My Favorite Artifacts at Jüdisches (Jewish) Museum, Vienna

Jüdisches Museum Wien (Jewish Museum) in Vienna has many artifacts highlighting the past and present of Jewish culture in Austria.  When I visited the museum in 2012, I was astounded by the huge quantities of items they put on display, some beautiful, some ethereal, some kitschy, and some poignant.

I was particularly taken by artifacts emphasizing the folksy Jewish tradition and heritage, such as the two figurines in the picture below.  These two figures, in traditional eastern European Jewish attires, with their endearingly exaggerated open-arm gestures - a sort of Jewish self-parody, I hope - invited viewers to enter their now long-gone time and location specific sphere.



I was also very taken by the almost medieval-looking metal spice boxes, see picture below. I was particularly taken in by the far left one, which reminded me of a moving tent, or with a little more imagination, a knight errant in full armor, who ironically roamed the lands of Europe and the Middle East where many Jewish people, Muslims and Pagans constantly being threatened by sword and fire, and worse.  It was hard not to see violence and suffering even in these seemingly most innocuous objects.




My Favorite Museum Collection Series
>> My Favorite Museum Collection Series 88: My Favorite Artworks in the Mausoleum, Graz, Austria
<< My Favorite Museum Collection Series 86: My Favorite Artworks at Augustinerkirche, Vienna
List of My Favorite Artworks in the Museums I've Visited


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My Favorite Sculptures at Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral), Vienna

The most important religious building in Vienna, Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral), with multi-colored tile roof, was one of Vienna's most recognizable landmarks and symbols. 



The most interesting work inside this massive structure was a sculptural portrait of Anton Pilgram (also Anton Pilchramb), a late medieval Austrian architect and sculptor. This sculpture, possibly a self-portrait, depicting the sculptor leaning out of a window-like frame, and above his slender body, a massive ornate altar, supported by elongated fan vault. The figure was very austere, yet the whole structure was grand and dramatic. The intense contrast was very intriguing and eloquent.


Portrait of Anton Pilgram, possible self-portrait

My second favorite was outside the building, at the base of its massive walls - a relief of Christ in Gethsemane, a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, where Jesus prayed and his disciples slept the night before Jesus' crucifixion.

The stone relief thrust Jesus in the center of the tableau, kneeling above tumbling boulders, creating a world consisted of bare-boned elements. Jesus and his disciples were modeled in a medieval naïve style, endearing; the background scenes of approaching soldiers, the final climbing to Mount of Olives and the city itself, were depicted in an almost decorative way, unobtrusive, almost negligible.  When I visited the Dom, Jesus was cast in the shadow, except for his upturned face - subtly dramatic.


Christ in Gethsemane, after restoration


My Favorite Museum Collection Series
>> My Favorite Museum Collection Series 87: To be continued
<< My Favorite Museum Collection Series 85: My Favorite Artworks at Augustinerkirche, Vienna

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My Favorite Artworks at Augustinerkirche, Vienna

The Augustinerkirche (Augustinian Church) was built in the 14th century as the parish church of the imperial court of with the Gothic interior added in the 18th century.

The most impressive artwork was a tome sculpture designed by the renown Italian sculptor Antonio Canova, for Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria - in his typical neoclassical style - pyramidal shaped, with clear and clean delineation, and delicately modeled figures.  The atmosphere it created was somber, sorrowful and soaringly lyrical.






Archduchess Maria Christina Tome by Antonio Canova, Augustinerkirche, Wien

My second favorite work there was a strangely painted skeleton, surrounded by beautiful decorative borders. This frank depiction of death and decay gave viewers no catholic comfort, yet it was not devoid of any tranquility, a kind of knowing acceptance, which was the grace we all hope to have when it's our time to take our leave.



My Favorite Museum Collection Series
>> My Favorite Museum Collection Series 88: My Favorite Sculptures at Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral), Vienna
<< My Favorite Museum Collection Series 86: My Favorite Artworks in Votivkirche, Vienna

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The Innocents - Dedicated to the Victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17

The magnitude of the unspeakable tragedy of the downing of the civilian Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 by a mission in the war-torn region of eastern Ukraine was hard to fathom and absolutely cannot be accepted in a civil global society.  Everyone with righteous mind mourns the loss of near 300 people, on their way to return to their homes, to see their friends and families, to go to work, or to make holidays.

I was deeply touched by the tragedy and channeled my feeling into a gouache painting, commemorate this utterly senseless tragedy.


The Innocents - Dedicated to the victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17


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BAM/PFA New Building Topping Out Celebration

Yesterday, I attended a block party on Addison Street below Oxford, celebrating the topping out of the new Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive building of University of California, Berkeley, in the ceremony traditionally held when the last beam is put in place.

According to the press release, the new BAM/PFA is "designed by renowned architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, integrates a repurposed building, the former UC Berkeley printing plant, at the corner of Oxford and Center Streets, with a dramatic new structure. Opening in early 2016, the new building will anchor Berkeley's downtown Arts District, engaging diverse audiences in groundbreaking art, film, performance, and education programs." 











It was a fun event and people was entertained by lively music, provided by Mission Delirium, a fourteen-piece party brass band:







There was also a spontaneous dance courtesy of a most talented toddler:



The best part of the celebration was signing the beam - all the people present were invited to sign the beam with permanent markers - a courtesy doesn't often extend to common folks, and yesterday the people were truly inspired and left many interesting "signatures" on the steel beam:











Finally, the steel beam was ready to go up:








Cannot wait to see the new building in 2016!



