Van Gogh at The Art Institute

 Chicago, IL

Another museum selfie to start the blog.

Back to The Art Institute

Today we headed back to The Art Institute for another member hour.  We still hadn't seen the Van Gogh special exhibit so that is where we headed.  The exhibit is Van Gogh and the Avant-Guard: The Modern Landscape.  Between 1882 and 1990 Vincent van Gogh, along with Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, Emile Bernard, and Charles Angrand all came together and painted in Paris.  They focused on the fringes of Paris and included industrial areas like train yards and factories.  The exhibit was set out in a timeline so you saw the paintings in the order that they were painted.  It was a cool way to lay things out.

Member hour = no line

Self-Portrait - Vincent Van Gogh

Gate in the Paris Ramparts - Vincent Van Gogh

Iron Bridges at Asnières - Emile Bernard

The Seine at Courbevoie- Georges Seurat

The Restaurant Rispal atAsnières- Vincent Van Gogh

The Siene at La Grande Jatte- Georges Seurat
This might look familiar.  It's in the same place and possibly a study for A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte

The Seine at Dawn- Charles Angrand

The Seine at Courbevoie- Georges Seurat

Tree Trunks )Study for "La Grande Jatte") - Georges Seurat

Strolling Man Next to a Tree on a Bank (Study for "La Grande Jatte") - Georges Seurat

Study for "La Grande Jatte"- Georges Seurat

Oil Sketch for "Sunday on La Grande Jatte" 1884 - Georges Seurat

Seated Woman with Parasol (Study for "La Grande Jatte") - Georges Seurat

Figures on the River Bank - Emile Bernard
I liked this along with the other La Grande Jatte images because it shows, probably, the same place painted by different artists around the same time.

The exhibit was very cool.  So much art was created in 8 years.  It makes you wonder what would have happened if they hadn't all ended up there together. 

After our time in France we headed out and saw a few more exhibits we hadn't seen and then we went to lunch at The Market within the museum.

Me in my new Chicago White Sox "L" T-Shirt from the thrift store.  A younger woman stopped me and asked me where I got it because she liked it so much.

Exploring Downtown

We had a list of things we wanted to see today which included The Tiffany Dome at the Chicago Cultural Center, The Rookery Lobby, and The Harold Washington Library.  As we exited the museum our attention was drawn to symphony music playing in the park.  It sounded like there was a symphony playing in The Pritzker Pavilion so we headed in that direction.  It turns out there is an ongoing series of symphony music going on there and today was an open rehearsal.  We sat down for a while and listened to the music and watched the conductor stop and start in different places in the song to give direction.  All of the musicians were in their normal clothes instead of all black matching clothing so it made them feel more like real people which I thought was cool.

Inside the Chicago Cultural Center

The Tiffany Dome

A Maquette for an art piece in The Midway Airport

Trail of Tears - Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds
We saw work by this artist or work related to this series somewhere else on our travels but I don't remember where.

The Rookery Lobby freshly restored.  This lobby was renovated by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1905.

During the recent renovations ornate support beams were discovered within the marble pillars.  They left one open to show it off.

The art on the elevator doors reminded me of ASCII Art.

I liked this sconce on the outside of the Library

Inside The Harold Washington Library as we worked our way to the top floor.

Above and Beyond - Rick Steinbock
Above and Beyond is made of over 58,300 dog tags representing each service member who died in The Vietnam War. 

We also got to see a scale model for Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor.

Lastly we visited The Winter Garden on top of the museum.  I am sure this is a lovely place to take in some sun during the harsh winters here.

It was a busy day today.  We are trying to cram everything we want to do in our last 2 weeks here.  If you missed The Field Museum post check it out.  It's pretty amazing.