Wolfsonian Museum in Miami

I'm always on the lookout for new places to go and see great art. I found out about the Wilfsonion Museum in Miami Beach just the other day and I had to share it with you.

The Wilfsonion Florida International University Museum in Miami Beach, Florida is one of the world's leading modern art museums, specializing in the period from 1885-1945. It also has the largest collection of art from the British Arts and Crafts Movement outside of England.

The Wilfsonian was founded in 1986 to house the art collection of Mitchell Wolfson Jr. The building and art collection were donated to Florida International University in 1997. The museum is filled with a tremendous variety of art objects, ranging from political propaganda from Mussolini's regime, to beautiful works from the Art Nouveau period.

This is one of those places I plan to visit the next time we go to Florida!

For more information on the Museum, rates and special events, visit the Wilfsonion-FIU website

Image courtesy the Florida International University Beacon Newspaper

Decorating in Gothic Revival Style

Today I thought I'd do a feature on Medieval/Gothic interior decorating, with a couple of inspirational pictures from the Cluny Museum and Musee D'Orsay. Fear not! I'm not going to be discussing creepy black interiors or coffin-shaped beds. Remember, Gothic revival style is actually light, bright and inspired by nature.

So how do you capture a hint of the Medieval without looking like Count Dracula was your decorator? Well, William Morris' design work is a great example of Medieval revival done right. But if you'd like to capture some of those Gothic themes without using Morris as your template, here are some ideas.

Use colours inspired by nature. And focus both on colour and texture when choosing decorating fabrics. You want your room to feel luxurious, and beautifully textured fabrics are one of the best ways to do this. Of course, tapestries are the perfect touch, but they can be rather expensive! Also, a little hint: unless you have the great fortune of living in a castle constructed from brick or stone, your walls probably will need some added spice. Wallpaper adds a great touch, but it's easy to overdo. Please, please do not paint faux stones on your walls. It is the ultimate in tacky!

Here are some common medieval motifs that you might want to incorporate into your home: heraldic themes, such as fleur de lys, trellis designs, roses, lions, dragons and stylised crosses. Obviously, if you include all of these elements in one room it might look completely over the top. The key is simplicity--as always, stick by the tried and true William Morris maxim of avoiding everything that you don't "know to be useful or believe to be beautiful"--never ever fill your house with junk just because you think it somehow "goes" with your chosen decorating theme.

Although people always think Gothic style is about darkness, the opposite is true! Innovations in architecture in the early middle ages had allowed people to start allowing more light into their homes and public buildings. Obviously, one of the most popular ways of allowing light into churches was with stained glass. But stained glass windows can actually be used as a great decorating element in your home. You can find beautiful pieces in antique stores that have been removed from old buildings (it's tragic, I know, but you might as well take advantage of it). Light fixtures in wrought iron or pewter also look great in a Gothic revival home. Candelabras can evoke a more dark romantic mood, but if you keep the design light enough, it doesn't have to look depressing. Try to let in as much natural light as possible.

Furniture should be simple and constructed from natural elements. "Blobjects" are obviously a little more difficult to incorporate, though I have seen some very interesting design work that combines ultra modern plastic furniture with Gothic inspired architecture, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you really trust yourself as an interior designer. I saw this beautiful table at the Musee D'Orsay on Sunday. It's very much inspired by the simplicity of medieval furniture styles, but I love the delicate Art Nouveau interpretation.

For the bedroom: again, you will want to keep it simple. In the Middle Ages, most homes used simple pallets or four poster canopy beds. Wrought iron can look nice as well, but don't overdo it--you don't want your inner sanctum to resemble a dungeon (well, let's hope not).

Finally, resist the urge to collect and display tacky bits of medieval accouterments. I saw this box at the Cluny Museum on Saturday and I was so impressed with all of the delicate iron work! It took me a moment to realize that it was not factory produced--it would have taken an artisan ages to finish all of the design work. Obviously, this kind of time commitment would have made the piece extremely valuable--I doubt that people would have had their homes stuffed with trinkets--it simply was impossible, given how labour-intense the manufacture of these objects was. Something to keep in mind next time I'm tempted to buy something trendy!

True, William Morris had a suit of armour in his home, but then again, he was William Morris and could probably get away with it much more easily than you or I. Same goes for swords, etc.