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My Favorite Artworks in Votivkirche, Vienna

One of the most visible churches in Vienna, amongst many magnificent ones, is Votivkirche, which I visited in 2012 and was duly impressed. 



This Neo-Gothic church of twin spires, dating back to late 19th century, boasted a famous Antwerp Passion Altar (Wood Curve) (dating back to around 1460). This altar was the best example of the achievement of medieval wood curving religion art in the low countries.


Antwerp Passion Altar



This Altar has grandeur, dignity and its moving pathos lies in the folksy naïveté and the lightened wrenching dramatic tableau it represents.  I found it hugely effective and moving.




Another amazing work was even grander assembly - Hochaltar (Main Altar), which consists of tier-ed multiple parts.  Due to restoration work, I was only able to see the upper part from side and behind in the Museum Gallery; however, the trusses of the scaffolding added quite appropriate setting to Christ and angels when view from behind.  The lower part of the Hochaltar was glistering and awe inspiring.







Below is a short video with quick glances of the Antwerp Passion Altar, and the Hoch Altar viewed from Museum Gallery:

My Favorite Museum Collection Series
>> My Favorite Museum Collection Series 85: My Favorite Artworks at Augustinerkirche, Vienna
<< My Favorite Museum Collection Series 83:  My Favorite Artworks at Secession Building, Vienna

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My Favorite Artworks at Secession Building, Vienna

The Secession Building in Vienna is so iconic, that though it doesn't have permanent collections, except for Beethoven Frieze by Gustav Klimt, I feel that I am compelled to include it in the series of My Favorite Museum Collections.

Secession Building is an exhibition hall built in 1897 by Joseph Maria Olbrich as an architectural manifesto for the Vienna Secession and the Beethoven Frieze is a painting by Gustav Klimt created in 1902 for the 14th Vienna Secessionist exhibition and is now on display in the building permanently.

The frieze has the hallmark of the overt ornamentation the movement, and it also addressed the life's motifs close to Klimt's heart, as it covered the themes of human yearning for happiness and fulfillment of desires in the dark and tempestuous world as can be gleaned through a snapshot of the copy of part of the immense frieze below.


Beethoven Frieze copy, Secession, Wien

The frieze has the hallmark of the overt ornamentation the movement, and it also addressed the life's motifs close to Klimt's heart, as it covered the themes of human yearning for happiness and fulfillment of desires in the dark and tempestuous world.

Since there are no other permanent art collections to speak of in Secession Building, I'm going to cheap a bit, by citing an element of the utterly lovely building itself.  My favorite relief on the exterior wall of the building is a group of three highly decorative owls, well-balanced and proportioned, stylized in the typical Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) fashion.  Absolutely enchanting.


Jugendstil owls - Detail of the facade of the Secession Building.
Image credit: Alberto Fernandez Fernandez

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Impressionism from National Gallery of Art (DC) in San Francisco

Last weekend, I visited Legion of Honor Museum, San Francisco, to see a special exhibition - Intimate Impressionism from the National Gallery of Art from Washington D.C. (March 29, 2014 – August 3, 2014).  



The exhibition included many paintings from the period of the emergence of the Impressionism, most of them were of modest dimensions, with subjects ranging from intimate portraits, still life to familiar outdoor landscapes.

The exhibition was organized and displayed by artists, a choice group including many big names and a few less familiar ones.  Below are the paintings I liked most:


Self-Portrait, 1861, Henri Fantin-Latour


Three Peaches on a Plate, 1868, Henri Fantin-Latour


Oysters, 1862, Édouard Manet


The Artist's Studio, ca. 1868, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot


The Towpath, 1864, Johan Barthold Jongkind


Beach at Trouville, 1864/65, Eugène Boudin


Beach at Trouville, 1863, Eugène Boudin


Mound of Butter, 1875/1885, Antoine Vollon


Claude Monet, 1872, Pierre-Auguste Renoir


The Fence, 1872, Camille Pissarro


Flood at Port-Marly, 1872, Alfred Sisley


Boulevard Héloïse, Argenteuil, 1872, Alfred Sisley


 Madame Henriot, ca. 1876, Pierre-Auguste Renoir


Carmen Caudin, 1885, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec


Three Pears, 1878/79, Paul Cézanne


Flower Beds in Holland, ca. 1883, Vincent van Gogh


Village by the Sea in Brittany, ca. 1880, Odilon Redon


Breton Village, ca. 1890, Odilon Redon


 Landscape of the Île-de-France,  Édouard Vuillard


Woman in Black, ca. 1891, Édouard Vuillard


The Artist's Studio, 1900, Pierre Bonnard


Red Plums, 1892, Pierre Bonnard


Bouquet of Flowers, ca. 1926, Pierre Bonnard

Famous names included in the exhibition included Monet, Gauguin, etc. but I felt their works somewhat less moving and affecting than their the better efforts, nevertheless, their works deserved to be included in this blog:


Horses in a Meadow, 1871, Edgar Degas


The Artist's Sister at a Window, 1869, Berthe Morisot


Argenteuil, ca. 1872, Claude Monet


Self-Portrait Dedicated to Carrière, 1888 or 1889, Paul Gauguin

It was a marvelous show and the last day of the exhibition is August 3rd.  Do try to catch this beautiful presentation.


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