Chiaroscuro: Guest Post courtesy Talk the Walk

Chiaroscuro

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The National Museum of Sweden in Stockholm (Part 5 of 5)

Miscellaneous

As part of its Timeline theme spread over two floors, the museum also displays items of furniture, urns, vases, crockery and few miniatures.

Art and Consciousness

Pablo Picasso had once said that “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

We may or may not believe in the concept of a soul. But we cannot deny the fact that any interaction with any form of fine arts – be it dance, literature, music, paintings, sculptures – evokes a sense of connection, peace, and gratitude. Great works of art celebrate and express the beauty of Nature, that “the universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper,” as Eden Phillpotts put it.

With the best art we are reminded that we live in a Creative Universe that is itself a work of art, filled with masterpieces of rivers, stars, mountains, children, clouds, and flora and fauna. The greatest artists, poets, dancers, and musicians down through time (like Van Gogh, Rembrandt, M F Hussain, Walt Whitman, Rabindranath Tagore, Mrinalini Sarabhai, Mozart, Zubin Mehta, Pandit Ravi Shankar, to name only a few) have created a rich legacy which invariably uplifts our state of consciousness and encourages us to look carefully within, so as to enthuse us to develop our own creative potential.

A visit to any museum offers us this opportunity. World over, museums perform the enviable task of not only showcasing the uniqueness of the area’s culture, history and fine art but also that of keeping us inwardly awash with hope and keenly aware of a deeper reality in life. The National Museum of Sweden in Stockholm is no exception to this fact of life.  

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The National Museum of Sweden in Stockholm (Part 1 of 5)

A saunter down the National Museum of Sweden is a unique experience in more ways than one. It gives one a sneak peek into the country’s rich history and culture. It showcases the evolution of its fine arts over time. It tells us about its diplomatic relations and stand-offs with other countries. It also makes us aware of the various stages through which this exquisite Nordic country has passed to attain its present state.

The collection at the museum comprises around 70,000 artefacts: paintings, sculptures, drawings, and graphics from the 16^th century until the turn of the century in 1900. The museum, originally started in 1792, was renovated last in the 2010s.

The Sculpture Courtyard

The ground floor has The Sculpture Courtyard which makes one wonder how Idealism in the past shifted to Realism during the 19^th century. Mythology and gods represented here link us to human ideals and values, all of which are universal in nature.

(The images you see above have been downloaded from the internet. The images which follow are the works of an amateur photographer like yours truly.)

Few other sculptures of a relatively smaller size can be found on the upper floors of the museum, as a part of its Timeline theme. A piece depicting a horse also craves the viewer’s indulgence.

  

In the following parts of this series, you can have a look at some of the clocks, jewellery, paintings and other items on display at the museum.

Related Posts:

The National Museum of Sweden in Stockholm (Part 2 of 5)

‘The Dance of Life’ at the National Gallery of Norway

A saunter down the Rietberg Museum at Zurich in Switzerland: Part 1 of 3

A saunter down the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway (Part 1 of 3)

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‘The Dance of Life’ at the National Gallery of Norway

ashokbhatia

A friend suggested visiting the National Gallery in Oslo. Having had the opportunity of admiring the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Pablo Picasso and others in the last few years, I was naturally curious as to what Norwegian artists had come up with in the past. The visit turned out to be a truly instructive one. I realized the depth and range of work done by painters as well as sculptors and marvelled at the passion and artistic fervour of the artists concerned.

Founded in 1837, the National Gallery houses Norway’s largest public collection of paintings, drawings and sculptures. In its permanent and temporary exhibitions, the museum presents older art, with principal emphasis on art from Norway.

Highlights from the collection are shown in the permanent exhibition “The Dance of Life – The Collection from Antiquity to 1945”.

The exhibition presents a chronological overview of more than 300 Norwegian…

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A walk around the city of Trondheim in Norway (Part 2 of 2)

The Art Gallery at Trondheim has a large collection of Norwegian art from around 1850 up to the present. It also has an impressive collection of Danish art and a significant representation of other renowned international artists.

