A Day at the Getty

Yesterday my son made a fortunate recovery from his stomach flu and was able to go to Hurricane Harbor with his aunt. That left Brian and me child-free and able to go to an art museum for the first time in our married life. It will be nine years for us next Wednesday. Yay!

I was fortunate enough to go on a Study Abroad trip to London for six months when I was at BYU - it was nearly fully funded by scholarships for the needy, so it was a tough trip in that I was always struggling to make ends meet. Fortunately, most museums are free or donations-only entry, so I was able to visit anywhere my Tube pass could take me and I went everywhere!

Upon my return to the states (it's been 20 years now since I went! Oh my!), I've been to a couple of museums here and there (I lived near NYC for a year and near SF, too, for a year), but nothing for the past ten years. Even when I got married, none of my suggestions for trips ever panned out. I was getting the feeling that art simply wasn't Brian's interest. The idea grew on me that he would be one of Those People who, if he did go to a museum, would be bored out of his mind and make the trip miserable for me.

Ha! I was WRONG! We went to the Getty Museum yesterday (it's the first time in 17 years it's been open on the Fourth of July) and we had a GRAND TIME!


Here's the entrance. One of the things I love about museums is that it's a package deal - the building itself is often a work of art, too.

My main interest was to see the illuminated manuscripts, especially the ones by Hoefnagel. He figures in one of the books by Deborah Harkness I just finished reading and I wanted to see the beauty for myself. Unfortunately, the manuscripts were being prepared for an exhibition and I was a week early for that new show. Alas!

So I comforted myself by looking at all the other wonderful stuff, especially the Van Gogh.


I was able to get THIS close to the painting. I saw plain canvas peeking through the paint strokes. The strokes were so heavy with paint that I imagined it took years to fully dry (if it really is dry inside!). The irises themselves were a bit cartoony in a way being as they are outlined with a dark color and then filled in. I think that was the Japanese influence on his art. Anyway, it was beautiful and lovely and of good report and praiseworthy. I was filled up with inspiration.

It made me want to go again today. And tomorrow. And forever. :)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How to Make Folded Books - by Heather Hajek Eddy

How to Fold Wedding Hearts