The Musee d’Orsay, the museum of Impressionist art in Paris, is one of the best museums there is. Such an amazing collection of paintings and artists in one place. I identify more with modern art, like the Impressionists, than the classical art of the Rennaisance and earlier. Part of it is the subject, but part of it is also the style. My personal philosophy of art is that it should capture the artist’s impression of the thing, not the reality of it. If we want reality, we can do that with photography these days. I love brushstrokes and color and the emotion that the image can evoke. This was the perfect museum for me!
Archives for January 2010
Capturing Light
For a long time, I didn’t understand how photography was the “study of light” until I took enough pictures, took the time to see what I was really doing was capturing the light that illuminates the object as much as the object itself. In the same way, I’ve never really understood or appreciated sculpture as capturing light. It was two things that did it for me, seeing and photographing this work Eros and Psyche by Antonio Canova in the Louvre, and seeing an exhibit of Robert Mapplethorpe photographs alongside Michaelangelo’s David in the Accademia in Florence.
Sculpture really is the study of light on a volume, the same way that photography is. But it’s in 3D. You can walk around it, see it from all angles, and appreciate the art in a different way. Next time you see a sculpture, whether modern art or classic figures in marble, try to notice how it captures the light.
Waiting
One of the things I loved about the Paris museums is that they actually allow you to take pictures, unlike the Italian ones. Usually I don’t want to take pictures of specific art, but want to capture how it is presented. I loved this look down a wing of the Louvre. Not one of the famous works of art was here, as evidenced by the lack of people. Just the docent, sitting quietly, and the art iself, waiting for someone to happen by. For some reason this just makes me smile.
Capturing the Feel
While yesterday’s image of the Eiffel tower tells you where it is from without even needing to describe it. Would you know this was from Paris? It’s more subtle. It’s the feel of it… the lamppost, the architecture of the building. Now that we’ve been there, it says Paris to me. I like the light, dramatic angle and the sky in this one too. It’s one of my favorites from our first visit.
Iconic Image
My favorite photos of places generally tend to be the scenes that capture a small detail, rather than the famous buildings and sights that we visit. But I can’t help but include a photo or two of the Eiffel Tower. It’s been done, and re-done, and done some more… but there is more beauty in this structure than I expected. It draws you to it, and it’s no wonder that it’s become the symbol of Paris. You have to see it just once, for yourself, to understand.
I couldn’t decide on this one though, the warm colors of the night lights or the classic black and white. What do you think?
Market Still Life
This bright still life is from a market we ran into in Paris during our visit there in September. I loved the sun on this lemon, and the bright colors surrounding it. Why it was sitting there, all alone in its tray, who knows…
Tomorrow we leave for Paris, to go to Disneyland Paris for a few days. After a week at home being wonderfully lazy, I’m excited to go see someplace new, yet a bit familiar. I’m sure I’ll have lots of fun images to share after the trip, but in the next few days I’ll be posting some of my favorite shots from our first trip to Paris in September.
