Over the past two months I visited numeerous museums in some European cities: Berlin, Paris, Krakow, Vienna, Dresden, Leipzig, Salzburg etc. I am listing my personal favourites.
Of course the mesmerising Nefriti really surveying all her afpdmirers from a high glass casein a room dedicated to her in Neues Museum, Berlin. No photography allowed in that room so image is from outside and thus distorted.
An icon of feminine beauty her bust is believed to have been crafted in 1345 BCE by Thutmose because it was found in his workshop in Amarna, Egypt.
I was unprepared for the utter beauty & details of the diorama, Grand Mogul Throne made between 1701-8 by royal goldsmith Dinglinger kept in Dresden Museum. The sheer detailing is amazing
Gandhara Art dev in what is now NW Pakistan and E Afghanistan between the 1st BCE & 7th CE.
The sculptures and carvings of this era are breathtaking and i had the good fortune to see a complete tableau of Lord Buddha’s life in Humboldt Forum in Berlin in schist from 2-3rd CE.
There are total of 12 panels depicting the birth, life and death of Lord Buddha
50 Kgs pf love!
This 17th century carpet is from Mughal India, in the Pergamon Museum.
It might have been made in Agra during Shah Jahan’s reign and
it could have been produced according to the caption of the museum either for the Agra Fort palace or the Taj Mahal!
Of all the da Vinci paintings in the Louvre it was this that captured my imagination. It was completed in 1516, and is believed to be the artist’s last and is now housed in the Louvre. St John the Baptist is shown with curly hair, with his right hand pointing towards heaven to suggest importance of salvation through baptism. The enigmatic smile is reminiscent of Mona Lisa and was made with the same sfamato technique.
To stand in the presence of the stargazer from Anatolia made in the chalcolithic age in the al Thani collection in Hotel De la Marine is an amazing experience.
The Lady with an Ermine, said by some to be the best portrait by da Vinci in the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków is one of Poland’s national treasures. A darkened room dedicated to her allows one to sit in peace and admire her beauty and the artist’s technique. In the case of Mona Lisa the jostling crowds and the little time one got to spend in front of her spoilt the experience for me.
The composition al technique of en trois quarts was a unique one for the age and seems to be captured as she turns.
Of course there were many more treasures but these are the ones that stayed with me.
I would like to add a photo of an artist’s studio ( Suzanne Valdon’s) in the Montemarte Museum in Paris.
