Search for the Unicorn: The Cloisters

No, the SurLaLune blog has not been abandoned, I promise. It is a demanding and time consuming enterprise, however, and my time has been needed elsewhere. I plan to return with more regular posting after this holiday week--in the U.S. this is one of the most popular vacation weeks of the year. I am spending the week not on vacation but catching my breath and regrouping after several weeks (months!) of living at a higher speed. Really, it feels like I have been doing that since last year when I bought a new house. I've never really caught up!

Anyway, since others are on vacation this week, perhaps in New York City, I wanted to share this email I received--the design is prettier than the imagery on the website, but I will direct you there, too. I cannot be too enthusiastic about the Cloisters for myself. My visit was my last stop during a multi-day trip to NYC five years ago and was an unexpected highlight. I have copied and pasted my description of the experience below. So if you are in NYC, don't miss a trip to see the Search for the Unicorn exhibit. I would love to see it myself!

From my June 2008 journal:

Then we headed to the Cloisters. I was along for the ride at this point, interested, but not intent. Mom’s interests lie in Medieval Art so she was the primary fan girl. At least until we got there. Then I became one, too.

The Cloisters is beautiful. It is an amazing blend of old and new, seamless to the untrained eye. I walked from room to room and enjoyed the art, but I thrived on the architecture and atmosphere. For the first time in five days, even longer really, I was at peace. The thick walls, dense foliage, and dazzling sunlight all served to divorce me from the noises of New York. I began to understand the appeal of a cloistered life, surrounded by art and peace, divorced from the outside world.

Then I met the Unicorn Tapestries. I’ve managed to meet several famous works of art over the years, the ones that are so familiar they feel anticlimactic when you finally meet them. Some leave you amused, like the Mona Lisa. Others leave you confused, like the Blue Boy. A few leave you breathless. Winged Victory did that to me in the Louvre.

The Unicorn Tapestries stunned me. I understand the appeal. I read about them years ago, as an early teen, when I was in my unicorn loving state of being. Yes, I went through that. The story wasn’t quite romantic or fantastical enough for me then, so I forgot most of it and just smiled whenever I saw the tapestries in books or elsewhere. Not of much interest to me, I thought.

Wrong. They are beautiful. I’ve never met other tapestries like them. My timing to their room coincided with a school group and a learned guide, so I got to hear a longish lesson about them as I gazed upon the intricate weaving and marveled at their size. I fell in love. I wanted to bring one home with me. I have to settle for a book and a Michael Michaud necklace of holly leaves derived from one of the tapestries.

I snuck back to the room thrice to view them “one last time.” A friendly guard came up and pointed out the hidden frog to me, delighted with my delight in them.

We ate lunch in a courtyard where Dad and I snuck bits of bread to tiny sparrows I couldn’t help but converse with. They are so much friendlier and sweeter than pigeons. Mom just rolled her eyes, convinced someone would tell us to stop. I couldn’t help myself, but there weren’t any signs so I was breaking no rule I knew of.

Then we explored the kitchen garden full of herbs and other plants, carefully and clearly labeled, so many that I have read about over the years since they figure so well in fantasy literature but have never met in person. So the Cloisters offered many unexpected delights and a peacefulness that encompassed me the rest of the day as we traveled back to the hotel, to the airport and on to home.

Heidi's Wishlist: Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss

Eros (Cupid) & Psyche by Antonio Canova Greek Roman Mythology Lovers Statue, Marble Finish 11-inch is another item on my personal wishlist. The statue is actually titled Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss.

There are a few pieces of art in the world that are beloved by many. While it sometimes feels trite to love them when they are so popular, there are some that have such power that no apologies can really be expected. And, of course, several of these are in the Louvre. No, I don't mean the Mona Lisa. She leaves me cold. But Cupid and Psyche by Antonio Canova and the Victory of Samothrace are two of my favorites. Another favorite is the Unicorn Tapestries in the Cloisters in New York. Their power over me quite shocked me but that is another entry for another day.

