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| Georgia O'Keefe painting |
In my attempt to break out of my winter funk, I did some research last night to find things to do that I might enjoy. Bonus points if they were free, and double bonus points if they did not involve long gas guzzling drives. Somehow I managed to remember the RISD Museum of Art.
The RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) is a college in downtown Providence a five minute walk from where I spent many winter nights in years past striper fishing. The Art Museum is really a hidden gem.
First the important info: The link below will get you all the info you need. However here is some of it. It is open 10-5 T,W,S,S. It is open 12-7 Thurs and Fri. The cost is $17/adult. However, the museum is free on Sundays and after 5 pm. You need to buy tickets online in advance. As of now MASKS ARE STILL REQUIRED. The fact that the museum is free on Sundays and only a twenty minute ride from my house sealed the deal on what I was going to do with my Sunday afternoon.
Once inside the museum you take an elevator to the third floor. This is where the galleries begin. Right away you see a small statue made by Auguste Rodin along the small sky bridge. From there you go into Modern and Contemporary Art. Not exactly my cup of tea, but there is a Georgia O'Keefe in the room.
The museum is not big. We were there a little over two hours. Though there aren't hundreds of galleries like in the MFA or Smithsonian, there are pieces from multiple periods. There are rooms dedicated to Egypt and Greece. There is a wing with American Art.
My favorite section is the European Art. The museum has many pieces ranging from the Renaissance to the French Impressionists. I am not religious, but I enjoy the religious art form the Renaissance. The paintings tell a story. Since most of the people in the late Middle Ages were illiterate, the paintings were a way to show Bible stories to the masses (and to keep them under papal control).
Later on, when art was created for art's sake, artists diversified. They experimented with color and light. They painted nature and ordinary scenes. For me it is fun to watch the transformation. The museum has one big "Great Gallery" that has huge paintings that you can sit and admire or get up close.
There are quite a few French Impressionists paintings. I believed I counted three Monet's. There were paintings by Renoir and Paul Cezanne, and one by Picasso. There is one painting by Van Gogh. I won't pretend Van Gogh is my favorite painter, but in this particular painting, which is in his most famous style, he used really thick brush strokes with really thick paint. I realized that because I could see the thick paint, I could "see" exactly what Van Gogh was thinking. There it was twelve inches from my face, each stoke a look into his mind.
Besides the Rodin in the skyway, there was another called the "Hand of God". This piece was actually bought straight from Rodin by Samuel Colt (the maker of firearms). The statue features a hand creating Adam and Eve. It is unfinished but in my mind a masterpiece.
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| The Hand of God |
I could go on, but all and all, the museum was awesome. It did not hurt that it was free today and so was on street parking (Sunday). I think I will go back more often. Being that it is twenty minutes from home, I probably should have gone a couple of times over the winter. I highly recommend. A couple more photos below
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| The largest wooden statue from Japan in the United States |
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| The Sachem Ninigret |
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| A thousand year old wooden sculpture od Jesus |
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| This little Hippo is 4000 years old! |
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