Art as an Ending

Somerset House has a long history as a London royal palace. It also was a site for art, culture, and science, which continues to today. 

It was commissioned by George III and designed by Sir William Chambers, it was constructed between 1776 and 1801 on the site of the palace by Edward Seymour. Seymour was Edward VI's uncle and self-named Lord Protector and Duke of Somerset since Edward was too young to ascend the throne. As the new Duke and Protector, Seymour wanted a new palace suitable to his new rank. He began building his great mansion on land he already owned between the Thames and the Strand. Various monarchs have used the building and it has had its share of construction, demolition, and restoration by these monarchs and as a result of the Civil War, the plague, and the Great London Fire of 1665. The House fell into such disrepair in the 18th century that George III gave the site to the government for public offices, which found other purposes for the newly rebuilt Somerset House, completed in 1779. It became the center for the Royal Academy, the Government Art School, the Royal Society, and the Society of Antiquaries. 

The Royal Academy of Arts had their Exhibition Room in the newly rebuilt Somerset House until 1836, when the Academy moved to the National Gallery in 1836. 

The Royal Society is the oldest scientific society in Britain. They also took up residence at Somerset House in 1781 and stayed until 1857. One of the first scientific discoveries announced at a Society meeting after shortly moving to their new residence was by astronomer William Herschel of a newly discovered planet, Uranus.

These rooms are now the home of the Courtauld Gallery, which has an important collection of old master and impressionist paintings. Works are on display by French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist such as Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Degas, and Seurat. I unexpectedly stumbled upon my favorite Mante, A Bar at the Folies-Bergère. 

One of the exciting things about exploring is never knowing what you'll stumble upon. A curiosity about this royal palace and what had happened to it led me to discover not only a treasure trove of historical events that happened at this site but also one of my favorite paintings and some other outstanding works by some of my favorite artists. 

Seeing Britain Through Art

The only way to end my two week holiday in Britain is with a truly British institution. I started the London portion of the holiday with the British Museum and am ending it with Tate Britain.

The Tate Britain sits on the Thames in the Pimlico neighborhood and looks like a smaller British Museum, with a ground round dome under which is a rotunda court in gleaming white marble. It however is nowhere near as overwhelming in terms of its collection and can easily be done Ina few hours. It's also the perfect pairing to go with the National Portrait Gallery.

The Tate is named after Sir Henry Tate, an industrialist who had made his fortune as a sugar refiner, offered his collection of British art to the National Gallery in 1889. However, the  National Gallery did not have space for Tate's collection. So to remedy this problem, Tate created a new gallery dedicated to British art, opening to the public in 1897. This gallery grew to hold more than just Tate's collection but the works for British artists from various other collections. The original name of the gallery was the National Gallery of British Art.

The result is a fine collection dating from the 16th century to the present with most of Britain's leading artists represented, such as Gainsborough, Reynolds, Constable, Hogarth, Blake, and of course JMW Turner. The Tate has the largest collection of Turner's works spread over seven rooms. Turner willed most of his paintings and watercolors to the British nation, and he intended that a special gallery would be built to house them.

It also has an impressive number of the Pre-Raphaelites, which is a wholly British movement in 19th century art. Founded in 1848 by by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, critics. The groups purpose was to reform art and return it to the colorful and complex compositions of Italian art before the adoption of Classical ideals of Raphael  and Michelangelo.  The Pre-Raphaelites' paintings on display correspond with the Romantic period of poetry. One of the most stunning pieces is John Williams Waterhouse's "The Lady of Shalott,"which colorfully and mournfully illustrates lines from Tennyson's poem.

There couldn't have been a better way to end a truly British holiday, excursions that spanned time and country, then to walk through 500 years of British art.  To see the scope and depth of the change in British art across time was the perfect compliment to bookend the heritage contributions to British history.