Savour some of these at leisure:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To see artworks of a different culture is quite instructive. The kind of natural forces the people deal with. The kind of life they led. Such mundane happenings as calling a physician, visiting the town square, listening to a street musician or even depicting the means of livelihood of people – all these get captured in exquisite detail. Portraits of some persons – famous or otherwise – invariably form an integral part of the art collection. Even abstract art conveys the inner state of the artist at the time the work was getting done, possibly with a benevolent muse by his side!

(Related Post: https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2018/09/01/a-walk-around-the-city-of-trondheim-in-norway-part-1-of-2)

 

 

 

 

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A walk through the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, India: Part 3 of 3

While continuing our walk through the corridors of the National Gallery of Modern Art, we are often mesmerised by the rich tapestry of artworks it offers.

Village Family (Sailoz Mukherjee)

 

Head Study (S Bakre)

 

Nude (K H Ara)

 

Practice Session (Krishen Khanna)

 

Landscape (Ram Kumar)

 

Old Man and the Bird (B C Sanyal)

 

Untitled (Satish Gujral)

 

Thorn (N S Bendre)

 

Shakti (Chintamoni Kar)

 

Sea Creatures (Jaya Appaswamy)

 

A sculpture in the lawns

The photographic skills of yours truly suffer from severe limitations. Hence the poor quality of the visual representation attempted here.

The artworks are well-lit, save and except the fact that the lighting arrangements often interfere with one’s endeavours to capture some of the artworks on one’s camera. This is especially so when art works happen to be protected with a sheet of transparent glass.

In fact, this remains an issue with most of the art galleries elsewhere too. Perhaps, museum curators and architects in general need to be sensitized to this simple need of a lay viewer while soaking in and wanting to capture images of national treasures of an artistic nature.

(Related Posts:

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2018/05/06/a-walk-through-the-national-gallery-of-modern-art-in-new-delhi-india-part-1

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2018/05/08/a-walk-through-the-national-gallery-of-modern-art-in-new-delhi-india-part-2-of-3)

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A walk through the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, India: Part 2 of 3

With 12,000 square meters of exhibition space, the Delhi branch of the National Gallery of Modern Art is one of the world’s largest modern art museums.

A walk down its corridors makes one marvel at the attention to detail and the sheer depth of talent showcased at the gallery. When the walk is aided and guided by a guy who is an enthusiastic art lover and a dynamic person, many of the artworks on display spring to life and touch the viewer’s soul.

Portrait of HH Bhagavat Singhjee of Gondal (Gujarat)

 

Toilet (Heman Majumdar)

 

Mahishasura Mardini (Dipen Bose)

 

Toilet (G C Bhatt)

 

Divine Flame (S L Haldankar)

 

Self Portrait (Amrita Sher Gil)

 

Self Portrait (Amrita Sher Gil)

 

Notre Dame (Amrita Sher Gil)

 

Young Girls (Amrita Sher Gil)

 

Study of a Model (Amrita Sher Gil)

 

The Ancient Storyteller (Amrita Sher Gil)

 

Three Pujarins (Jamini Roy)

 

Christ and a Boy (Jamini Roy)

 

Shiva and Sati (Nandlal Bose)

(Continued….)

(Related Posts: 

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2018/05/06/a-walk-through-the-national-gallery-of-modern-art-in-new-delhi-india-part-1

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2018/05/10/a-walk-through-the-national-gallery-of-modern-art-in-new-delhi-india-part-3-of-3)

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A walk through the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, India: Part 1 of 3

The National Gallery of Modern Art boasts of a collection of more than 14,000 works. The permanent collection, ‘In the seeds of time…’ has art objects tracing the life and times of the country during the 18^th and the 19^th century.

Its exquisite collection comprises miniature paintings, East India Company paintings, including works by such artists such as Thomas Deniell, Raja Ravi Varma, Rabindranath Tagore, Jamini Roy, Amrita Sher Gil and the like. It has several sculptures by various artists.

