Posts Tagged ‘art’
Athen’s spectacular Acropolis Museum
I’ve already written about visiting the Acropolis on your next visit to Greece’s capital, Athens. Just at the foot of the ascent/decent is the spectacular, newly restored and absolutely-not-to-be-missed Acropolis Museum. The museum has been planned since the 1970s, since the earlier museum was hardly impressive enough for all the splendors it contained. The new packaging…
Read MoreMore summer favorite reading … That Summer
After reading and enjoying Lauren Willig’s The Ashford Affair, I was happy to pick up That Summer. Willig’s new novel is a dual narrative following both modern Julia Conley, a victim of New York’s financial crisis who finds herself out of a job, but inheriting a house – Herne House – from a mysterious aunt…
Read MoreReason #5380 to love Rome: Bernini’s home and studio
One of the (many) great things about living in Rome, Italy is keeping your eyes pealed for all the famous authors/composers/sculptors/artists who once called the Eternal City home. Not surprisingly, one such illustrious resident was the Roman sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). Although I knew Bernini lived and worked in Rome, I didn’t know where until I…
Read MoreReason #5379 to love Rome: Michelangelo’s Moses
There’s a great expression in Italian, l’imbarazzo della scelta, which translates loosely to such a wide range of choices that it’s almost embarrassing. That’s how I feel about Rome’s artistic treasures. There’s simply so much to see in Rome, and much of the treasure trove is absolutely free to visitors. One such (marvellous) artistic example of…
Read MoreMedieval Manhattan? The Cloisters
Living in Europe, when friends and colleagues ask me what to see on their visit to New York, I always get the odd look when I say to spend part of one day exploring ‘medieval Manhattan’. As Europeans know all too well, American history is remarkably short. But money can buy almost anything, as the…
Read MoreTruth or (ancient) fiction?
I recently went with my family to visit the fabulous Alma-Tadema exhibition in Rome at the Chiostro del Bramante. Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema was a Dutch artist who moved to England and became part of the late nineteenth century Pre-Raphaelite movement. Although not as well known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti or Edward Burnes-Jones, Alma-Tadema’s artwork was…
Read MoreThe splendors of Taipei’s National Palace Museum
I’ve already written an overview of tips from my vacation with my sons in Taipei, Taiwan last summer. One of the places you absolutely cannot miss on your visit to the Taiwanese capital is the impressive National Palace Museum (Guoli Gugong Bowuguan). The museum is considered the world’s greatest repository of Chinese artifacts. The works…
Read MoreStep back to the Middle Ages in Toulouse’s Musée de Augustins
I had a great time exploring the pretty southwestern French city of Toulouse with my family at the end of November. I already posted about the great, outdoor Christmas market we enjoyed. I’ve also posted about the day trip we made to Albi, to see the impressive Toulouse-Lautrec Museum. Another highlight to our visit was…
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