I took a long overdue and much-needed day off last week, and it turned out to
be one of those perfect early fall days that we, on the East Coast, are so lucky
to be able to enjoy. I even managed to snag one of the comfortable,
spic-and-span new Metro North trains that deliver you to New York with your
insides still in one piece.
Heading first for The Jewish Museum at 92nd
and Fifth, I couldn’t help but notice that all of New York seemed to be out
walking their dogs, and everyone seemed to be smiling. Even the dogs looked
especially happy to be out on such a glorious day.
I had come to see the
exhibit, “Edouard Vuillard — A Painter and His Muses,” as I am very fond of this
artist’s highly patterned canvases and blend of traditional and modern. Many of
his works have an almost Japanese feel to them.
The Jewish Museum,
located in what once was a magnificent, private home, is a New York treasure —
wonderful exhibits, good location near the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but
easily “do-able” in a morning or afternoon.
The 50 key artworks being shown were highlighted as examples of the
importance that Jewish collectors and patrons played in the development of
modern art.
Vuillard was a member of a Parisian avant-garde group of
artists known as the Nabis, which translates as “prophets.” Inspired by Paul
Gauguin, they used simplified form and pure colors although many of Vuillard’s
paintings show the influence of his home, where his mother and sister who were
dressmakers, lived among highly patterned ribbons and fabrics.
Two
wealthy families became Vuillard’s patrons: the Natansons, who published an
important cultural review, and later, Joseph Hessel, a senior partner in a
prestigious art gallery. I came away with a lovely framed copy of, “Woman in a
Striped Dress,” a painting awash in pattern and color which will brighten my
dressing area.
Upstairs at the same museum, I discovered a small but
intriguing exhibit “Crossing Borders,” which featured exquisite books and
manuscripts with translations and illustrations of the Bible and New Testament
into Hebrew, Syrian, Persian and Latin.
A quick bite to eat in the museum
café, and the 5th Avenue bus soon brought me to the Metropolitan and a small but
excellent exhibit of Japanese art in the Rinpa aesthetic which, although we had
lived in Japan, I had never heard about. It is, I learned, a distinctive style
of Japanese pictorial and applied arts, using bold, graphic, natural motifs. The
textiles, lacquer ware and ceramics on display were indeed lovely, but I could
not see anything that unusual or distinctive as to define them as a special
“style.” Many people were there to see the just-opened Andy Warhol exhibit, but
I was not about to fight the crowds to look at repetitive views of Jackie
Kennedy in various colors. Guess it isn’t “my thing.”
Instead, I wandered
back to the glorious Islamic wing, eight years in the making and featuring the
arts of Turkey, Iran, Central and South Asia. This area alone is worth a trip to
New York. It is, in a word, breathtaking.
Ah, Autumn in New York! As the song says, “It’s great to live it again.”
Contact Jean Cherni, certified senior adviser for Senior Living Solutions and Pearce Plus, a helpful, full-service program for seniors contemplating a move, at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or 15 The Ponds at 101 Hotchkiss Grove, Branford 06405.
