Remember back in 2012 when Jimmy came on one of his regular house guest trips to visit Aaron and me in Kansas City? The time when we went to the Kansas City Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art? Today, he took us to the Art Institute of Chicago. You already experienced the incredible Thorne miniatures installment in another post, but here are some of the things we saw after we finished with it.
I took off across the room upon spotting the gold coffee pots. The older I get, the more modern stuff I like but if I could have one of these, in complete secrecy without anyone knowing so it wasn’t too opulent, I’d like to do it because I find the workmanship beautiful.
The Wedgwood Pottery gets me every time … these were from 1773, a few short years before the birth of the United States of America.
More Wedgwood …
One of the most incredible things about it is that Wedgwood is still in business today. Some of these pieces were around when George Washington was leading troops … when Beethoven was composing symphonies … when the South left the Union … when the European continent was consumed by “The Great War” … when Hitler rose to power … when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor … when mankind went to the moon … the rise of the Internet … it’s been here for it all, still living on as a testament to the skill of its creator who, in a way, remains immortal.
The Tiffany & Company silver from the 1880’s was amazing, too …
And then I saw it … I have more than a slight obsession (thanks to Fable II all those years ago) with the furniture style of André-Charles Boulle, the Frenchman who lived between 1642 and 1732. He built this coffer, made of oak, tortoiseshell, brass, pewter, ebony, and gilt-bronze mounts. I want it. I want it to put in some random corner. If this type of thing were made today (the closest I’ve found in the upper-middle-market is Theodore Alexander and in the top market, Francesco Malon), I’d be all over it in a heartbeat. It gives me the same sense of happiness I got when I saw that Claret that got away from me at auction when I forgot to place a bid, which I still think about a few times a year. Feast your eyes upon this work of art …
The front of the boulle chest. It was believed to have been built between 1700 and 1720.
The top of the chest … Look at this! A human made this. He conceived it, and made it. With his hands.
The side of the boulle chest … Can’t you hear the Fable theme music? Doesn’t it make you want to buy real estate like in the game, collect your rent and store the coins in here? Or is it just me? I’m not even kidding right now.
We saw the Japanese pottery, wood, and other materials selection …
Japanese figures from the 5th / 6th century …
Japanese handle in the form of an animal head, made as early as 300 B.C. …
Wooden Japanese Buddah from 775 A.D. with traces of gold leaf …
12/14th century Japanese statue …
We saw the Tang Dynasty lead-glazed figurines from China …
I loved the glazed Chinese figures …
Here are some more of them …
And even more. Notice the two civil officials on either side. Bell-bottoms were in style back during the Tang Dynasty, too. There really is nothing new under the sun. This could have been 1970’s California.
This “matronly rider” statue talked about her fat cheeks and double chin. She just looked like a fat, happy grandma.
We came across the Korean pottery!
Goryeo Dynasty pottery from Korea back before they were tragically overtaken by neighboring Yuan dynasty … it immediately made us think of the drama “Faith”.
Aaron and I became so excited to see 15th century Joseon pottery from Korea. Again, blame our drama addiction. And, in this case, Civilization V. Going for a science victory is so much easier with King Sejong the Great. Culture Artifact discovered!
We saw some world-famous paintings …
One of the most famous paintings in the world, American Gothic …
Another famous painting … it makes me feel so sad.
Then, we went to one of our favorite sections. Marble and bronze sculptures are my favorite style of art in the entire museum. The paintings … yeah, they’re nice. To me, at least, they are a pale imitation of the beauty of these things.
The fact a person can make marble look like flowing fabric is wild to me …
There was the Abraham Lincoln bronze …
The Puritan bronze …
The bronze of Daniel Webster …
We walked into another room of paintings, bronzes, and marble sculptures … over yonder there was a particularly powerful one. It is called “The Freedman”.
It stopped me in my tracks. What it represents, and the history leading up to something like this even being created, is almost hard to fathom. It happened. That’s wild.
Here’s the full explanation of The Freedman for those of you who want to learn more about it.
There were American Wild West bronzes …
… all of which looked to me as if they belonged in the Wells Fargo & Company annual report.
I really liked this one, too …
To give you an idea of the scale of some of the bronzes, here is the American bronze room …
We also enjoyed the paintings while we were at the Art Institute of Chicago. Here were some of my favorites …
Bierstadt’s Mountain Brook Painting …
Fisher’s The Prarie on Fire Painting …
Gifford’s Morning in the Hudson Painting … the colors on this one, especially with the frame and the wall plaque and wall itself are just incredible to me.
Head’s Magnolias Painting …
Homer’s The Whittling Boy Painting …
Wood’s The Yankee Pedlar Painting … It reminds me that nobody is above this activity if they want to survive. It’s all sales. Even if you are 3rd generation wealth and have never worked a day in your life, your entire fortune is based entirely on owning assets that involve someone else selling on your behalf or having sold on your behalf at some point in the past. Nothing happens until a sale is completed. Revenue has to change hands. Sales is not a dirty word. It is not beneath anybody. If you think it is, you are either stupid, delusional, or have a complete lack of self-awareness.
We’re going to grab lunch in a grocery store Jimmy wants to show us. He says we’ll love it.
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On our way out, though … you know Aaron and I have a thing for good landscaping.
The simplicity of something like this is one of my favorite things in life. It’s the colors and structure.
