High Museum Louvre Atlanta: Kings as Collectors

The High Museum was founded in 1905 as the Atlanta art association. It is considered to be the premiere museum in the southeast corridor. Their first permanent home was donated by Mrs. Joseph M. High, hence the name High Museum. This museum has evolved tremendously over the years. In 1955 the museum moved to a brick house. Several years later they formed the Arts Alliance Memorial after 122 patrons were killed in a plane crash. In the early 1980’s Coca Cola and Robert W. Woodruff offered 7Million dollars to expand the museum. In 1983 the structure was complete. Richard Meier was the designer. Due to unprecedented growth the museum required yet another expansion, which is where we are today. The new High Museum opened its doors in November of 2005. The exterior of the building is absolutely beautiful. The complex is made up of three separate buildings. The main building is four stories high and has a different exhibit
On each floor. The interior is very plain. The walls are high and white. All the color resides in the artwork that is displayed throughout. The last time I visited this museum I went to see the European Art Collection between 14th and 19th century. This visit I came to see the Louvre Atlanta: Kings as Collectors. This exhibit is housed in a smaller building that is adjacent to the main building. This exhibit will be displayed though September 2, 2007.

The Louvre exhibit will showcase works of art from the French royal collection. Various pieces of this collection will be displayed over the next three years. The first exhibit will display more than 30 pieces of artwork that were assembled during King’s Louis XIV and Louis XVI. As I walked through the exhibit I was fascinated by the “Et in Arcadia”, by Nicolas Poussin’s. I must say that the painting did not disappoint me. As I was walking in everyone was focused on this painting. Nicolas Poussin was a French painter, in the French baroque style. “His work features clarity, logic, order and favors line over color.” This them holds true in “Et in Arcadia”. This picture is very concise. There are four Shepherd’s perched around a tomb. They have a biblical sense of mortality. The detail in this picture is unbelievable. You can make out distinct features in each Shepherd. The clothing is very specific to the time. Three of the Shepherd’s are bare foot. One is wearing blue sandals. The scenery surrounding the men is also very detailed. Every aspect of this painting exhibits logic. You can clearly understand exactly what is going. No need to guess. The dirt, mountains, clouds in the sky and trees make everything come to life. The tombstone looks aged. I asked myself is the tombstone out of place? Everything else looks so peaceful, yet the tombstone is a major part of the painting. You can see the wear and tear to in the tomb. The setting is serene. The writing on the tomb is a Latin phrase that translates to “Even in Arcadia, there I am”. Baroque that was primarily associated with the religious tensions within Western Christianity: division on Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Baroque that was developed mainly in Flemish countries emphasis realism of everyday life. It has been seen in works of Rembrandt and Vermeer. "http://www.huntfor.com/arthistory/c17th-mid19th/baroque.htm"

This painting is truly the focal point of the exhibit. The artwork is reminiscent of the era in which it was drawn. While you can infer quite a few things about this picture. The artist is very thoughtful and logical is the message that he is trying to portray.

Genevieve A Genevieve Arnold Retrospective

I visited the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA, GA) . They are currently showing an exhibit on the late artist Genevieve Arnold. Genevieve was well known for being a contemporary artist whose work consisted of romantic visions, intended to trigger a sense of nostalgia.

Please take a look at my report and let me know what you think.


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A Genevieve Arnold Retrospective MOCA, GA

The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA, ga) is located on Peachtree Street in Atlanta GA. The building is made of light gray stucco. Very contemporary in nature; high vaulted ceilings, while walls and gray stone floors. I found it very interesting that there are other companies that are housed in the same building. I guess financially that is a big help. MOCA, ga is the first of its kind to feature the work of artists from Georgia. They feature exhibits of artists that were born and raised here as well as artists that completed most of their work in the great state of Georgia. The contemporary style of this museum is not very welcoming. The ambience is sterile. Nothing inviting except the artwork that hangs on the wall.