Artful Surprises

Sir John Soane's Museum is small but full of curiosities and surprises. The Museum is in the house and library of Soane, who was an architecture and therefore knowledgable and skilled to combine three houses (Numbers 12, 13, and 14) in Lincoln's Inn Fields. Beginning in 1792 and proceeding in phases that ended in 1824, Soane created his ideal gallery for the display of his collection of curios. 

And what a collection it is! An avid collector, Soane amassed items ranging from Greek marbles and bronzes, Roman jewelry, medieval sculptures, and Renaissance paintings. On display (but I won't say where so as not to ruin the surprise for those who haven't visited) are two series by William Hogarth - "The Rake's Progress" and "The Election." There is even the sarcophagi of Seti I. Soane hosted a party that lasted three days just to showcase this acquisition. Soane had an entire room devoted to architectural models, even his own, which include the Bank of England and models of ancient Roman and Greek buildings. And as any bibliophile will appreciate, there are walls of bookshelves. Soane even turned the pillars of the drawing room into bookshelves. 

Upon his appointment at the Royal Academy as Professor of Architecture in 1806, Soane arranged his books, casts, drawings, and models for the students. He proposed that he open his house for the use of the students before and after his lectures, starting Soane down the path of converting his home into a museum for others to view and learn. 

In 1833, Soane negotiated an Act of Parliament to settle and preserve the house and collection for the benefit of ‘amateurs and students’ in architecture, painting and sculpture. The Act went in to effect on his death in 1837, vesting the Museum in a board of Trustees who were to continue to uphold Soane’s own aims and objectives. A crucial part of their brief was to maintain the fabric of the Museum, keeping it ‘as nearly as circumstances will admit in the state’ in which it was left at the time of Soane’s death in 1837 and to allow free access for students and the public to ‘consult, inspect and benefit’ from the collections. Since 1837, each successive Curator has sought to preserve and maintain Soane’s arrangements as he wished. 

Soane clearly believed that there wasn't any point in acquiring anything that he couldn't display, so every surface, wall, and ceiling is adorned with artifacts and artworks. The wonderfully stylish clutter takes you through centuries and cultures, each turn revealing a new surprise. 

From a Great Journey to a Small Church

After a day at work, a flight across the ocean, clearing customs, the tube to London's King's Cross, a train to Royston, a bus from Royston to Cambridge (because of course this weekend of all the weekends possible there's track work which results in shuttle service), and a hackney, I finally arrive at my destination in a quaint flat at the end of a quaint Walk (literally the name of the road) in Cambridge.  And because I'm in England, the weather must be mentioned - it was gorgeously sunny and warm with a slight breeze all day, perfect for walking. 

The first stop (there's no time to plan, follow the itinerary) was St. Peter's Church, the smallest church in Cambridge. It rests on Castle Hill with an overgrown and wild church yard. Though originally built in the 11th century, traces of the Roman history of the area are visible in the church's exterior. Terracotta Roman roofing tiles became building materials. In fact, the exterior walls of the church display such a variety of stone, you can't help but wonder how it was all scavenged. Because Cambridge has no natural supply of stone for building, most buildings had to import the stone or use local flint rock, which is not ideal since it only comes in small nodules and can't be faced like building stone. 

Cambridge Castle was built shortly after the Norman conquest on the highest point in Cambridge overlooking the River Cam, and overshadowed the Church. At first a keep and mote infrastructure, stone was eventually brought in to build the castle. Once the castle fell out of general use, the stone was scavenged and used to build the rest of Cambridge. Examples of the castle's stone can be found in the Colleges' buildings. 

Traces of St. Peter's Saxony history are present in the carved doorways and stone font, decorated with four mermen grasping their split tails. It is posited that the font was perhaps a Saxon mortar for grinding grains. It's likely that the Christians repurposed the mortar as a baptismal font, incorporating the pagan iconography of the mermen into Christianity. 

The church was eventually rebuilt during the Georgian period, and then cut in half to its present size in the 18th century. 

