arttravelbug

Santa Bibiana is a small Baroque style, Roman Catholic church in Rome devoted to Saint Bibiana, a Roman Virgin and Martyr. The church is home to a statue of the saint, created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1626, his first public religious commission. It shows St. Bibiana holding the palm leaf of martyrs, standing next to the column to which she was to be martyred. The sculpture has been in the news lately, after it's return from its first-ever loan to an exhibit, at Rome's famed Borghese Gallery, no less. The piece had only be moved once before, to protect it during assaults during World War II. In the process of returning the statue to her niche in the church, the ring finger on her right hand snapped off. While the art movers were devastated, much has been made of the clean break; had the digit been pulverized, it would have difficult to repair. Alas, the art restorers have done their work, and the digit has been reattached. If you've never seen a Bernini sculptur...

Monet and Architecture National Gallery, London To July 28, 2018 La Gare Saint Lazare, Monet “Monet is only an eye” claimed Paul Cézanne, “but my God, what an eye!” "Only an eye? This exhibition reveals the inner soul of Monet. It shows that his love of nature is not mere escapism. It is a craving for human survival in an age of growing industrial inhumanity..." [ read more ]. Museum at Le Havre, Monet "A brilliant colourist, a master of light, the joyous she painter of water lilies; we are all familiar with the painterly style of Claude Monet. But the National Gallery’s latest exhibition introduces us to a different, but equally innovative side of this modern master. The result is simply mesmerising. Dedicated to a select number of Claude Monet paintings of architecture, the exhibition explores the father of Impressionism's lifelong but previously unexplored preoccupation with structure. From the early Normandy paintings of the 1860s to his evocati...

Corey and some of his more playful works Artist Corey Arnold has spent most of his life at sea, as a commercial fisherman. The Alaskan has his own boat (the F/V Rollo) and fishes the Bering Sea in the winter. Corey's time at sea allowed him to experiment with photography, and it turns out he has quite an eye for it. White Sharks - image copyright Corey Arnold "Acting as an affectionate storyteller, the American photographer captures the tedious rhythm of his professional activity but also explores the troublesome relationships men and nature experience, in particular how environmental issues and food production come to differ or, on the contrary, merge. Bright and sensitive, his images reveal fishermen’s humanity, way beyond the grotesque 'man vs wild' manner..." [ read more ]. Image copyright Corey Arnold "The off season is filled with travel, gallery exhibitions, magazine and ad photography assignments with a bit of backyard gardening, ...

Tróndur Patersson with one of his seabird sculptures You'll find 25 in the main hall of the new Nordic Museum Image via norden.org (Nordic Cool) Seattle's former Nordic Heritage Museum, long housed in an old school, has been reborn as simply The Nordic Museum. The stunning new Mithun building opened on May 5th by Danish Crown Princess Mary and Icelandic president Guðni Th. Jóhannesson. "The new museum is organized around a linear ‘fjord’ that weaves together stories of homeland and the Nordic American experience. Bridges crossing the fjord intensify the experience of migration, connecting Nordic and Nordic American exhibits..." [ read more ]. Giving life to the space are soaring sea birds, some with 6' wingspans, each uniquely hand crafted by Faroe Islands glass artist Tróndur Patursson. Tróndur clasps his hands and looks up at the birds swooping down the hall. “They bring nature inside,” he says. “They give the building a soul.” Asked if his father...

René Magritte: The Fifth Season The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) May 19–October 28, 2018 René Magritte: The Fifth Season begins on the heels of Magritte's Surrealist period, and focuses on the latter half of the artist's career, from 1943 to 1967, a period of remarkable transformation for the artist. Made possible through loans from collections in Asia, Europe, North America and South America, the exhibit encompasses 70 works, 20 of which are being shown for the first time in the USA. It is the most complete presentation of Magritte’s late work mounted since the artist’s death in 1967. The exhibit highlights works from a number of distinct themes, with the rooms organized sequentially. Sunlit Surrealism and the Vache Period Les Adieux (1943), an example of one of Magritte's 'sunlit surrealist' works Creative Commons image 09106995@N03 on Flickr  In 1943, Magritte's work made a surprising shift, rebelling perhaps against war a...

Creative Commons image mikeancient on Flickr  Just 3 hours east of Helsinki, tucked next to the Russian border, lies the town of Parikkala. Creative Commons image 1030333033@N08 on Flickr  While relatively isolated, the tiny town receives more than its share of visitors, drawn to incredible sculptures created by Veijo Rönkkönen. Officially known as the Parikkala Sculpture Park, the Veijo Rönkkönen Sculpture Garden is one of Finland's most important examples of contemporary folk art. "Rönkkönen is more than an installation or a sculpture park; it’s a community, and although some of the artwork is disturbing, the forest is unquestionably quite magical, an amalgamation of many different worlds coming together all in one place." ( The Culture Trip ) Creative Commons image 1030333033@N08 on Flickr  What causes the sometimes 'creepy' reaction is the facial expressions of the concrete statues. Some even have human teeth. The uniqueness of each statu...