Musee D'Orsay

Paris is amazing--you could visit art exhibits for weeks before you ran out of things to do. On Sunday we went to the Musee D'Orsay, which was absolutely lovely. I didn't get a chance to go there last time and it was at the top of my list. All in all, it's one of my favourite things that I've done in Paris so far. They have a spectacular collection or artwork, including a good number of Symbolist paintings (this category is similar to, and often includes the Pre-Raphaelites). I even actually got to see one of my favourite Sir Edward Burne Jones paintings there, which is pictured below!

One of my favourite paintings at the Musee was actually this one, by Gustav Klimt ("The Kiss" is probably his most famous painting). It's called "Rosiers sous les Arbres" and I just adored it. I believe that I've seen the painting on notecards before, but it is sooo much better in person.

The same also goes for the Monets. If you like Monet, Musee D'Orsay is a great place to go--they have so many, and they're so good! I have to admit that I always considered Monet somewhat bland before. Well, no more! They are absolutely fabulous! I tried taking pictures, but I've decided not to post them, because they seriously don't do justice to the paintings (that sounds so elitist, but it's simply true. It feels like taking a photo of Joshua Bell playing Mozart and calling it a great piece of music...). At any rate, Monet is definitley meant to be seen, not photographed. Which is really too bad, since he is so popular.

One picture I've included anyway is this one by Van Gogh. It's called Fritillaire Couronne Imperiale (1886). I do hope I spelled it right! I just loved it. Van Gogh is another artist that I've decided is just not fair to reproduce in print. There's simply too much texture in his paintings to reproduce them in photos. Ah well! I've done my best!


I hope everyone is having a great week! I'll post more later!

The Cluny Museum

Greetings from Paris! I am having such a good time. The last few days have gone by so quickly. Paris is just lovely right now. The weather here is amazing, though quite a bit warmer than I had expected. This is a picture of me (after hours of flying and not a wink of sleep) just after arriving at the Hotel College du France. In the picture I'm having a cafe au lait and croissant which explains my mouth being full of food!

This is a picture from the Cluny Museum. I was very interested in the sculptures and tiles they had in their collection--some of the designs were so similar to ones that William Morris revived during the Arts and Crafts Movement ( actually found one 16th century acanthus carving that looked EXACTLY like the pattern Morris always used, but the light was too low to take a proper picture. I swear he must have traced it). We went to the Cluny right after breakfast on the 10th (Saturday). As fate would have it, it turned out that Saturday was free admission day--yay!--and it's a good thing, too. Prices in Paris have absolutely gone through the roof. The first time I came here I thought Paris was a bargain--well, no longer! (we had breakfast at a rather modest cafe the next day and I noticed that a coca cola was 8 euros--twelve dollars!)

The Cluny was spectacular. A must for anyone who loves the Middle Ages--especially if they are into tapestries! They have the entire Lady and the Unicorn series there, and it is absolutely amazing to see up close, though unfortunately it's pretty much impossible to take photos, since there's no flash allowed and the room they are in keeps them in low light to preserve the colour. It really is a good thing in the long run, though, because it will preserve these fantastic works of art for another generation. One thing I was really impressed with when I saw them up close was how good the shading is. The figures seem so lively and there is so much humor injected into all of the tapestries. Definitely not the dreary mood you might imagine. My favourite from the series was "Gout" (taste). I will post a picture of it when I find a good one--such a great tapestry! Because of the light, I didn't get any tapestry picture that turned out very well, but this is for Kate! It doesn't nearly do justice to the amazing colours and textures, but c'est la vie!

Oscar Wilde on Ruskin

I've been an Oscar Wilde fan for as long as I can remember. I instantly fell in love with his flippant, irreverent humour. His quotable quotes are everywhere--I particularly love this one: "work is the curse of the drinking classes." So outrageous! How can you not love him?

In addition to his witty sayings and flamboyant excesses, Oscar Wilde is also very well known for his involvement in the aesthetic movement (which partially explains his penchant for velvet kneebritches). But did you know that Oscar Wilde was also a huge fan of John Ruskin?

Ruskin (then Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford) was one of the two people that Wilde most wanted to meet when he went to Oxford. Wilde befriended Ruskin during his first year at school after going to Ruskin's lectures of Florentine Art in the fall of 1874. Soon Wilde was he even helped Ruskin to plant flowers while constructing a country road in North Hinksey outside of Oxford! For several months, Wilde got up early in the morning to wheel "Mr. Ruskin's especial wheelbarrow." I personally find it a little difficult to imagine Oscar Wilde pushing a wheelbarrow and digging ditches. He must have been truly eager to impress Ruskin! It paid off though...Ruskin invited the students who helped him with his project were invited to breakfast afterwards, and I'm sure Wilde took advantage of the opportunity to talk with Ruskin.

