Dreams & Reality

Hi Huneybees,

Torn between the past and modernity, artists tried to reconcile the radical transformations they were wintnessing and to redefine themselves. While some artists embraced contemporary life, others sought refuge in a heroic past, evoking scenes from literature, music and mythology. In dealing with modernity, some artists also confronted its harshness through the realistic presentation of violent struggles, while others found solace in solitude, exploring the mind, imagination and dreams.

I was recently at the Dreams & Reality exhibition. BIG thank you to Valentine for the invite, I got to re-live my Paris days again. I know the first museum when I say Paris would be the Louvre, but Musée d'Orsay is another must go museum when in Paris, especially if you are a BIG fan of art and architecture. I was there in 2007. Show ya some pictures when I was there. *I look super dorky then...*

Why? Coz Musée d'Orsay (which is located in the centre of Paris, on the banks of the Seine, opposite the Tuileries Gardens) was installed in the former Orsay railway station that was built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. So the building itself could be seen as the first "work of art" in the Musée d'Orsay, displaying collections of art from the period 1848 to 1914. More details can be found at Musée d'Orsay's website.

And today, some of the beautiful paintings were brought to National Museum of Singapore and I promised myself, I have to see them again! Well, one reason coz the other time in Paris, everything was in French, this time I get to see the name ans details of the paintings in English!

At the door, I spotted these signs. Free guided tours, sketching sessions and even apply to be a model for the artists to paint. I think I might sign up for the sketching session...

The exhibition is seperated into 4 sections: Allegory & History, Man and Contemporary Life, Man and Nature, Solitude. I've picked out a few paintings that I fell in love with. More can be seen on my Facebook album here.

Albert Bersnard (1849-1934)
The Earth

Jean Auguste Domnique Ingres (1780-1867)
Venus in Paphos

Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889)
The Birth of Venus

Georges Rochegrosse (1859-1938)
The Knight of the Flowers

I love how the armor is reflecting all the beautiful flowers, talk about knight in shining armour!

Sir Edward Burne Jones (1833-1898)

The King's Daughter

*She looks so lonely*

Henri Fantin Latour (1836-1904)
Night

Sorry didn't catch the title of this painting. I love the dramatic black and white of it. Something sinister about it caught my eyes straightaway

Georges Clarin (1843-1919)
The Burning of the Tuileries
Remember I mentioned that Musée d'Orsay is located opposite the Tuileries Gardens? This is a painting of the time when the French troops advanced on the Paris Commune on 24 May 1871 where public monuments where set on fire and on the left is the Cour des Comptes (Musée d'Orsay today). A very significant painting indeed...

Ernest Meissonier (1815-1891)
The Seige of Paris

Henri Rousseau (1844-1910)
War or The Cavalcade of Discord
This painting stood out amongst the rest as during that time, this painting was not widely accepted as the colours were strong and strokes were bold. But the dramatic effect soon gained approval...

Berthe Morisot (1840-1895)
The Hydrangea or The Two Sisters
I like the bond between the 2 sisters were captured in this painting.

Jacques Emile Blanche (1861-1942)
The Painter Thaulow and His Family  or the Thaulow Family
Painter getting painted with his family. Wahahaha!

Fernand Cormon (1845-1924)
A Forge

A little into the farming scene...

From left: Paul Guigou (1834-1871) The Washerwoman, Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) The Harvest,  Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) Young Peasant Girl Lighting a Fire

Philip Wilson Steer (1860-1942)
Young Woman on the Beach or Young Woman on the Jetty, Walberswick (Suffolk)

Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)
Young Boy with a Cat

Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947)
The Theatre Box

Charles Cottet (1863-1925)
Box at the Opera-Comique

Eva Gonzales (1894-1883)
A Box at the Theatre des Italiens

Marie Braquemond (1841-1916)
Three Women with Parasols or The Three Graces

Charles Angrand (1854-1926)
Couple in the Street

OMG! The painting is dotted!

Paul Cezanne (1839-1906)
The Cardplayers

Claude Monet (1840-1926)

Study of a  Figure Outdoors: Woman with a Parasol Looking to the Right

Claude Monet (1840-1926)
Portrait of Madame Gaudibert
Check out the details of her scarf!

Frederic Bazille (1841-1870)
The Pink Dress

Gustave Courbet (1819-1877)

The Hunted Roe-Deer on the Alert, Spring

Jean Francois Millet (1814-1875)
Spring
I saw this painting when I was in Paris. Took me a good whole 1hr, before I decided to move on to another painting...

Theo Van Rysselberghe (1862-1926)
Sailing Boats and Estuary
Another dotted painting. Amazing piece of art...

Winslow Homer (1836-1910)
Summer Night
The 2 ladies in the painting looked so 3D, almost like popping out of the painting!

Felix Vallotton (1865-1925)
The Ball

Marianne Stokes (1855-1927)
The Young Girl and Death

Frederic Bazille (1841-1870)
The Improvised Field Hospital

Claude Monet (1840-1926)

Camille on Her Deathbed

And last but not least, the big star!

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)
Starry Night

That's the Big Dipper stars. Look like a ladle right?

On a side note. I spotted these cute little buddies at the entrance of the National Museum of Singapore.

Dreams & Reality will be till 05 February 2012. I think it's a great place to hang out on the weekend, enjoy some time "soaking" in the art...