Finistère (Bretagne, France)
I settle into speechlessness, a blanket with holes under which there is never enough warmth. The warmth of familiarity remains outside. It remains an unknown warmth. And since there is little inside, the soul looks for what it needs on the outside. But the outside is gray and wet. The gray changes, but it doesn't disappear. So what to do?
I love art for a reason: it shows me something that is somewhere deep inside me, but which is so often lost in the noise of the world. And since the weather is not changing for the better, we go to a museum. The Musée des Beaux Arts is located in the center of the old town of Quimper, right opposite the imposing Cathédrale Saint-Corentin. Inside this time-honored building, a new world of local Breton art opens up. But French, Flemish and Italian works are also represented.
Our journey into this new world begins with large-format paintings by Breton artists depicting important events in powerful images such as a procession or a wedding. But also everyday scenes such as a young woman carrying a jug of water on her head and gazing into the distance with dignity and confidence. Or the one with two women, perhaps mother and daughter or sisters with a large age difference, kneeling in front of a grave near a church. Who have they lost? Who will lose them later?
In addition to paintings, there are magnificent busts and statues and even a copy of the Mona Lisa. However, it is not the most impressive work here. But you get a better view of her here than in the Louvre. I stand in front of her for a long time and look at her, although it's not easy as she hangs high up, and wonder what the world sees in her. Maybe I'm just missing the big story behind this Mona Lisa.
But what captivates me is a painting by Vincent Vidal, the Portrait de madame Vidal, an elegant, pretty woman. Since I know nothing about him or her, I have the pleasure of making my own impression. And it is impressive, even formidable. Her face is soft, her gaze graceful, but also dreamy and somewhat skeptical. She is wearing a black dress that blurs with the dark background. All attention is focused on her face. It magically attracts me.
I would never dare to stare at someone for so long, but in a museum that is possible. In art, this is even intentional. The gaze should remain where you are drawn to something for which you have no words, which you cannot and possibly never will be able to describe. And that has a very special effect, you stay. And come back, again and again.
It's the portraits that cast a spell over me, that captivate me and don't let go. This experience runs through my entire body. Moving on is difficult. It's as if I'm leaving people I want to stay with. These images awaken my own inner abandonment, which I was confronted with very early on in my life. Too early. And here, through these works of art, they are brought to life.
But that is exactly what art is there for, to awaken and to be touched by the work, even to be changed. And if not that, then at least that a change is triggered. Bravo to art, especially the art in this place. One of the most beautiful and impressive museums I have been to. Thank you.
I settle into speechlessness, a blanket with holes under which there is never enough warmth. The warmth of familiarity remains outside. It remains an unknown warmth. And since there is little inside, the soul looks for what it needs on the outside. But the outside is gray and wet. The gray changes, but it doesn't disappear. So what to do?
I love art for a reason: it shows me something that is somewhere deep inside me, but which is so often lost in the noise of the world. And since the weather is not changing for the better, we go to a museum. The Musée des Beaux Arts is located in the center of the old town of Quimper, right opposite the imposing Cathédrale Saint-Corentin. Inside this time-honored building, a new world of local Breton art opens up. But French, Flemish and Italian works are also represented.
Our journey into this new world begins with large-format paintings by Breton artists depicting important events in powerful images such as a procession or a wedding. But also everyday scenes such as a young woman carrying a jug of water on her head and gazing into the distance with dignity and confidence. Or the one with two women, perhaps mother and daughter or sisters with a large age difference, kneeling in front of a grave near a church. Who have they lost? Who will lose them later?
In addition to paintings, there are magnificent busts and statues and even a copy of the Mona Lisa. However, it is not the most impressive work here. But you get a better view of her here than in the Louvre. I stand in front of her for a long time and look at her, although it's not easy as she hangs high up, and wonder what the world sees in her. Maybe I'm just missing the big story behind this Mona Lisa.
But what captivates me is a painting by Vincent Vidal, the Portrait de madame Vidal, an elegant, pretty woman. Since I know nothing about him or her, I have the pleasure of making my own impression. And it is impressive, even formidable. Her face is soft, her gaze graceful, but also dreamy and somewhat skeptical. She is wearing a black dress that blurs with the dark background. All attention is focused on her face. It magically attracts me.
I would never dare to stare at someone for so long, but in a museum that is possible. In art, this is even intentional. The gaze should remain where you are drawn to something for which you have no words, which you cannot and possibly never will be able to describe. And that has a very special effect, you stay. And come back, again and again.
It's the portraits that cast a spell over me, that captivate me and don't let go. This experience runs through my entire body. Moving on is difficult. It's as if I'm leaving people I want to stay with. These images awaken my own inner abandonment, which I was confronted with very early on in my life. Too early. And here, through these works of art, they are brought to life.
But that is exactly what art is there for, to awaken and to be touched by the work, even to be changed. And if not that, then at least that a change is triggered. Bravo to art, especially the art in this place. One of the most beautiful and impressive museums I have been to. Thank you.