The 365 Flowers Project





Art Talk Tuesday 

Over the weekend I visited the Carnegie Museums in Pittsburgh, PA. The exhibit I went to see was of Japanese art that the museum had not displayed in many years. I thought I would add this diorama to today's post. It has also been part of the History Museum for a very long time, a 115 years! It was built by Jules Verreaux in 1867, for the Paris Exposition. The Arab courier is being attacked by two Barbary lions.  Andrew Carnegie bought the diorama in 1898 for fifty dollars.

Barbary lions are extinct in the wild but can still be seen in zoos. There is also speculation  that the  Arab mannequin may have actually been a real person (taxidermy) when it was originally created.

I just had to share that bit of odd museum history.

What I went to see at the Museum of Art was "Japan is the Key;" Collecting Prints and Ivories, 1900-1920. Yes! Japanese woodblock prints and carved ivories. I hope you are not tired of hearing about woodblock prints, because I'm not!  (grin)

First I'd like to share a short clip from the Carnegie Museum of Art. This ivory eagle is a wonder of the world. It truly is a marvel. Photos of woodblock prints, also from the Art Museum website, follow.
( Picture taking is not allowed in the Carnegie Museum of Art so I had to rely on their website for photos)

"Japan is the key to the orient." -- H.J. Heinz

Hiroshige Ando - New Year's Eve Foxfire at Nettle Tree 1856-1859

(My favorite in the show!)

Sadanobu Hasegawa, The Actor Onoe Kikugoro III as the Spirit of the Courtesan Yonakishii, 1841.

Katsuskika Hokusai, South Wind, Clear Dawn, 1830-1832.

 

I hope you enjoyed this short trip to the museum!

 

What museums have you visited lately?