I have been to see the real Canova piece in the Louvre several times, but this is a wonderful statue and I hope to see it many more times. Since I am currently working on Beauty and the Beast Tales from Around the World, Cupid and Psyche is particularly frequent in my thinking these days. I've always been drawn to these ATU 425 tales more than any other so I am really loving working on this book.

These images are my own from my 2008 trip. It is so hard to get good pictures of this piece because it is large, it's corner can be dark, and it is usually swamped by tourists. I am actually surprised I got photos this good, although my desired close-up studies overall turned out too blurry to share. In these situations, I'm an amateur photographer and tired tourist with a basic touristy camera trying to get some shots before someone jostles me or steps into my view range. Very frustrating. But the statue makes me forget.

The statue may have to be my reward for when I finish the Beauty and the Beast tales book. And if you, too, love Cupid and Psyche in art, I highly recommend The Tale of Cupid and Psyche: An Illustrated History. It costs more than the replica statue, but it is a pleasure.

Playing at Princess and the Pea by Angie Duignan

'How does that story go again?' © Angie Duignan

I discovered this photo as part of the The Imagination of Children exhibit at the V&A Children's Museum during 15 October 2011 - 5 February 2012 when I was exploring their exhibit listings a few weeks ago. The exhibit doesn't appear to have a fairy tale emphasis, but this photo just grabbed me, so I wanted to share.

Haven't you wanted to sit on a pile of mattresses or even sleep on one ever since you first heard the tale?

A small display throughout the Museum bringing together the work of nine visual artists - Sonia Boyce, Sarah Cole, Angie Duignan, Richard Elliott, Rebecca Fortnum, Róisín Loughrey, Martin Newth, Ans Nys and Jessica Voorsanger - each of whom are fascinated by the child's ability to play, pretend and live through their imagination.

Each inspired by a different aspect of the Museum's collections, the works produced include paintings, drawings, photographs and video installations.

Magic Worlds Exhibit at V&A Children's Museum

'Fairy Queen' Cinderella dancing doll in original box, England 1955

Wouldn't you know that I learned about this one after my visit to London? Drat...
 From the V&A Children's Museum website:

Magic Worlds
8 October 2011 - 4 March 2012

Delve into the realms of fantasy, illusion and enchantment with our major new exhibition revealing how magic has been embraced for hundreds of years.

Magicians were and are held in high regard, some as popular entertainers and some as higher beings. From the Indian rope trick to Derren Brown’s modern take on illusion, adults and children alike have always been in awe of magic and its practitioners.

Magic Worlds explores the world of fairy tales and fantasy literature, the history and origins of magic and how themes of magic have influenced many artists and writers. The exhibition takes the visitor on a journey into miniature magical worlds, complete with witches, wizards, fairies and magical creatures. Objects on display include costumes, tricks and illusions, film merchandise, optical toys, paintings and ceramics, otherworldly dolls and puppets and illustrated books, together with interactive hands-on activities.

Fantasy
A world of marvellous tales and exciting adventures. To enter a fantasy world is to step outside reality and expect things to be different. Fairy stories are pure fantasy. These are old tales passed down originally by word of mouth and later collected together by people such as Charles Perrault and Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.

Fantasy literature started in the mid 19th century. Some of these stories are about completely separate worlds - some that exist in their own right, like Middle Earth, and some, like Narnia, that ordinary people step into. In others, the real and fantasy worlds exist side by side, as in the Harry Potter books, operating for the most part exclusive of each other.

Illusion
This is a world where you cannot believe your eyes. People have always been fascinated by illusion and trickery. Optical devices, particularly in the 19th century, used scientific principles and were designed to both educate and entertain. They are still as intriguing today.

Magicians and magic have long been associated with Eastern countries. The tricks of Indian street markets were brought back to England during the 19th century and quickly gained a foothold in the world of variety theatre. Magicians became the film stars of their day and performed to the highest in the land. Today magic as spectacle has become commonplace and magicians appear regularly on television.

