Category Archives: Museum

Phillips Collection in Washington DC

Phillips Museum interior

Inside of the Phillips Collection Museum in Washington DC with “Figure of the Oriental Theater,” by Paul Klee in the foreground and “Luncheon of the Boating Party” (1881) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir in the background.

The Phillips Collection, opened in 1921, is America’s first museum of modern art.

Related: Starry Night Over The Rhone by Vincent van GoghSelf Portrait by Vincent van GoghSunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat

Tibetan Figurine of Manjusri

Tibetan, copper figurine of Manjusri

Tibetan figurine of a wrathful Manjusri, with copper gild, at Shanghai Art Museum. From the Qing dynasty era (1664 to 1911).

Je Tsongkhapa, who founded the Gelug lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, is said to have received his teachings from visions of Mañjuśrī.

Within Esoteric Buddhism, Mañjuśrī is a meditational deity, and considered a fully enlightened Buddha. In the Shingon school of Esoteric Buddhism, he is one of the thirteen deities to whom disciples devote themselves. He figures extensively in many Esoteric Buddhist texts such as the Mañjuśrī-mūla-kalpa and the Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti.

Related: Buddha Statues, Borobudur Temple, Java, IndonesiaCandi Sewu, Yogyakarta, IndonesiaEgyptian Statue in Front of the The Temple of Dendur at the Met in NYC

Egytian Statue in Front of the The Temple of Dendur at the Met in NYC

photo of the  Statue of Amenhotep III by John Hunter

Colossal Statue of Amenhotep III Reinscribed by Merneptah, 1390–1353 B.C.. The statue is from Thebes, Luxor, in the Temple of Amun.

The Temple of Dendur, in the background, was built during the reign of Augustus Caesar in the Roman period.

The room in the Metropolitan museum is quite excellent with a huge window looking into Central Park.

See more photos of my visit to the Met. And more photos around NYC. And photos from my trip to Egypt.

Related: Statue of King Mankaure and His Queen (Egypt)Egyptian Hieroglyphs at the Met in NYC

Stuart Davis Painting, Los Angels County Museum of Art

photo of Stuart Davis painting at LACMA

Stuart Davis Painting, Los Angels County Museum of Art

Related: Hot Skill State for Six Colors 7th Avenue Style by Stuart Davis, 1940Lucky Strike by Suart Davis, 1921, Museum of Modern Art, NYCEgg Beater #3 by Stuart Davis, Boston Museum of Fine ArtsMedium Still Life by Stuart Davis2 works by Stuart Davis

Assyrian Reliefs from the 9th Century BC

photo of Assyrian relief carving of man with wings

The winged genie is shown holding a conical fruit which has presumably been dipped into a bucket of pollen held in preparation for fertilizing the Tree of Life, an important symbol in Assyrian religious belief.

I took these photos at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The reliefs are from interior walls of the palace of Ashurnasirpal II who reigned from 883 to 859 BC. He was the first Assyrian king to use carved reliefs on the interior walls of a palace at the site of Kalhu (now called Nimrud).

Continue reading

Starry Night Over The Rhone by Vincent van Gogh

photo of close up detail of Starry Night Over The Rhone painting by Vincent van Gogh

Close up of detail of Starry Night Over The Rhone by Vincent van Gogh by John Hunter

Close up detail of Starry Night Over The Rhone by Vincent van Gogh at the Dreams and Reality Exhibit at the Singapore Art Museum. The Museum D’Orsay in Paris, France provided the exhibit from their collection.

Related: self portrait by Vincent van GoghIrises by Vincent van GoghPortrait of Joseph RoulinIn Starry Night Van Gogh Painted Perfect Turbulence