Today, 6/04/08 we went to the National Portrait Gallery, and with the restoration topic on my mind from seeing in Westminster Abbey, I wondered why the restoration artists here did some of the things they did. For example, when I came to the Bronte sisters I was surprised to see the alteration that was made to the painting. There information on the side of the painting said that there was once a pillar in the middle but it was discovered that underneath it was a self portrait of Patrick Bronte. It seemed to me the restoration artists in this case did the opposite of their jobs and reversed the painting to reveal the missing self portrait of the Bronte sisters’ brother, who painted this particular painting. As my walk through the gallery continued I soon found that Virgina Woolf’s sister painted the portrait that was on display and so did Jane Austen sister Cassandra.
I was surprised that each of these female authors had a sibling that drew or painted their picture during their life period. I do have to say the sketch I was interested with the most was Jane Austen’s sketch. I was surprised to see it not finished and in a very tiny frame a special box to keep it safe. I was curious why it was not displayed as the other paintings were on the wall in the romantic era room. I was wondering if it was because it was so small or if it was because of the water color? Also I was able to use the IT catalogue while I was there and found out that there was three other portraits the gallery had and wanted to know why those were not out as well. What made the gallery put out the have finished sketch instead of the others? What was the criteria that determined the rotation for the portraits?
The sketch of Austen did make me think of Persuasion and with Austen in the same room as Wordsworth I thought about what each of them might say. It seemed Austen was very "camera" shy because there were not many pictures done of her where as Wordsworth there was quite a few. It seems that Austen might be horrified that her portrait was on display, because it seemed she was a private person. It is funny to think of Jane Austen as a shy person when reading some of her novels because they contain some very out going characters. It almost seems she was only outgoing in her novels and that was her outlet.
In the National Portrait Gallery I did not feel it was marketed as much of a tourist attraction as the National Gallery was and I wondered why that was the case. Was it because it just held portraits and not much else or was it because not everyone knows who the portraits are of so they are not as interested? I am not saying that I knew who everyone was but it was exciting to see the portraits on the wall of the authors we have spent our college careers learning about. So it leads back to the question should people be educated to go to the museums, and in this case I believe the answer is yes because, it would create more of an interest for people to go an see the museum.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Day 13 National Portrait Gallery
I really enjoyed our visit to the National Portrait Gallery today. You can tell a lot about a person from looking at their pictures. Of course it also helps if you have a brief synopsis accompanying it. I feel that this was a great assignment for us to complete as a class. Not only was it free of charge and therefore we had no excuse not to visit the gallery, but also because it had something for everyone. There were portraits of noteworthy poets, authors, historians, political figures, and royalty, among others. The parts of the museum I found to be most enjoyable were the displays they had on certain people, such as John Hanning Speke, Richard Burton, and David Livingston. I found it most interesting how these three people’s stories intertwined. While the first two explorers were trying to discover the source of the Nile River the final explorer attempted to disprove one’s theory. This topic was the greatest geographical mystery of the time. Speke felt he discovered the Nile’s source as Lake Victoria, yet on that same exploration, Burton was convinced that the source was another lake by the name of Tahganyika. These two men published competing accounts of their journey including how each came across their discovery. After this kafuffle, the two were scheduled to debate their findings publicly. However, Speke accidentally shot himself with his shotgun. Burton did not think this was an accident. What happened to Burton afterwards? David Livingston attempted to prove Speke’s theory to be correct, and Burton’s to be incorrect. He traveled with Henry Morton Stanley who was the one to complete the journey itself. Livingston died in the swamps of Africa, trying to settle the matter. I found it helpful that the National Portrait Gallery decided to put these three important men together in a display in order to tie their significance together. The first short write-up of the whole situation, or kafuffle, touched on all three, but it wasn’t until you read each individual piece that you were able to read their back-stories and understand how they all fit together. My only question is one that I do not think can be answered in this blog, but I will ask it anyway: What happened to Richard Burton after Speke died and the debate ended? Did he go on to do anything else noteworthy? I was unable to find any other information about him on the small cards next to the portraits. It would have been interesting to see what had happened to him in the end.
Day 4 - London - The Cheshire Cheese
When trying to figure out what point of interest inspired or intruiged me the most, one of the places that stood out in my mind was the Cheshire Cheese pub. From the moment we stepped into the pub, it felt like the pub itself was almost suspended in time. It was dark, with creeking and crooked floor, and crooked beams, and twisted hallways and rooms that make you wonder where it all ends. The atmosphere seems so genuine that I could actually imagine writers, poets, politicians, etc... walking through the alleyway that leads there and stepping into the Cheshire Cheese for a pint with the other locals. With many of the places we've been, I'll know that there is such a rich history in where I am, but it doesn't seem real. On this trip, I have walked in the footsteps of Kings and Queens, but this pub seems so much more sincere. It blew my mind that I could casually step into a pub hidden away in an alley and have a drink in an establishment that has been serving beer for longer than our entire country has existed. The setting is ageless. When I was there, I felt as if I had stepped into the Prancing Pony Inn from Lord of the Rings, or I felt like I would bump into a character from a Charles Dickens novel. This is such an inspiring place to me because though it has such a rich history, it has not been tainted by tourism and commercialism, it is a small, classic, and genuine pub.
