pieter Claesz in 1641...

Still Life (Ontbijtstuk with Berkemeyer) by Pieter
Claesz (circa 1641). Found in the Dutch Gallery of CAM.

I mean, there's not a lot to the painting, but the simplicity of the still life says so much about Pieter. They could afford citrus fruits, as the lemon in front and the fruit in the cobbler can attest, and it just radiates a simple meal that one might enjoy on a Sunday for lunch. It's the sort of meal that someone could have even today and not feel out of place. 

***

I don't have the inspiration or talent that the artists whose work populates the Cincinnati Art Museum or any other innumerable galleries around the globe, but I can enjoy their work. Actively seeking it out brings a sort of exhilaration to me, that the fruits of inspiration are here for all to see. I also get such a rush from seeing live concerts or wandering parks and gardens, but there's a special place in my heart for an art museum. And there always will be.

*Growing up I didn't read MAD Magazine that much, but Cracked instead. At our Catholic grade school, copies of Cracked were passed around as if they were copies of Playboy. To be honest, from the nuns' perspective the subversiveness of both MAD and Cracked were just as dangerous as any copy of Playboy or Penthouse.