Banaras – Manikarnika Ghat (Thomas Deniell)

 

Mosque (Thomas Denille)

 

Dancers (Tilly Kettle)

 

Calcutta (Marshal Claxtion)

 

Lord Ronaldshey (G F Watt)

 

A Woman holding a Fruit (Raja Ravi Varma)

 

Girl holding Hooka and Broom (Raja Ravi Varma)

 

Portrait of a Gentleman (Raja Ravi Varma)

 

Lady Illiot (Haris Bert)

 

Portrait of a Parsi Girl (M F Pithawala)

 

Miss Clerk (M F Pithawala)

 

Malan, Female Gardener (M F Pithawala)

 

Miss William (M F Pithawala)

 

Saraswati (Chitragara Krishnappa)

 

Lakshmi (Chitragara Krishnappa)

 

Bal Krishna (Unknown artist, Tanjore painting)

 

(Continued….)

(Related Posts:

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2018/05/08/a-walk-through-the-national-gallery-of-modern-art-in-new-delhi-india-part-2-of-3 

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2018/05/10/a-walk-through-the-national-gallery-of-modern-art-in-new-delhi-india-part-3-of-3)

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Revisiting the National Gallery of Norway: Humans – Part 2

Artists appear to love depicting human beings in all conditions, including in the buff. Perhaps they are in awe of the wonderful creation known as the human body. Understandably so.

Somehow, members of the tribe of the delicately nurtured attract much more of their attention than those who happen to be members of the so-called sterner sex. One wonders as to why the latter have so far not formed a union of some kind and registered a protest at this kind of discrimination!

Madonna (Edvard Munch)

 

 

The Sleepwalker (Gustav Vigeland)

 

At the entrance

 

Dance of Life (Edvard Munch)

 

Female Nude (Per Deberitz)

 

Female Nude (Jean Heiberg)

 

Bathers at a Forest Pond (Eric Heckel)

 

Women on the Beach (Bjarne Engebret)

 

Fishing Boats (Max Pechstein)

 

Another one at the entrance

 

One more at the entrance

 

It is praiseworthy that Norway’s rich artistic heritage is being preserved and presented so well at the National Gallery in Oslo. To soak it in, all one needs to have is some time and interest.

(Related Posts:

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2014/07/24/the-dance-of-life-at-the-national-gallery-of-norway

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2018/04/16/revisiting-the-national-gallery-of-norway-nature

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2018/04/28/revisiting-the-national-gallery-of-norway-humans-part-1)

 

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Revisiting the National Gallery of Norway: Humans – Part 1

We continue our exploration of the National Gallery of Norway in Oslo.

In the previous post, we looked at the manner in which different elements of Nature have got captured in some of the paintings on display.

In this post, and in the next one, we admire the life-like depiction of human beings and their interactions with each other. Some are mythical, some are real and some are a product of the artist’s creative genius.

Woman Suckling an Infant (Ferdinand Bol)

 

Mary Magdalene penitent (Artisia Gentileschi)

 

A rustic party (David Teniers)

 

The Three Graces listening to Cupid’s song (Bertel Thorvaldsen)

 

The Farewell (Harriet Backer)

 

The Return of the Bear Hunter (Adolph Tidemand)

 

The Thinker (Auguste Rodin)

 

La Coiffure (Edgar Degas)

 

The Dreamer (Halfdan Egedius)

 

Portrait of Gerda (Richard Bergh)

 

Albertine to See the Police Surgeon (Christian Krohg)

 

Mother and Daughter (Edvard Munch)

 

The Girls on the Bridge (Edvard Munch)

‘Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye… it also includes the inner pictures of the soul.’

This is what Munch had to say. How very insightful!

(Continued…..)

(Related Post: https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2018/04/16/revisiting-the-national-gallery-of-norway-nature)

 

 

 

 

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