Impressionists at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to meet-up with a bunch of other gals downtown at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.  Sadly, I’ve never really possessed much knowledge or appreciation for classical arts.  I can do music and theater, but most paintings really baffle me.  I really want to love them & understand them, but I am somehow using that area of my brain to do math or blog.  However, there was a very exciting exhibition in town that just opened up & was only going to be here through May.  The National Gallery in DC is remodeling & they selected Houston to “store” their Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Collection and make some masterpieces available for viewing here.

One of the things I do adore about Houston is our rich & diverse cultural centers.  We have so many world-class museums and performing arts venues. The MFAH is actually several gigantic buildings that host an impressive collection. I tend to understand & appreciate architecture more than other areas, so I love some beautiful buildings- especially ones with sunken patios where you can eat lunch.

The museum district and zoo area around Hermann Park is one of my favorite places to adore the trees in town or get away for a picnic in the city.

I was happy to see this organizational chart showing classifying all the museums art by the various eras of the work & which part of the world it came from.

The sheer size and stature of the Beck Building is impressive & overwhelming.  Admission to the museum is always free thanks to corporate donations, but we had to purchase a timed ticked to get into the exhibit

Photography in the exhibition wasn’t allowed, but I snapped a few photos of the surrounding rooms.  I love the immense size & clean design of the space- it gives such importance to each of the pieces.

The exhibit itself was pretty cool.  I came face to face with Monet’s, Renoir’s, and Van Gogh’s.  I learned a little bit about history & was just amazing that I was standing in front of some of the most famous creations from such celebrated artists.  I couldn’t resist 2 quick iPhone photo, as I already had my phone out listening to the informational snippet at some of the paintings.  I still didn’t fully appreciate the greatness of the pieces, but I enjoyed reading the story & background posted next to many of the artworks.

Wandering around the museum, I quickly passed by all the Renaissance and biblical paintings- where were usually gory & gross, but I quite enjoyed this landscape painting with a powerful storm blowing in over the river.

I was surprised and impresed to find out that the museum had several pieces by the artist in the exhibition, including this Monet & another Van Gogh that were part of its permanent collection.

I have no idea what this style is called, but something about the whimsy and beauty of a thousands of dot of color coming together made me take a liking to this piece and a few others that were done in this style.

While planning our (hopefully upcoming) trip to the French Polynesia, I ran across a ship that toured the island called the Paul Gauguin. I noticed a few pieces in the museum by an artist of the same name & assumed it was a coincidence until I noticed this fan’s connection to Tahiti.

The museum has a few Picasso pieces & one sculpture, which I profess to not get at all.  The trip to the museum was way out of my ordinary, but I’m so glad I went & can say that I’ve seen these masterpieces first hand & spent 2 hours just appreciating art and pondering on the life these men lived over a hundred years ago.  If you are in Houston, I’d highly recommend seeing this collection before it heads back to DC in May.  Also, if you are interested in the girls Meet-Up group, leave me a comment and I will get you hooked up with our group; we are doing book club this Saturday on The Lost Girls.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY:  Dead car battery this morning- the good news is that I was still at home, new battery in my back seat & hubby gave me a jump start to get to work.