Next to St. Peter's is Kettle's Yard, the former home of Jim and Helen Ede, which is now a museum. Harold Stanley "Jim" Ede was curator at the Tate Gallery in the 1920s and 30s. His home showcases his friendship with many artists and their worldly travels. The Ede's transformed four dilapidated cottages into a single home, resulting in a variety of differently shaped rooms, art work and collectables throughout the home. Not only is this a truly unique museum because of the Edes, but also because you can actually sit in all the chairs in the house, even a rattan-backed chair ergonomically designed to hug the sitter. 

The first of many English afternoons too come ended as all English afternoon's should...with tea, scones, jam, and cream. 

Fit for Kings

Today I accomplished another goal on this trip...I went to Hampton Court Palace, a place of great history. Check that palace off of the Anglophile's To Do List.

Begun in 1515, Cardinal Wolsey, Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII, transition Hampton Court from a medieval manor into a palace for himself. After visiting in 1514 with his first Queen, Katherine of Aragon visited for the first time. Henry liked it so much that he claimed it for himself. After Wolsey lost his fortune, power, and prestige, he gave up Hampton Court to Henry. Henry made vast improvements to the Palace, building the Great Hall with its richly ornamented ceiling and the Chapel Royal with a fan-vaulted wooden ceiling. The 16th century kitchens provide a glimpse into what it would have been like to prepare food for hundreds of people on a regular basis.

Hampton Court is also the location for many of the joyous and tragic moments in Henry's life. Jane Seymour gave birth to Prince Edward in 1537, who was baptized in the Chapel Royal. Jane then died shortly after the birth. Henry's 5th wife, the silly Catherine Howard, was interrogated and kept under house arrest at the palace in 1541 after Henry learned of her supposed dalliances and possible adulterous behaviors. And Henry married his final wife Katheryn Parr in the Chapel Royal in 1543.

The Palace found a new life under William III and Mary II, who transformed large portions of the buildings into what its present form. In 1689, Sir Christopher Wren demolished large parts of the Tudor palaces and built new Grand Halls and a series of State Rooms. These apartments today are filled with porcelain, furniture, paintings, and tapestries. These privy rooms weren't actually used as private bedchambers, but were as viewing rooms for visiting with the royals. These series of State Rooms would slowly decrease the crowd of courtiers from who wanted to see the king and queen down to who actually was able to meet and converse with the king and queen.  For William III,  he kept a series of private apartments on the ground floor below his State Rooms.

And behind the scenes were true people who helped and served the royals with the very private of private activities. Exhibits also were devoted to the servants and people who served the royalty, such as the Pages of the Bedchamber, the Laundress of the Body, and the Seamstress and Starcher.

Hampton Court also has a lovely series of gardens. The 59-acres of gardens are made up of Tudor and Knot Gardens, rose gardens, a Maze (a Wren-work), and fountains, and Orangery and Exotics Garden.

I enjoyed tea and cake after walking through all of the gardens and palace, and my favorite aspect was being in the place that hosted so much history that I have learned about. Walking through the hallways with the rounded domed ceilings by the kitchens, I couldn't help imagine what it would have been like to be in those very cold and cavernous hallways when unprecedented events were happening above in Henry's Great Hall. It was truly awe-inspiring to be on site.

Photos from the day can be found here.

Afternoon of Art

For my last day in London, I spent it viewing the most amazing works of European art at both the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery.

On a gorgeously warm and sunny day (the weather truly has been magnificent and yes, everyone here really does talk about the weather all the time), I walked from Lincoln's Inn Fields to Trafalgar Square to first go to the National to see their collection of more than 2,300 paintings. The National is the perfect art museum for me because it covers my favorite periods of Western art - mid-1200s to 1900. The layout is chronological, though the galleries are not organized sequentially. Starting with the Renaissance greats, I saw works by Lippi, Leonardo's The Virgin on the Rocks, and one of my all-time favorite Dutch Renaissance paintings, Van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait. Moving into the 16th century, the typical European Old Masters are represented by Titan, El Greco, and my favorite, Hans Holbein, which is represented by The Ambassadors. I spent more in the 18th and 19th centuries than in the 17th century with the Gainsborough's, Turner's, Constable's, Hogarth's, Renior's, and Manet's.

