REVISITING A LIFETIME OF MAGIC MUSEUM MEMORIES
Some things leave a big impression. Some things you remember all your life.
But you know what really knocked my socks off ? The Winged Victory of Samothrace.
If you've ever been to the Louvre Museum in Paris, you've seen it. You'd be hard pressed not to have seen it. If memory serves, it's the first thing you see when you enter the Louvre.
And, as first impressions go, it's a whopper.
Appearing almost as if hovering, with wings spread, this ancient Hellenic statue dominates the grand hall. Despite being headless, armless, and even footless, the figure commands attention. You rise up the broad Daru staircase, as if a supplicant, humbled by the authority conveyed in the figure. If you're lucky, there will be a break in the throngs and you'll see the display as it was designed to be seen — a monochromatic spectacle evincing the artist's mastery of marble.
I was 17 when I saw it for the first time. I had no idea it existed but, the moment I saw it, I knew I would carry the image in my head for all my life. Scholars date the work to around 190 BC. There is always conjecture around any antiquity, but a 1930s restoration of the statue revealed the name Pythocritos, son of Timocharis of Rhodes. Boy, I bet Timocharis would have been proud. Imagine if something your son did was to resonate through the ages like this sculpture does? So much for Super Bowl rings, right?
John Singer Sargent's towering painting, Portrait of Madame X, has the capacity to arrest even in our modern world of staged scandals. I'd only seen it in books until I happened to attend a Sargent exhibit. I hadn't expected to be transfixed, but I was. Despite being painted in 1884, the work is entirely modern. The hauteur of the subject led me to do a little research and the backstory only deepens the impact of the piece. Virginie Gautreau — Madame X — was an American-french creole immigrant to Paris and the very much younger wife of a French banker. Mme. Gautreau was notorious and actively stoked the gossip mills. An unconventional beauty, she was considered quite fearless. In the original painting, one of the straps holding up her bodice has slipped down her shoulder. Quelle horreur! The subject of that strap caused a great deal of talk in her day, calling to mind the famous Vanity Fair cover of the naked, heavily pregnant, Demi Moore. Sargent would succumb to entreaties by the chastened Mme. Gautreau and overpainted the errant strap.
What resonates with one person may fall flat for another. My son was entranced by the Rembrandts at the Frick Museum in New York City. He was 10. I, on the other hand, kept wondering if there was a coffee shop inside the Frick. As a family, however, we were entirely in agreement on New York's Museum of Natural History. The Rockefeller Rotunda alone, with its skeleton diorama of a dinosaur battle, is amazing.
I recently visited the Vancouver Public Aquarium. I suppose some go for the sea lion feedings or the adorable otters. Me, I go for the jellyfish. Man, I'm telling you, there's little in this world to rival the calming sensation of watching those graceful forms languidly revolving in their tanks. The whole world goes away as I stand, slack jawed, mesmerized by their slow pirouettes. The next best thing, I suppose, would be a lava lamp.
Museums, galleries and the like may be a lot of lining up and shelling out, but oftentimes, those moments stay with us for a lifetime. I still marvel at what a 10-year-old would see in a Rembrandt.
Jane Macdougall is a freelance writer and former National Post columnist who lives in Vancouver. She will be writing on The Bookless Club every Saturday online and in The Vancouver Sun. For more of what Jane's up to, check out her website, janemacdougall.com
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION
What are your favourite gallery or museum memories?
Send your answers by email text, not an attachment, in 100 words or less, along with your full name to Jane at thebooklessclub@gmail.com. We will print some next week in this space.
LAST WEEK'S QUESTION
Do you still carry cash?
■ My wife and I always carry some cash and change on us. Not so our three sons. One day, our oldest son was taking our two young granddaughters, Cheyenne and Arielle, to Guildford Mall to buy some candy. When he went to pay with a card he was told the machines were down. “Sorry girls,” he said “we can't buy candy. Daddy has no money.” That's when Cheyenne piped up and said, “Call grandma. She has money.”
Mark Lewis
■ Yes, I still carry cash. The old-fashioned bingo hall we frequent only takes cash. No debit, no credit, no e-transfers for them. And if one wins, we get cold hard cash in our hand in return ... and a good night out as well.
Trudy Halliday
■ I always carry cash, but it's always bills. There are a few places I frequent where it is preferred or required. Unfortunately, the smallest bill my ATM dispenses is $20. What I miss when I pass talented street buskers is always having change, like loonies and toonies. I would love to contribute, but not $20.