Date at the Museum

Picasso is in town...(well, the exhibit that is). I'm an art history major and always eager to scope out new museum exhibits. When I heard that a collection of Picasso's works from the Musée National Picasso in Paris were coming to Seattle, I jumped at the chance to see this monumental artist's works in person.

My boyfriend and I headed to the SAM (Seattle Art Museum) for a day date. The exhibition was really interesting, they did a nice job at covering the span the art he created throughout the span of his life rather than just focusing on pieces from his most famous period - Cubism. After our day at the museum, we cruised Pike Place Market, and had lunch at one of it's finest bakeries, Le Panier. What a fun Saturday!

The Dancer

Opening this weekend, exclusively at the Portland Art Museum, is the exhibition The Dancer. This exhibit represents the union of three artists, all inspired and captivated by the exoticism of dance in fin-de-siècle Paris. Over 110 individual paintings, drawings, and pastels have been loaned from various international collections especially for this exhibit, brought together as an indebted tribute to Degas, Forain, and Toulouse-Lautrec, three artists who sought to capture the modern expression of dance.

Exhibit showing February 2 - May 11, 2008.

image/PAM

Gates of Paradise

Getting excited for the new exhibit opening at the Seattle Art Museum this weekend (January 26th - April 6, 2008). On loan from the Duomo Baptistry (Museo dell'Opera del Duomo) in Florence, Italy, are three panels from the famed Gates of Paradise. If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing these gilded bronze reliefs in person, definitely go! The intricate use of depth and perspective are visually stunning. On exhibit at the SAM are three of the ten panels, by artist Lorenzo Ghiberti. Together these panels become what Michelangelo dubbed the "Gates of Paradise," perhaps the most influential work in Italian Renaissance art.Even if you don't consider yourself an art buff, know this: this is the first exhibition in the United States for these panels, which are 550+ years old! Having been exposed to the elements for such a long period of time, they recently underwent an extensive restoration, and are now being exhibited in four US cities, including Seattle. When the tour is up, they will return to Florence indefinitely. So...don't miss this opportunity!images Wikipedia