After two hours of art-viewing, I needed to rejuvenate. On a recommendation, I ventured across the street to St. Martin-in-the-Field's for lunch in it's cafe. Ironic that the church's name includes "in the Fields" considering it sits off of Trafalgar Square. However, St. Martin's used to truly be surrounded by fields when it was founded in the 13th century. The current 18th-century building was constructed by James Gibbs, a follower of Christopher Wren. The interior is adorned with Italian plasterwork and a huge mahogany and silver organ. The cafe is in the church's crypt with gravestones for Charles II's mistress, Nell Gwynne, among many others underfoot of the cafe's patrons. (By the way, the food truly was excellent.)

On to what is now my favorite museum in London, the National Portrait Gallery. The Portrait Gallery's collection is based on identity of the subject and not necessarily on who the artist is or the artist's talent. The works vary hugely in quality and have been organized by the subject and the time in which the subject lived rather than the time in which the piece was painted, like the National. Beginning chronologically with the Plantagenets and Tudors and ending with the current period, the portraits of royalty, artists, writers, politicians, scientists, musicians, and philosophers are presented. I spent two hours and still ran out of time (because they were closing and I spent too much time in the Tudor and Stuart rooms) so I wasn't able to see the modern portraits, such as this one of the Duchess of Cambridge. But I got to see my favorite portrait of Elizabeth I.

I love this museum not only because of the subject matter but because taken on a whole, the Portrait Gallery presents a visual map of the Britain's history. The historical actors depicted in these works of art have each influenced the creation of this unique nation.

Photos from the day can be found here.

Not Enough Time for the Past

I had to quickly come to terms with the fact that I wasn't going to get to see everything at the Victoria and Albert Museum (aka the V&A). First of all, there are seven floors, 150 galleries displaying around four million objects of sculptures, jewlery, textiles, clothes, paintings, ceramics, furniture, architecture, and more.

Following the success of the Great Exhibition (aka the First Worlds Fair held in 1851), the V&A was established in 1852 to make works of art available to the public. Originally called the South Kensington Museum, the Museum moved to its present site in 1857. The South Kensington Museum was renamed the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1899 when Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone for a new building, the current building, designed to give the Museum a grand facade. And grand it is with its red brick exterior, soaring dome, and vast open galleries.

Overwhelming doesn't begin to describe the building or the collection. With little idea of what to see first, I started wandering without a plan. I quickly came to the Fashion Galleries and ogled the finery, thankful to be wearing jeans and a t-shirt and not a two foot wide crinoline cage or a corset.

I next found myself in the jewelry gallery, where I spent most of my time seeing every little bejeweled piece, 3,000 from all across Europe, from ancient to modern. Spending time here easily made up for for skipping the Crown Jewels at the Tower. And if I am ever able to wear this amethyst necklace, I'll gladly wear any amount of bustle padding, corsets, and crinoline. I got lost, well not lost so much as turned around in the silver gallery (it's that large and there are a lot of silver pieces), learned how miniature portraits are made, and stood in a room surround by large and gorgeous medieval tapestries.

I saw so much from around the world and across time, but yet I ran out of time for the furnishings and sculptures and paintings and photographs. The V&A and I will just have to have another date when I next return to London.

Photos from the day can be found here.

Before and After Death - The Tower and The Cathedral

For my first day in London, I decided to do the two things I wanted to see the most - The Tower of London (never been) and St. Paul's Cathedral (have been but don't remember.)