Ruskin's ideas left a lasting impression on Wilde, who rose to his defense in his work Intentions. His defense of Ruskin was later republished in the New York Times in 1891.

Who cares whether Mr. Ruskin's views on Turner are sound or not? What does it matter? That mighty and majestic prose of his so fervid and so fiery coloured in its noble eloquence, so rich in its symphonic music, so sure and certain, at its best in subtle choice of word and epithet, is at least as great a work of art as any of those sunsets that bleach or rot on their corrupted canvases in England's gallery; greater, indeed, one is apt to think at times, not merely because its equal beauty is more enduring, but on account of the fuller variety of its appeal, soul speaking to soul in those long-cadenced lines, not through form and colour alone, though through these, indeed, completely and without loss, but with intellectual and emotional utterance, with lofty passion and with loftier thought, with imaginative insight and with poetic aim; greater I think even as literature is the greater art.

Oh, Oscar.


sources consulted: "Noted with Pleasure" from the New York Times

The Last Time I Saw Paris

Well, I'm flying to Paris today! It's going to be a long flight, so I'll have plenty of time to brush up on my French! I've really been looking forward to this trip and I can hardly wait to see Paris.

The last time I saw Paris was the Summer of 2006. I'd just finished my first year at the University of Alberta and I was engaged. I was so excited to see Paris for the first time (but I was a little scared too! What if I didn't like Paris? What if the people were rude, like you always here? I fell in love with the city the minute I walked out of the Metro and saw the city for the first time. This picture captures that moment. Except I can't remember what this fountain is called. Does anyone know? Please, please leave a comment and remind me, all you francophiles.

I often tell people that Paris is like Disneyland for grownups. At least for grownups who love beautiful things. In the core of the city, everything is breathtakingly gorgeous. I could write a sonnet about every bridge! (There's an idea). And the people are charming. I think the myth that Parisians are rude was created by people who love Paris just to keep the city from becoming overcrowded with tourists. I don't think it has worked, but imagine how busy the city would be if everyone knew how nice the people actually are?

When I get to Paris, the first thing I will do (after taking a shower--I will have been traveling for 24 hours!) is have a lovely Parisian breakfast. Perhaps a Pain au Chocolat with cafe au lait. Then I'm off to the Cluny Museum to look at their collection of Medieval art (something I didn't get to do last time).

I will be doing my best to post while I'm in France. I have some posts scheduled just in case I'm too busy having a good time to get to chain myself to a computer. In any event, I will be keeping a diary and taking dozens of photos, so I'll definitely post a daily account of my trip when I get back!

Have an amazing weekend, everyone!

Chateau de Chantilly

My mom took this lovely photo of Chateau de Chantilly a few days ago. Isn't it beautiful? The Chateau rests on a spectacular 7800 hectare estate and is filled with spectacular art treasures. The gardens are amazing and even the stables are palatial!

I'm going to try and drop off my thesis to my readers this morning, so I'm pretty busy, but I'm also trying to create an itinerary of all the places I want to go this trip.

Places I have to go:

Arts and Culture:

The Cluny Museum--I didn't go here last time and I'm just dying to go--they are supposed to have one of the best collections of Medieval art in Europe.

The Louvre--I could never visit this place enough--so much to see!.

Chartres--I've wanted to go there since I was in highschool. I wrote a paper on the great cathedrals of the world as my project in Junior year. Just a short day trip from Paris!

Versailles--I didn't get a chance to visit Versailles before, and it's a must.

Shopping:
Laduree-The famous Parisian bakery. I simply must have one of their celebrated macaroons. Thank you for the suggestion, Nancy!

Hermes--Every time we went past the store last time, it was closed! And since I'm not Oprah, I didn't try to get them to open it for me. I probably don't dare go in with a credit card, but I think even browsing will be satisfying. So many beautiful things!

Longchamp--It's not Hermes, but I love the simple elegance of their handbags. I'm hoping to get one--it will all depend on how well I budget!

Only a few hours till I'm on my way! Yay!