Impressionism at the Paris 1874 Exhibit at the National Gallery of Art

Last week we went in to town for a morning walk. We stopped in at the National Gallery of Art to see the Paris 1874 Impressionist Moment Exhibit. Since the exhibit has just opened there was a twenty minute wait to get in to the gallery. And once in the gallery it was much too crowded for my taste! I am by no means an Art connoisseur - in fact I never really cared to visit art museums. Now we enjoy walking through the building and visiting both the old and new exhibits. And there is always plenty of opportunity to take photos for my weekly challenge. We didn’t spend a lot of time observing each painting because we knew we would probably visit again. It was difficult to get a close up view anyway because of the crowds. But I was happy to see several of the paintings that have been stuck in my head since first seeing them many years ago on greeting cards and posters. I always liked the Impressionism vibe - the colors and the subjects. We even visited Monet’s haunts when we were with our friends who live in France over twenty years ago. So this is a compilation of some of the art we saw. 

Paris 1874 at the National Gallery of Art

We visit the National Gallery of Art all of the time. When we lived on Capitol Hill we would oftentimes have lunch after a morning walk. Now when we drive in to town we like to visit any new exhibit, but it’s also a great place to get out of the extreme heat and cold. Last week we stopped I. To see the Paris 1874 exhibit. It was all about Impressionism and Monet and others. Since the exhibit just opened and had a lot of press, there was a twenty minute wait time. This exhibit was next to the regular gallery of Monets, and we could see the line coming down the hallway from the lovely courtyard. There were a lot of staff and a lot of people. It was like being at Disneyworld or any other place where the crowd is in single file winding its way to the entrance. There was a film playing that showed the streets of Paris in the old days and an explanation of the art when it was first exhibited in 1874. I am no art historian but I’ve always like Monet and Impressionism. The colors are dreamy and pleasing to the eye. When we finally got in it was much too busy for my taste. At some points the rooms were so full of people all I wanted to do was pass right through them. Luckily we will have ample opportunity to visit again. And we did see the paintings that we wanted to see. It was an “experience.”

52Frames Rule of Odds Photo Trending

The subject for the 52Frames weekly photo challenge was “rule of odds.” That means getting items in groups of 3, 5, etc. We found the perfect subject in the National Gallery of Art. Sometimes all you need to do is stay in one spot and something interesting might turn up. We stood a while in the Monet gallery when a father and his two daughters arrived. And, there were three Monet paintings, three seat cushions on the couch, three legs on the couch, and three people. I always look to see if my photo trends on the 52Frames website and I haven’t been disappointed since April when a fellow framer told me about it. This time the photo started to trend on the first evening that the album opened, and stayed on through the next early afternoon. I got a lot of compliments on this image, but it wasn’t enough to garner a spot on the top 52 this week. I was a bit disappointed because my photo was also critiqued and got two thumbs up. I’m not sure what the criteria is for trending, but I think it must have something to do with the number of “likes.” I’ve spent the last three years building up a base of friends from around the world. In the end it’s all about having a hobby and spending time doing something you enjoy. But it’s also nice to get noticed! 

52Frames Rule of Odds Photo Challenge

The subject this week for the 52Frames weekly photo challenge was “rule of odds.” That means things in odd numbers. My first thought was to visit the National Gallery of Art. We hadn’t been there for a while and so that was the plan. We started off in the sculpture section, then moved about rather aimlessly hoping to come upon something of merit. I absolutely love Monet and that is where the photo that was submitted was found. There were three Monet paintings, three cushions, three couch legs, and a father and two daughters. The most striking part were the girls. While dad was captivated by the painting, the girls were having a wonderful time and I caught them in the act of swirling and spinning. So it was titled “Dancing with Monet.” The only problem was that there was an interloper sitting on the couch and I needed to edit him out by using clone and painting him over. I also put together two composite images - one of my husband going down the stairs and a second of some guy standing beneath a painting that was triplicated. A few other options were taken in the east gallery main hall. I’m usually not satisfied if I don’t submit a composite but the expression, vibe, and color from the uplifting scene in the Monet exhibit could not be resisted.