Successfully commuting in from Cambridge to King's Cross and then taking the Tube (once an urbanite, always an urbanite), I arrived at the Tower of London on a brightly sunny and gorgeous day, contrasting to the morbid history of the site I was on. I arrived just in time to catch a tour by a Yeoman Warder, aka Beefeater. Of the many things told but what I found most fascinating is the change in tower architecture for defensive towers. Before the Crusades, towers were square. After the Crusades, they were round. 

The Tower also has the only surviving medieval palace in Britain, dating back to the 1200s, which stands in the wall above Traitor's Gate. Prisoners were brought o the Tower through the Gate, two of which were quite famous and queens - Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. 

Speaking of Anne Boleyn, I stood where she, and many others, lost their heads, which was quite powerful. Moving on to see where she spent her time before her death, I made my way through the White Tower. It currently houses the Royal Armory, and does not show many signs to the fact that the White Tower used to be the prison and execution site. Other "guests" of the White Tower were Sir Thomas More, Lady Jane Grey, and most famously, Princes Edward V of England and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, also known as the Princes in the Tower, who disappeared and were said to have been either killed by their Uncle Richard or were spirited away to Ireland...Digression...There were two small skeletons found behind a staircase in the White Tower during Charles II's reign. It is thought that these may be the remains of the Princes, which are now interred at Westminster Abbey.  Now that Richard III's remains were discovered and confirmed last year in Leicester, these skeletons will be tested for DNA and compared to Richard III's for confirmation if the tower skeletons are related to Richard, thus proving them to be his nephews. A 540ish mystery may come to an end.

What was quite striking was the vastness of the complex and various architectural styles represented, from Saxon to Norman all the way up to Georgian, as seen in the Hospital buildings and houses. (Evidently, according to my Beefeater tour guide, there are still people who live with their families at the Tower.)

Taking the opportunity to walk, I found my way from the Tower west to St. Paul's Cathedral. Not able to take pictures of the interior, I am not able to describe the awesomeness of the gilded and colorful altars or ceilings. The crypt holds the remains of many famous people. I accidentally walked on Joshua Reynolds and JMW Turner and saw the monuments to Robert Hooke, William Blake, Alexander Fleming, and Lord Nelson. The coffin that Nelson is buried in was originally made for Cardinal Wolsey, but when he fell of favor with Henry VIII, he did not receive such a stately burial. The coffin was put into storage for about two hundred years until it was used for Nelson when he died at the Battle of Trafalgar. 

Taking advantage of the perfect weather, I climbed to the Golden Gallery on the top of Wren's great Dome - 550+ steps. And it was worth it for the panoramic views of the London, and the melding of historic architecture and newly modern developments like the Shard.

Photos from the day can be found here. 

Rediscovering England - The Itinerary

The more I researched and read and planned for my upcoming trip, the more excited I am!

Countdown until departure = 6 Days!

After reading through two of my favorite traveling planning books (Frommer's England and the Best of Wales and DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Britain), I've come up with an overwhelming list of things to do, places to go, sites to see.

And my list is....

East Anglia
Cambridge
Ely
Saffron Walden
Norwich
Colchester

East Midland
Lincoln
Chatsworth House
Burghley House

London
Tower of London
Westminster Abbey
St. Paul's Cathedral (and yes, I'm going to the top of Wren's Dome!)
National Gallery
National Portrait Gallery
Victoria and Albert Museum
Royal London Hospital Museum
Hampton Court (if time allows)

I'll have a home base in Cambridge, which is near and dear to a few of my nearest and dearest, so I'm glad to finally experience the magic of this old town. It will also make traveling easier to have one place to stay and to "fake live" in England for two weeks. It'll be interesting to experience what it is like to live in not only another city but also another country for a brief period of time.

More to come...

Celebrating Shakespeare

The end of April is the near-birth date of the great English poet and playwright, William Shakespeare. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and baptized there on 26 April 1564. His actual birthdate remains unknown, but is traditionally observed on April 23rd.

