Musee des Beaux Arts

On our recent trip to Normandy, we stopped for a few hours in the city of Rouen.  Rouen is where Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake and it is home of the cathedral which Monet painted in several colors and in shifting light.

Much to Allen and Kyra's dismay (probably Kyle's too) I wanted to spend at least a little time in Rouen's Musee des Beaux Art (art museum).  According to our guide book it displayed works by several artists that are favorites of mine (Caravaggio in particular).

The last art museum I was in was the Louvre.  Its collection is of course spectacular, but so are the crowds.  Kyra and I spent much of our time there shuffling along trying to get close to the Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa.  It was difficult to move and certainly difficult to stop and appreciate the art.

The art museum in Rouen was a different story.  Here are a few photos of the crowds we battled to see the art work.  I think there were more guards in the gallery than visitors.  Our family of four was about 50% of the crowd for the time we were there.

Without crowds to fight it was easy to appreciate the art up close and from across the room.  We could move easily from one room to the next and linger or not as we chose.

On my own I would have stayed longer, but because it was so empty I could quickly move from piece to piece and see what I wanted to see thus making the visit only slightly painful for the kids.

I found the time spent in this museum far more enjoyable than the time I spent in the Louvre and would certainly recommend the museum to others.

Monet up close

Renoir

Versailles and Japanese Anime Art

A few disclaimers before we begin -

1.  I like art

2.  I visit art museums - on purpose and sometimes I drag my kids along

3.  I do enjoy some modern art - quirky, colorful, interesting stuff

Got it?  OK, let's go....

When one visits Versailles,  this is what one expects - crystal chandeliers, classical paintings, and alot of gold.  For most people this is a once in a lifetime visit to the palace of French royalty.

One does not go to Versailles to see Japanese anime art.

As I entered the state apartments, the king and queen's bedrooms and the hall of mirrors, that is precisely what I saw.  If the sculpture was on the smaller size and the room fairly large, one could avoid the clash of classical and modern.  In some cases though, the piece was large and the room small (for Versailles standards - no room is truly small) and the anime was unavoidable.  In a couple of cases it was impossible to view artwork original to the palace because it was obstructed by a large anime sculpture.

For a while I did my best to ignore the anime art (as it was not what I came to see) and photographed rooms and views of Versailles.  Upon arriving in the war room, I gave up. Not because the sculpture was large, but because it was so incongruous.  To give you an idea of scale, this chick is life sized.

The first photo was taken in the hall of mirrors.  This one was taken in the hall of mirrors as well.   It was sitting at one end of the hall.  For a more complete look at all the art being exhibited, you can click here.

If this had been an exhibit at an art museum, I would have probably gone and taken the kids.  The sculptures were interesting.  They were colorful and cute.  Some pieces looked like anime cartoon characters, some were mushrooms and some were abstract but all were interesting to look at.

This was not what I went to Versailles to see.  I'm pleased that in most cases I could ignore it.  The woman who organized our bus trip said that last time she was at Versailles, the hall of mirrors was filled with an art installation of shiny silver mylar balloons.  They could not be ignored.

I suppose this is a way of exposing people to many kinds of art. I guess if it must be done, I'd rather it be limited to one or two rooms instead, particularly for the majority of tourists who will see Versailles only once.

Perhaps you have other thoughts and opinions, I'm still sorting out how I feel about this and wondering what will be there when I visit with Allen and Kyra....