Art

I made a brief visit to the Minneapolis Institute of Art--I do believe that any visit short of a few days would be brief--it is an impressive place. I was there last in the early 1980s when it was considerably smaller and, can I say, "regional" in nature. While this isn't the Met or the Louvre, it is a very good museum. There was a decent photo exhibit, but the star attraction was a Titian exhibit on loan from Scotland, and it is a star. Titian was a court artist for Phillip II of Spain, but around 1800 there was a monumental garage sale of Renaissance art and several key works by Titian ended up in England and then Scotland.

They are really key works. There are two of the "Diana and Callisto" canvases, huge works that make most if not all art history texts. "Venus Rising from the Sea" is one of the most common themes in allegorical painting, but Titian's version is the one most imagine and it is stunning to see from three feet away. Titian red is not just a hair color-- the reds and maroons and the other colors that he (and probably some workshop minions) mixed up almost 500 years ago are just as amazingly vibrant today as they were when he painted with them. Colors aside, how he used depth and how he painted people changed the path of painting. The exhibit was very impressive.

Plus, the MIA is just a nice place. The large Chihuly "sun" welcomes visitors. The new and the old parts of the building blend well together, making it easier to move from the halls where the ancient silks of China hang to where the Warhol silkscreens are exhibited. It was a brief visit only in the context that one could easily spend a day or two wandering the halls.