Enchantment
This is a world of magical creatures and beings. It is above all a place of the imagination.

People can experience wonder in everyday life but still actively seek it out in the worlds of fantasy and magic. Fairies and other magical figures inspire artists to produce work that can be beautiful or sinister, or both, reflecting the different aspects of enchantment.

Fairies, elves and pixies are usually regarded as kind creatures associated with the natural world. Witches and dragons generally belong to the darker side of magic. Other figures, such as wizards, mermaids and unicorns, lie somewhere in between.

Picture cubes, depicting a variety of fairy stories, Czechoslovakian, c.1930

And from Magic Worlds? The Museum of Childhood's show lives up to its billing: From Dürer to Harry Potter, an exhibition about the relationship between folk tradition and childhood comes up trumps by Jonathan Jones:

With great lightness of touch, Magic Worlds explores how folk traditions have interacted with the culture of childhood. It includes an early 19th-century painting of Cinderella by George Cruikshank, various editions of the fairytale collections of Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm, and ... Lego Harry Potter.

The Museum of Childhood is actually an outpost of the V&A, and I love the way this exhibition draws on the V&A collection – and loans including Derren Brown's props – to offer a genuinely rich exploration of its subject. It shows the ways magical beliefs become magical fictions, how fairytales evolved into fantasy literature, and how real superstition merges into conjuring tricks. Another fascinating exhibit is a 16th-century book on witchcraft that includes a depiction of the fairground trick known as the beheading of John the Baptist – a Tudor version of the modern magic trick of the assistant sawn in half.

I don't want to give a false impression of this show: it is no blockbuster. But it is an unpretentious, free, family exhibition at a museum whose main galleries are a treasure trove of historic toys. I learned more from it – and got more genuine pleasure from some of its exhibits – than many massively promoted, self-consciously intellectual events where children are encouraged to shush, instead of being invited to run about dressed as fairies. It continues through the winter, so if you missed it at Halloween it will add to the magic of the Christmas season.

Cinderella at the Kitchen Fire by Thomas Sully

My parents visit a lot of museums and they are always kind enough to take pictures of fairy tale related art when it is allowed. In October they visited the Dallas Museum of Art and saw this painting by Thomas Sully, "Cinderella at the Kitchen Fire." I found an article about the museum's acquistion of the painting which offers more information about the painting, too. This is the museum's image of the painting since I didn't have time to resize my father's photo.

Cinderella at the Kitchen Fire

1843

Paintings, Oil on canvas

Overall: 58 x 64 in. (147.32 cm x 1 m 62.56 cm)

Dallas Museum of Art

Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Pauline Allen Gill Foundation, 2005.1

Edited to add from the acquisition article:

Cinderella at the Kitchen Fire depicts a scene from Charles Perrault’s famous fairytale, showing the heroine as she plays with a cat by the hearth while her cruel stepsisters in the background ready themselves for the ball. The painting’s grand scale, as well as its prominent monogram and date, suggest that Sully intended this work for public display (his portraits were rarely signed or dated).

Shortly following its completion, the painting was presented in 1844 in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and again in 1848 in Baltimore at the Maryland Historical Society. American artist John Sartain (1808-1897) made an engraving depicting this work, ensuring its continuing popular recognition. Acquired in the 1840s by a wealthy industrialist, the painting remained in this collection until 1916. It went on to pass through several private collections throughout the 20th century.

“Cinderella shows Sully at the height of his powers, displaying the painterly flourishes, delicate glazes, and rosy palette that characterize his finest portraits,” Dr. Rudolph said. “The artist couldn’t help but make everything—even the stepsisters primping in the background—as beautiful as possible. The work is one of the finest examples of Sully’s genre paintings, a lesser-known facet of the artist’s oeuvre.”