The featured artist today is Genevieve Arnold. The name of her exhibit is “A Genevieve Arnold Retrospective” Genevieve Arnold was a highly respected artist, curator and arts administrator. She dedicated her talents to contemporary arts and an avid supporter of other artists that resided in Georgia. She was born and raised in Covington, GA 1928 and died in Atlanta, GA 2005, she received her BFA from the Atlanta College of Art in 1951 and continued to further her education by taking classes at Emory University and Georgia State University. The exhibit spans her 50 year career.

Landscape, oil on canvas painting, which is part of the Collection of John Howard and Company, Atlanta, GA is an asymmetric painting that appears to run off the canvas. The painting is very bright. When I take a step a back I am reminded a sunset, with rainbow caused by the leftover rain. In this painting she uses various shades of orange, purple, gray, green, pink, yellow, black maroon and light blue. It also appears to be textured. I cannot be sure but it looks as if she may have glued canvas on top of canvas to give the painting a textured look. It also looks as if she made erase marks as she was working through the details to get to the final result. The picture is divided in sections. The left side begins with a bright orange color that fades as it goes downward. Then she introduces several shades of purple and finally green. Throughout the section there are straight lines that appear to highlight the changing of the colors. The main section of the painting is primarily green with faint hints of pink, yellow, blue and purple. Again, lines are drawn to separate the changes in color. The last section is re-introduces the oranges and purples. You can see a shapes in the background a circle and a rectangle at the very bottom. There is no beginning or ending to this painting. The painting is very inviting. You are forced to do a double take to make sure that you don’t miss anything that this painting has to offer.

Many of her paintings were bland in nature. A lot of brush strokes, but nothing that jumps out and grabs you. A perfect example of thisis the Miletus: Thales, Anaximenes, Anaximander. It was drawn on Mixed media canvas. It looks like swirls of paint. No particiular design. If you looks closely it looks like an animal in the background It consists of brown, grays and white paint. This was indicative of her style. Genevieve's designs were 100% authenticate based on her mood at the time. I thoroughly enjoyed The Landscape painting. It gives you a sense that the artist was very thoughtful. She out a lot of time and effort into her work and recognized that no one was perfect.

Wadsworth Atheneum

I visited the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum this morning. They had 3 exhibits on display and I chose to visit the Soul Food African American Cooking and Creative exhibit. Not sure what to expect I was pleasantly surprised.

The first picture is called the Cakewalk. The picture was drawn during 1850’s. The artist is unidentified. The portrait is of two enslave couples doing a dance called the cakewalk. The photo is very detailed in color. It captures the essence of what slaves used to wear. The woman on the left side is wearing a rose colored dress with black shoes. She is bent over in the heat of the dance. The gentlemen dancing next to her is has his eyes focused on her. He is wearing a long tan coat with brown pants that don’t quite reach his ankles. Hi shoes are weathered, but he appears to be enjoying the dance. The lady next to him is in full swing. She is looking down as she moves to the beat. She is wearing a long blue dress that is hiked up to her knee. The gentlemen on the right is wearing a full suit. He has his hat in one hand and a cane in the other. The cakewalk became so popular that some plantation owners would award the best dancers. They would get dressed in their best, hats, suits and canes to perform the dance. The winners would receive hoecake or molasses candy.

The next photo is the advertisement for the sale of slaves. It is called Cotton and Rice Negroes. It is a bill of sale that describes each slave. It provides the name, age and occupation. It also explains the sale process. You pay a partial amount now and the balance by a bond bearing interest. It looks like it is printed on some sort of rice paper. Louis De Saussure was a scientist who owned several plantations in Beaufort South Carolina. He kept detailed records of the slaves that he purchased and sold.


The next display are African spoons. Theses are spoons from the early 1900’s but are still
In used today. They are wooden spoons. One has a twisted wooden handle with darker colored wood as the trim. The middle spoon has a single handle with a dark wooden trim.
The last spoon is much thinner than the first two but bears the same resemblance. The spoons were created in America, but closely resemble what was used in Africa


The next picture is titled Golly don’t I like chicken. It was drawn in 1909 by WH Grant. This picture is of a young that has a wide grin that expresses his love of chicken. He has a dark complexion with curly hair and a mouth full of teeth. This is a stereotype of the love that African American’s have for chicken.


