You heard me.
I went to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels this afternoon.
I didn’t think I was going to be so into it (the modern art museum, which is more my cup of tea, is undergoing renovations; aside from about 50 paintings from that collection, it’s just art from the 15th – 18th centuries... less my cup of tea). But I guess I need to school myself. I was fascinated. Couldn’t get enough.
Those painters—Pieter Bruegel, Jan Mostaert, Paul Delvaux—were so dark and twisted!
And there’s so much going on in every painting.
It was so fun to look at them from afar, and then get up close and examine all the individual scenes.
It’s like the Brothers Grimm. Where did they get that stuff??
What was going on inside their heads?
But let's be honest. My new obsession doesn't have anything on my normal obsession…
Chocolate…
Gobs and gobs of chocolate.
Ahhh, the chocolate is a welcome sight after all the nightmarish stuff of the Flemish.
ReplyDeleteToo many humans with bird beaks etc to make me comfortable...
but the chocolate .. you can even stick a bird beak in it, I will like it :)
You're in the best place for chocolates!!
ReplyDeleteAmy, I'm so glad you found the works of Pieter Bruegel (The Elder) fascinating. The painting's The Fight Between Carnival and Lent and its 200 individual figures main subject is a threshold between two cycles in the liturgical calendar, the moment when the last feast of winter must give way to Lenten fasting and where self-indulgence, hilarity and excess are set against self-denial and sobriety. I would also warmly recommend checking out Hieronymus Bosch for his fantastic imagery depicting moral ruckus.
ReplyDeleteAfter my art history class in college I have had an insane interest in art....if you think these are weird (and they still are!) check out hieronymus bosch, mostly his piece "the garden of earthly delights." Amazing!
ReplyDeleteOh, I just saw Nina recommended him too. Now you have to search him! :-)
ReplyDeletemmmmm... belgian chocolate! and art. a perfect day.
ReplyDelete(one day in brussels I went to the chocolate museum. history of chocolate and free samples!)
Nina & Jess - it's funny you mention Bosch and particularly 'The Garden of Earthly Delights'. I went to the Prado and saw it a few years ago in Madrid and felt the same way - just blown away! In fact, this is terribly goofy and embarrassing, but I bought a puzzle of it! lol It's still unopened in my closet, but it would be fun to do one day.
ReplyDeleteCandice, Lindsey, Kasia - you have no idea how much chocolate I've consumed these past three days. I am disgusting. But happy.