Paint a Rumour

What does one do in Cleveland when it's 95 degrees out on a Saturday?? Well, yes, we did go to Inception, but before that we filled time at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

It is a world-renowned establishment with some of the best works in the world within its walls. Currently undergoing a multi-year renovation, much of the place is still open (somewhat) and all for free. We love going there, it is practically in our backyard and never do it enough. Saturday was great.

We skipped the paladins and sarcophagi this time and headed to see mostly paintings. I love some of these works of art. And since they are always changing up the collections, you always see new stuff.....or rediscover great pieces.

While photography is strictly forbidden in the museum, I kind of did the 'it's better to ask forgiveness than permission' kind of thing. It is not like I used a flash to damage any of the artwork and I only took it of a few pieces I really liked. But if you really think about it - if someone tells me not to do something.....well......c'mon........

So I will share with you some of the better pieces I saw. Feel free to click on images to enlarge.

Possibly my current favourite piece - Panoramic View of the Alps, Les Dents du Midi by Gustave Courbet. It would look great in our house. This one I didn't take a picture of - too many guards around. So I stole it from the internets. You can see in the lower right corner, Courbet did not finish the painting completely.

My second favourite - Grey and Gold by Indiana artist John Rogers Cox. While you can enlarge it - you really have to see it in person. It is supposed to reflect the crossroads America was at the beginning of WWII.

One of my favourite pieces - Lot's Wife by German artist, Aston Kiefer.

The piece, in response to the Holocaust, has footprints and tire tracks on it - along with plaster and ash. The top portion is covered with salt, which turned the canvas white. It had me standing in front of it for about 10 minutes - and in the translation from art time to real time - is about two weeks.

Picasso in his blue period.

Van Gogh in his two-ear period.

We went to the Auguste Rodin gallery. While the museum has a large, damaged, version of The Thinker outside the front entrance, there is a smaller version which is just captivating. So much so, I photographed it from multiple angles. His sculpture work is really incredible and it seems so much more intricate in his smaller pieces.

We made a pseudo-pledge to make it down and tour the museum more often. I highly recommend when you're in Cleveland you should make the effort to stop by.


Song by: the Eurythmics