Tag: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Travel Theme: Connections

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connections

The montreal museum of fine arts consists of the original beaux arts building
on the north side, the modern, relatively new addition to the south
and the appropriated erskine & american united church to the east.
These 3 disparate buildings are connected by underground walkways
which run under the busy main thoroughfare….

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Join in the entries of Where’s my backpack?’s Travel Theme: Connections.

F is also for Friday: Impressionism

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A favourite amongst many masterworks

Across the Bored had the privilege of visiting the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts to see the French Impressionist collection currently on tour courtesy of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts.  Consisting of four relatively small spaces whose walls were hung with the cream of the Impressionist crop, this exhibition was filled to capacity at the time of our visit.  Nonetheless, the works on display are truly jaw-dropping.

Now, here comes the but – we were acting as field-trip chaperone for a group of grade 9 students from a friend’s art class…

Although well-behaved, polite, reasonably responsive (for 14 year-olds) and happy to have the afternoon off, only about 10% of them had any idea of what they were about to see. This wasn’t for lack of preparation on their teacher’s part but rather that they just didn’t care…  Luckily, we had a lovely tour guide who not only knew fascinating details about the paintings presented but also had the magical gift of keeping the group relatively engaged for what could have been a very long hour otherwise.  The only time she cringed was when one student kept repeating “Is it real?”

The temptation to blurt out “NO, it’s a digital reproduction – it’s a knock-off made in CHINA and you can get one in the gift shop” was great.

Afterwards, as they all sat on the stairs of the museum foyer, we made the mistake of asking them if they had liked their visit.  Blank faces.  Really?  Well, what type of art did they like?  “Music art”, “Dance art”…  what?  Do you mean like Warhol, Richard Hamilton or Banksy?  Blank faces.

Here is what they did like…

OK, so it’s cute…

Didn’t get a chance to look at the date on this installation but it sure has echoes of Brazilian design team, Fernando and Humberto Campana’s 2002 Banquete chair…

Where is the snake?

Oh well, looks like we will be going back to the Museum.  Solo this time.

More to look at:

Impressionism
Impressionist Masterpieces from the Clark Collection
Giovanni Boldini
Claude Monet
Edgar Degas
Statement Furniture: Fernando & Humberto Campana – RETROSPECT