fine art

And it truly is fine art; it isn't "art" made by either me or the girls. During that long stretch of time when I didn't post, we took the girls to the Minnesota Science Museum to see mummies. It was fascinating, but of course, we couldn't take photos of the mummies' exhibit since it was a loan from an Egyptian museum. I got quite a few fun pictures in other parts of the museum. But my favorite is the shot above, which makes me laugh since I spent my childhood in Kansas.

What do mummies and the science museum have to with art? Nothing except that they were the destination of our previous family field trip. On Tuesday, we took the girls to the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts to see the Chinese Terra Cotta Warriors. Again, I couldn't take photos of the warriors. I wish I could have. They were beautiful and impressive.

I did, however, take photos of many other items that are part of the museum's permanent exhibit.

It is nice and cold here - it was very windy when I took these photos. Brr.

I really liked this Madonna and Child. If I recall correctly, it is from the 12th century. It was too abstract for Tim.

They had some lovely mosaics. I find the texture and tonality gorgeous. I didn't get a picture of the lion and elephant - they were really cool.

Both of the girls were fascinated with the sculpture of Ganymede and the Eagle.

This veiled lady bust by Raffaelo Monti amazed us all. She is marble - even her veil. C ached to touch it.

I took photos of quite a few paintings. The girls' art teacher talks about Van Gogh's suns. C is fascinated with them as a result of his repeated references.

K is quite into art. She studies it closely and has strong emotional responses. Here she studies a painting of Jonathan shooting the arrows to warn David about King Saul's intentions.

I am afraid I didn't take photos of the Native American beadwork because I was too busy being amazed by it. Here C admires a statue in the Native American area of the museum.

I've never seen anything quite like this funeral torch. I do not know if it is typical of an era or genre or not.

I liked this reflection in an old mirror.

The MIA has a large Asian collection. Some of the 'old' wealth in the Twin Cities collected Asian art, which they eventually donated to the museum. We noticed that while the horse and rider sculpture above was lovely; the cavalrymen found with the terra cotta warriors were much more beautiful.

What is it with the Japanese and their scowling warriors? This 'gentleman' is part of a pair of temple gaurdians.

The girls really enjoyed the ancient history area. They are fascinated with Greek and Roman history. 

 

Like every day we spend at a museum, it was exhausting!! We've had other long museum days as a family and with friends. I wish I had shared them with you but life was very busy. Maybe the photos will show up in other post for other reasons.

St Paul's Cathedral as seen from the James J Hill House

Next month, we hope to tour the state capitol building and St Paul's Cathedral (they are practically next door neighbors). The girls have been anxious to see them ever since we toured the Hill House in November.

James J Hill House