Miko and Me: Art, Art, Art, Canal Ride, Art, Art

I feel perhaps I should start off by mentioning this post will be mostly of pictures that I saw and liked. There probably won't be much else so feel free to go directly to the bottom and leave a comment. If you chose to stay, it will be mini masterclass in composition, light and feeling. Not really but it sounded good when I wrote it.

We bused several days into Amsterdam to visit the great Dutch Masters plus a few other more contemporary artists (think late 1800's) We visited several of the most famous of Amsterdam's art museums. There was the Rijksmuseum probably best known for housing the world's finest collection of Dutch Golden Age masterpieces. The Van Gogh Museum contains the largest collection of Van Gogh's painting and drawings in the world. The Rembrandt House Museum was where Rembrandt lived and worked for about twenty years in the mid 1600's.

I developed a new appreciation for the Dutch Masters (Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, etc) after listening to our morning lectures and then going to see the actual paintings. Before this trip, I guess I always thought that all they did was paint stodgy old portraits. Now, I realize that their “brilliance stemmed from revolutionary mastery of light, profound realism, and an unprecedented focus on ordinary human life. “

Ok, I think at this point, I should perhaps mention that I might have snuck off to explore some more contemporary artists in the nearby Moco and Stedelijk museums. Realism is good, can keep you grounded, but every now and then you have to let loose.

First though, you cannot go to Amsterdam without giving yourself the gift of a canal ride.

Notice the hooks at the tops of the buildings. These were used to haul furniture and other large items up to the different floors. The houses are built with a slight outward tilt toward the street. This must be Herengracht canal because the guide said this canal is where the Rolling Stones and U2 have their worldwide corporate headquarters.

Rembrant's House Museum - sort of a dark house, top floor was his studio where he ran a school and had students. It was a hard life for a student. Not only did they pay a very high tuition, they had to learn his distinct techniques and had to help execute paintings or etchings that were eventually sold under Rembrandt's name.

The Milkmaid
Vermeer 1658

Vision of Zacharias
Rembrandt 1633

Portrait of Maria Trip
Rembrandt 1633
look at the detail in the lace

A Pair of Shoes
Van Gogh 1886
Van Gogh purchased these shoes in a flea market and then walked thru the mud with then to make them appear interesting enough to paint them