The next picture is of paper bags that have a picture of different black people. The display is an example of how Black people used to pass in order to get ahead after slavery abolished. Paper bag is often a noun used to describe the color of African American. I took two different pictures of the display so that you can see how people had to change their identity in order to fit into a society that didn’t welcome them.


The last picture is a classic. It is a quilt that contains pictures of family members at dinner time. You will see mother’s father’s grandmother’s grandfather’s aunt’s uncles, brother and sisters. Dinner time in the Black community is the most important meal of the day. Not only was a formal meal prepared, it was a time to hand down stories from past generations. They would share information that was not past down in history books, they would make sure that the younger generation received knowledge that would help them as they reached adulthood. These moments were very precious. The quilt is very bright. It is full of the color red that is representative of the blood, sweat and tears they the family has endured.


That was my trip to the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum. I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoyed my visit.

High Museum

High Museum First Trip to the Museum
High Museum [Photo]Today I visited the High Museum in downtown Atlanta. the trip was very enlightening. There were quite a few exhibits to chose from. I decided to view the European Art Collection between 14th century and the 19th century. After that tour I decided to visited the American art section, but didn't enjoy the artwork half as much as I enjoyed the European artwork.

I will discuss the piece of American artwork that caught my eye. This piece of artwork is called "Coming to the Parson". The artist John Rodgers 1829-1904. This piece is made of plaster. It depicts a couple standing in front of the parson. The couple appears to be in formal attire. The woman is wearing a veil on the top of her head. She is holding hands with her mate, who appears to be wearing a formal wear. The parson is sitting down looking the paper holding a newspaper in his left hand and his eyes focused on the couple. There is a small cat by his side and another one nestled by the gentlemen. The gentlemen also appears to be clutching something. I am not sure what, but it resembles a purse. There is truly a wonderful sense of detail in this piece of artwork.

The next piece of artwork that fascinated was Madonna & Child with 6 Saints. The artist is Tomasso del Mazz0, Italian 1350-1415. This painting is absolutely exquisite. The color scheme is brilliant, making the epicture come alive. Madonna is looking adoringly at her child. The child is sitting in Madonna's lap and Madonna is holding with his back with her right arm and gripping his foot with her left. They are centered in a blue and red oval that has a layer of stars and what appears to be cherubs. They cherubs alternate in the red and blue color scheme. Everyone in the painting has a gold halo over their head. Madonna and child are heavenly as a small group of clouds rests beneath them. There are 6 Saints in this picture. 3 Saints are positioned n each side of Madonna & Child. The tallest Saint on the right is wearing a beautifully painted robe and is holding a plant in his hand. The next Saint is standing and is holding a bible in his right hand and a staff in his left hand. The third Saint is kneeling witha rod in his hand. The 3 Saints on the left are in similar positions. The first one is standing with his left hand over his heart and a branch in his right hand. The next Saint appears to be female and is flanked by two snakes. She is also holding a basket. The last Saint on the left is kneeling as if acknowledging royalty.

The next piece is called Eternal Spring. The artist is Augustine Rodin, French 1840-1917. This is a bronze statue of a man woman is a passionate embrace. They appear to be lusting heavily for one another. The detail is just enough for you to guess at the body parts. Not alot going on, but it was the only piece that depicted a man and woman relationship.

The next photo is of Saint Andrew. This picture is from the workshop of Tilman Reimenschneider. He is a German artist. This is a veneer or bronze statue of St. Andrew. The artwork is very detailed St Andrew is depicted in a saintly manner. He is holding a bible in his left hand a staff or rod in his right hand. He is looking downward as if he were speaking to worshippers. His sandals are reminiscent of Moses in the Ten Commandments. He has long hair with a curly long beard. He has long curly hair and is wearing a wrap like garment.

The last piece of artwork was created by German born cabinet maker. This John couch and chair are apart of the Virginia Carroll Crawford collection. This piece of artwork needs to be seen in person. The upholstery is absolutely beautiful. I know that it was created in the 1800's, but it looks as if it belongs in modern times. The wood has is hand carved with intricate designs throughout. The matching chair is an exact replica, just a smaller version. The couch looks so comfortable that I actually wanted to sit on it. This couch was made prior to industrialization so everything was done by hand.