A Day At The St. Louis Art Museum

Last Saturday my niece and I went to SLAM to view the Monet exhibit. After the Chicago Art Institute this museum was refreshing. The fact that many of the rooms were empty because of construction probably had something to do with it. Sometimes the Institute is overwhelming.

Pictures were not allowed in the Monet exhibit, but I managed to grab a few of the more interesting pieces on display. You should really check them out in person though.

Gerhard Richter, German, born 1932, January, December, November, 1989, oil on canvas

This was a favorite. The three paintings “…evoke the cold, dark mood of the months following the opening of the Berlin Wall.” To me, it looked like a wet street after a hard rain. It looked cold and dark, but perhaps, also, a place that is being washed clean? It is in the transformative phase of a baptism of sorts.

Greek, Hellenistic, or possibly early Roman, Running Artemis, late 2nd century B.C.-A.D. early 1st century, marble

I may go back and draw this sculpture.

Karl Fredich Shinkel, German, 1782-1841, Portrait of the Artist’s Son, Karl, 1817, oil on canvas mounted on cardboard.

Wait, they had cardboard back then? Word. This was the third in an unfinished series. Very lovely.

Anders Leonard Zorn, Swedish, 1860-1929, Lucy Turner Joy, 1892, oil on canvas

This one (as well as the next two) reminded me of Sargent. Considering they did not have their two Sargents on display, I took what I could get.

Alfred Stevens, Belgian, 1823-1906, In Deep Thought, 1881, oil on canvas

This guy was friends with Manet and Degas. Lucky bastard.

Adolf Schreyer, German, 1828-1809, Arabs, late 19th century, oil on canvas.

This one I find particularly interesting. It is Indian from the Nayak dynasty (1539-1736.) It titled Savait Saint. The description reads: “This suclupture represents one of the fervent believers of Siva who gave up all their worldly possions and relationships in pursuit of a spiritual life. Such persons are considered Hindu holy men and women, sainted beings who are [revered] for their intense devotion and spirituality.”

This one too. Some background from Wikipedia states: “Ardhanarishvara is a composite androgynous form of the Hindu god Shiva and his consort Parvati (also known as Devi, Shakti and Uma in this icon). Ardhanarishvara is depicted as half male and half female, split down the middle. The right half is usually the male Shiva, illustrating his traditional attributes.” (The glare on my image of the inscription blocked out most of it, but that’s the gist.)

I find it refreshing that some cultures admire those that are different. Oh, you’re intersexed? We’ll make you a God/dess. Maybe I have it wrong, but it seems like other cultures have an easier time celebrating differences than Americans do. Although, maybe if there was an intersexed baby born they would freak out and think the God/dess came to life in their kid so they have to kill it. Who knows. I just know we aren’t saying Jesus was a bit of both.

Eva Lundsager, In A Broken Dream, 2007, oil on linen.