"Heavy Thoughts" by John Skurja

As I mentioned earlier this week, my parents recently visited the R.W. Norton Art Gallery in Shreveport, LA where they saw a few fairy tale related sculptures. My dad snapped some photos to share so I am spacing some out for posts this week. Today's offering is "Heavy Thoughts" by John Skurja. No, it's not directly a Frog Prince reference, but it implies it for me since I often have the tale on the brain. So I am sharing and letting you decide. Isn't he just thinking, "How do I end this enchantment?" when you look at him?

 I didn't find a ready site for Skurja, but apparently frogs inspire him as seen through his collection at Ian Russell Art.

From the Norton:

You can see the Norton's image of the piece here.

"Puffed Up Prince" by Gary Price

As I mentioned yesterday, my parents recently visited the R.W. Norton Art Gallery in Shreveport, LA where they saw a few fairy tale related sculptures. My dad snapped some photos to share so I am spacing some out for posts this week. Today's offering is "Puffed Up Prince" by Gary Price. This bronze is also available through Price's site--that's the loveliness of bronzes, that they exist in multiples. Price has also added a princess to make a set, so I'll share it all today, too.

From the Norton:

And from Gary Price's site:

And The Puffed Up Princess from Gary Price's site:

I really enjoyed Price's site because he has many sculptures of children reading, a favorite theme of mine. If you like that, too, be sure to visit and see.

"Lil' Red Riding Hood" by Teresa Hansen

My parents recently visited the R.W. Norton Art Gallery in Shreveport, LA where they saw a few fairy tale related sculptures. My dad snapped some photos to share so I will space some out over the next few days. Today's offering is "Lil' Red Riding Hood" by Teresa Hansen. This bronze is available through Hansen's site--that's the loveliness of bronzes, that they exist in multiples. I will share both images because I like the way the Norton displayed her work.

First my dad's pic from the Norton:

And from Hansen's site:

Fairy Tale Airigami

If you live anywhere near Rochester, New York, there is a fun exhibit opening tonight. From Balloon art takes a fairy tale twist:

Balloon artist Larry Moss and his design partner, Kelly Cheatle, are making final touches today on their The Fine Art of Airigami exhibit at the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester, 277 N. Goodman St. The sculptures are all inspired by fairy tales and nursery rhymes. The exhibit’s opening reception, from 5 to 8 p.m., is part of First Friday Rochester, a monthly citywide gallery hop.

For the rest of us, we can see 10 images at the Airigami website. I've shared a few here. What fun this is and I haven't seen anything quite like it before. From the website:

Once Upon a Time, created by Larry Moss and Kelly Cheatle, features all new work inspired by childhood memory, with fantasy “snapshots” from classic children’s stories, fairy tales and nursery rhymes. The flatwork – which is a combination of balloon sculpture, photography and illustration – will surround a live balloon sculpture installation. The show’s title also plays on the temporary nature of their medium.

This final image is from the article linked above and shows what appears to be a shoe (perhaps from There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Show) under construction. Wish I could go see this one in person. The Frist Center needs to get this one here in Nashville or some other gallery.

Day 8: Jane Dyer in Fairy Tale Art: Illustrations from Children's Books

Today is the last day for highlighting the illustrators in the Fairy Tale Art: Illustrations from Children's Books exhibit. Jane Dyer is our eighth and final illustrator. There isn't much biographical information about her on the web--most searches come up with oodles of information on a different Jane Dyer, a politician instead. Nevertheless, Dyer has been illustrating beautiful books for many years.  I have just a smallish list of them all at the end of this post. For now, I will offer her beautiful work from the exhibit...

From Child of Faerie, Child of Earth

From Child of Faerie, Child of Earth

From Child of Faerie, Child of Earth

From Child of Faerie, Child of Earth

From Cinderella's Dress

From Cinderella's Dress

From Cinderella's Dress

From Cinderella's Dress

Featured books:

 

Other books from the illustrator:

  

   

  

   

 

The noncover images are property of the exhibition website.