Let us appreciate his birth through his great works. I present a few of my favorite passages from his plays and his sonnets. I’m a particular fan of the Dark Lady Sonnets: 

141
In faith I do not love thee with mine eyes,
For they in thee a thousand errors note;
But 'tis my heart that loves what they despise,
Who, in despite of view, is pleased to dote.
Nor are mine ears with thy tongue's tune delighted;
Nor tender feeling, to base touches prone,
Nor taste, nor smell, desire to be invited
To any sensual feast with thee alone:
But my five wits nor my five senses can
Dissuade one foolish heart from serving thee,
Who leaves unswayed the likeness of a man,
Thy proud heart's slave and vassal wretch to be:
Only my plague thus far I count my gain,
That she that makes me sin awards me pain.

 And with two scenes from two of my favorite plays:

Patrick Stewart as Macbeth:

 

And Puck’s final soliloquy from A Midsummer Night's Dream:

A very happy birthday to William.

Rediscovering Britons: Demonstration of an Identity

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've had reason of late to revisit events of British History. At a friend's request, I compiled an overview of British history from the Norman Invasion of 1066 to present day. This meant uncovering many aspects of British History and to do so I turned to an easy and comprehensive internet source: the BBC British History website. In stumbling around the BBC British History site for information, I came across an article about the Syon Cope. As a very amateur scholar of art history, I was immediately intrigued. What was this beautiful work of art? What did it mean for those who created it and who it was created for?

See the full gallery on Posterous

The Syon Cope and detail

Copes, a semi-circular cape, are outer garments worn by priests for the celebration of Mass. The Syon Cope was kept by nuns in the sixteenth century in the Syon Abbey in Middlesex, which was founded by King Henry V around 1414, and thus giving this Cope its name. The Syon Cope has embroidered on it scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary, with figures of the apostles. It is worked in silk, silver-gilt and silver thread, which entirely covers the linen background material. The figures are framed in overlapping units, based on the quatrefoil (a form with four lobes), which was a popular design in English architecture in the reigns of Edward I and his son Edward II.

The Syon Cope was acquired by the V&A. For additional details on the imagery in the Syon Cope, visit their site where you can find a comrphensive description and history of the Syon Cope.

The Syon Cope is an elaborate and elegant example of English embroidery, called Opus Anglicanum ('English work'). The English became famous for this particular kind of needlework that was done for ecclesiastical or secular use on clothing, hangings or other textiles, often using gold and silver threads on rich velvet or linen grounds.

As with any work of art, Opus Anglicanum represents many aspects of English history, from Church pomp and pageantry to the status of artists and the importance of culture. It also came to represent the English in the form of an artistic rendering of Englishness.  

Such English embroidery was in great demand across Europe, particularly from the late twelfth to the mid-fourteenth centuries and was a luxury product often used for diplomatic gifts. Princes and potentates of Church and State wanted English embroidery. Diplomatic gifts of ecclesiastical embroidery by an English king emphasize its significance as a representation of high, and specifically English, achievement. 

Sources:

"The Nations of Britain: England - The Syon Cope",  Linda Wooley, BBC History website

"The Syon Cope", V&A website

History Through Glass

On my recent vacation to the Finger Lakes District in Upstate New York, I had the opportunity to spend a morning at the Corning Museum of Glass. In addition to beautiful artistic pieces, the Museum houses more than 45,000 pieces tracing 3,500 years of glassmaking history. After traveling through the galleries displaying glass of the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Medieval and Renaissance Europe, I found my way to the glass objects from the Baroque to late Victorian periods. There were many examples of English lead glass and chalk glass, which were two improvements to glassmaking in the 17th century.

As I traveled along this timeline, I was fascinated to observe how society and culture across civilizations could be tracked by these artifacts. Early glassmakers used a variety of techniques to shape and decorate vessels, jewelry and sculptures. In the later periods, glass was used to make medallions, furniture, chandeliers and an even an entire mechanical glass theater!

