A day at the museum

[fbhjr]

This morning my wife and I headed into Boston to meet brickhousewench & ravena_kade at the Museum of Fine Arts.


As we’re all members and go there fairly often we concentrated on the exhibits that are new or on temporary display.
There was one on photographs of British royalty and another on historical images of monarchs over the last centuries. But, I didn’t take pictures of those. (Pictures of pictures didn’t seem to make sense to me. Especially pictures of people who are in the news a lot already.)

But, this one saying in the modern art wing really made me think:

I spend a lot of time looking at “historical” art, so it is a good reminder that all of it was contemporary when it was made.

Also in the modern art section is a chandelier that blinks in morse code.



These glass pieces caught my attention as we saw identical ones in the Orlando Art Museum 2 weeks ago, but orange instead of blue.

(That my wife and friends on the other side of the case. My wife is in the middle.)

Of course, it is an art museum so there are benches!

(I did have to explain the joke that I am enamored of benches because I speed through the museums very fast compared to others and often ended up needing a comfortable place to wait for others to catch up. My iPad was very useful today. I got through quite a bit of my book.)

They’ve redone the renaissance hall, again.
For some reason they took out a bunch of the paintings and put in this:

I’m not saying it isn’t art. But, there was a hall with a lot of this stuff. I’m not sure about mixing it in.

We discussed this painting a lot:

What is the purpose of the things that look like, and could be, pocket watches on the side of her dress?
It was painted in 1655 and was for sending to the suitors of this young lady trying to get high ranking (kings and such) people to marry her.
We’re quite sure that everything in the painting has a purpose. We’re just not sure what the purpose is in this case.
Anyone with ideas, let me know.

My favorite married couple is still in the Egypt wing.

They’ve been together more centuries than years my wife and I have been married. Good to have nice examples of long term relationships working.

There was a strange decapitated statue in the same gallery.

It is apparently a very old roman statue that has been in the Boston area in a garden for quite a while and now is being restored for the museum.
You can see that not all of the display information has been finished.


There was also an exhibit on postcards:


Uawildcatgrl would probably like it, but it’s only here until mid-April, so I doubt there will be a chance for a visit. (You’re certainly welcome to visit if interested.)

They have a lot of postcards there on display. All sorts. Mostly from the 1880s to the 1920s.

And, I’m told for everyone of the ones they have there, there are 5-6 not shown.

By the time we had been there 4 hours, and the museum would only be open 2 more, we were ready to leave. But, lots of folks were still coming in.


It was a nice visit both to the museum and with friends.


And, there was a great sunset on the way home.

Comments

[palusbuteo.livejournal.com]

My guess on the 1655 dress painting and the tassel things -

I'm thinking they're an offshoot from "points" that tied hosen to doublet, which was originally a 1200's thing and developed
into the 1470's and such. Although I'm going more from Men's fashions with doublets and things.

But I wonder if it's an offshoot from medieval women's clothing of attaching skirts to doublets, or maybe a drawstring
closure for the skirt or the ruff skirt that goes on top.

When I went to make my red 1630's doublet, there was a lot of discussion/arguing (arguing from a particular person we know and love)
that insisted I have eyelets and agletted points put inside my doublet so i could point up my breeches to the doublet
notunlike my 1470's clothing. (which I didn't do b/c my breeches fit my waist tightly enough I don't need suspension, and, the points are not as 'standard issue' like he thinks ~ they were going out of fashion, hence decorative bows seen on some fancy doublets along what was the waistline that became entirely decorative but I digress)

...Or, an offshoot from what was a waistbelt that became a decorative flair added to this dress.

Pocket watches were not invented yet, as far as I know

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

It's about 100 years after the first watches.
But, they might not be watches. That's just what they look like in the painting.

[brickhousewench.livejournal.com]

Pocket watches were not invented yet, as far as I know

Hee! I know something you don't know! (Sorry, I still don't feel like a "real" reenactor some days.) Actually pocket watches date from the early 1500s. My German peeps were making fine watches even back then. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_watches

So, they probably ARE watches. What we were trying to figure out is if, like in much of art history, they had any significance or symbolism? Other than, "Look at me, I'm rich enough to buy an expensive miniature clock that I can wear around."

[palusbuteo.livejournal.com]

Aaaaaah cool beans about watches

I knew I should have given a quick search to see when the earliest watches were made. I knew that clocks and watches started becoming The Thing by the 1600's and I knew of a clock in the 1510's, but not small [pocket] watches.

Oh well.

So I'm thinking now it was "lookitmeeee I have a fancy watch dress accessory!"

[ravena-kade.livejournal.com]

This article says that the Infanta has 2 watches

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_the_Infanta_Maria_Theresa_of_Spain

[malterre.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[blue-eye.livejournal.com]

Brrrr. Looks cold!

I haven't been to an art museum in ages. The last one I went to was in Chicago -- beautiful one there.

I have a postcard of the block my husband grew up on. The postcard is from 1913 and you can catch a glimpse of the house he grew up in.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Cool with the post cards. I've seen the house my father grew up in in the teens and 20's, but don't have any photos or post cards.

As for the cold, it was in the 40's (F) [in the 10'sC] yesterday. For Boston in January that is practically hot...

[chris-warrior.livejournal.com]

i think it's awesome they wrote out an action list regarding the statue, and that you got a picture of it. :)

[uawildcatgrl.livejournal.com]

A postcard exhibit?! What? Does this thing travel...must get info...(fine tunes google skills!) Thanks! :D

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure it does travel. I think it is made up of cards the museum owns.
But, they could be loaning it out to travel.