From the Corning Museum Exhibits:

Beibly glass - "The Beilby family painted much of the colorless enameled glass that was made in England during and after the 1760s. William Beilby (1740-1819) and his sister Mary (1749-1797) enameled glasses wiht floral motifs, landscapes, and pictures of architectural ruins. The most famous of their glasses are goblets bearing the royal coats of arms. These goblets mark the birth of the Prince of Wales (later King George IV) in 1762."

See the full gallery on Posterous

"Tea and coffee were imported into Europe in the ealry 1600s. They were first taken as medicines. Both beverages were usually served in porcelain or stoneware cups, but glass cups were sometimes used in the 18th century. Tea is still sipped from glasses in eastern Europe today. The Comte de Mirabeau, a French Revolutionary statesman, said, 'Tea and coffee have been more effective in containing the vice of drunkenness than all the teachings of the moralists and the learning of the Enlightenment.' "

 

A Room of One's Own

Apologies for the lack of blog posts in the past two months. I've switched jobs and so with all my efforts directed at "life" there has been little time for "play." Until now! 

I recently visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibit "Rooms With a View: The Open Window in the 19th Century," which depicts interiors with windows by 19th-century European artists. The show explores the open window as a favored concept of Romantic painters. The pieces span from the early 1800s to the 1860s. (To place these works into historical context, parts of Europe were recovering from the ravages of the Napoleonic Wars while in others there were liberal revolts that gave rise to the age of nationalism.)

There were many pieces in this exhibit that struck me as incredibly intimate and thought-provoking for a variety of reasons:

1. Caspar Daniel Fredrich's "Woman at the Window", 1822

There is such a deep intimacy to witnessing this peaceful moment. I feel as though I have just walked into this room where this woman is standing and am afraid to interrupt her. Yet, I'm utterly enthralled with watching her watch something outside. She is leaning forward and slightly turned to get a better look out of the window. What does she see? Is she expecting someone or is there something happening outside? In addition to my curiosity of what is drawing her attention, I enjoy the green palatte of this piece (better seen in person than on a screen) and the complimentary hues of her green dress, the green walls and shutters, and the lighter shades of green seen through the window.

 

2. Adolph Menzel's "Sleeping Seamstress by the Window"

This sweet little image is of the artist's sister. She was too busy working to pose for him, but he was lucky and captured her at an opportune time of unguardedness when she drifted off to sleep. The theme of intimacy of this show is epitimozed in this work because what is more serene and private than that of a sleeping form? I imagine that she was too busy to pose for her brother because she has too much work to do, and in working so hard she has exhausted herself. So she takes a brief reprieve to put her work down and shut her eyes in the warm sun of this day.

 

As an alternative to the pieces that allow us a peek into private moments, there are those that allow you to almost step into the scene and take a place in the moment the artist has chosen to depict:

3. Caspar Daniel Fredrich's "View from the Artist's Studio, Window on the Left", 1805-06

This is the river Elbe from Friedrich's studio in Dresden. This piece is more than simply showing the perspective of the Elbe from the room. It is a juxtaposition of the near view of the window and wall and the far view of outside the window as well as the balance between the dark interior and the bright outdoors. This simple work is a metaphor for the Romantic's unfulfilled longing for possibilities; of what is beyond the window, what is beyond the confines of his life, what he hopes for, what he wants, what he portrays on the confined space of his canvas within the confined space of his studio.

 

4. Carl Ludwig Kaaz's "View from Grassi's Villa toward the Plauensche Grande near Dresden," 1807

This piece surprisingly is my favorite. I felt a true sense of realism.  As I approached it on the wall, I simultaneously felt as if I was approaching the window. I was transported to Dresden, looking out on this quiet serene countryside, feeling the breeze, and hearing the rustling of the trees. By stepping into the artist's world, I became not a viewer of this work but its subject. I imagined that the artist is standing behind me capturing me as I peer out the window because something caught my attention and drew it away from my book, which I've set down on the window sill.  In that instance I felt like Fredrich's "Woman at the Window" in which a private moment is captured before it disappears.