Day 5 - The Lake District (Tish)
The North of England is the most beautiful place I have seen in England thus far. The rolling hills, the sheep and the lake all served as a perfect background for any piece of literature. It was a very serene setting and just the drive through seemed to calm my body and mind and bring me to a new place both spiritually and physically.
Although today included a large amount of sitting on a bus, I think that today was the day thus far that has effected me most profoundly. By visiting the home of the great poet, Wordsworth, I felt that I was better able to understand the Romantic Period in general. The Romantic Period is my favorite period of British Literature because of the connection to nature that is so present in many of the poems and novels of the time. I have always found that nature inspires me to write or even just to think more clearly. After looking at the view outside the window above Wordsworth's writing desk I thought about how inspirational that view was. I then decided to go out into the garden and look at a similar view to do some writing of my own. The beauty of the surroundings was so pure that I felt like an intruder. I felt as if no one else had quite had the same moment I was having and that I was sharing something very special with the poet who had once lived there. His poems as well as his home served as a great inspiration to me.
The driving, too, helped serve as a reminder of the period the works were written in. The location was very remote even by today's standards and that helped to keep the location less "tourist-y" than some of the other locations we have visited so far. This added to the purity of the setting and the bus ride home also allowed me time to reflect upon the experience.
Although today included a large amount of sitting on a bus, I think that today was the day thus far that has effected me most profoundly. By visiting the home of the great poet, Wordsworth, I felt that I was better able to understand the Romantic Period in general. The Romantic Period is my favorite period of British Literature because of the connection to nature that is so present in many of the poems and novels of the time. I have always found that nature inspires me to write or even just to think more clearly. After looking at the view outside the window above Wordsworth's writing desk I thought about how inspirational that view was. I then decided to go out into the garden and look at a similar view to do some writing of my own. The beauty of the surroundings was so pure that I felt like an intruder. I felt as if no one else had quite had the same moment I was having and that I was sharing something very special with the poet who had once lived there. His poems as well as his home served as a great inspiration to me.
The driving, too, helped serve as a reminder of the period the works were written in. The location was very remote even by today's standards and that helped to keep the location less "tourist-y" than some of the other locations we have visited so far. This added to the purity of the setting and the bus ride home also allowed me time to reflect upon the experience.
the louve
Thousands and thousands of empty, mortal faces, admiring others that have never died. The Louve may possiblybe the worlds largest aragment of historical evidence that we do exist and have existed. it is a flavored shot of reassurence with a bitter after taste of mortality and truth. the louve is something that has lasted through the centuries with artifacts that have lasted even longer and as we pass through,we find ourselves rushing as we do through life in the eyes of one of these ancient artifacts. we pass with blank eyes staring at dead eyes and see our own faces in a crowd of people gathering around the only image that appears to still be able to see. This museum evokes and inspires the feelings in us that both sooth our quest for unaltering life and inspires our greatest fears that we may die before we are painted on a canvas or do something profound or even have children. this is humanities biggest plea for an existed and greatest attempt at achieving true immortality. the same immortality that Shakespeare knew he would achieve in his sonnets or Bronte knew she had achieved through Wuthering Heights, which is why she could finally die. in this place we can now be a part of history, we can feel it and touch it for a couple moments of our life and realize the kind of life that it takes. the louve gives people a taste of something meaningful and we know that we now have a connection with something that will live on far longer than the flesh that sits on our bones. it sits briefly and then fades the same way our memory of this place will fade. And now as the revolutions have begun to turn in all aspects of life turn around and as the dust fades and blends into everything else our handprint on the statue dissolves and is brushed into another. as we pass through the eyes of the louve we push past thousands and thousands of strangers whose eyes are far more alive than the ones on the wall and may be more immortal than what any painting can portray.
Would i learn more by staring into some of thier eyes?
or is is just to abstract to grasp, and is it always easier to stare at the wall?
the louve just seems to be a preserved mountain lake where people go to see their shadows and ignore their reflections when theyre there.
and in light of this it seems only fit that upon exiting the majestic Louve i found myself staring at a fountain, while standing in the rain....
Would i learn more by staring into some of thier eyes?
or is is just to abstract to grasp, and is it always easier to stare at the wall?
the louve just seems to be a preserved mountain lake where people go to see their shadows and ignore their reflections when theyre there.
and in light of this it seems only fit that upon exiting the majestic Louve i found myself staring at a fountain, while standing in the rain....
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Day 9 ~Winchester
On 5/31/08 we luckily had Paul to take us to Winchester, Dorest and Stonehenge. The Winchester Cathedral was quite beautiful, the architecture was amazing. It seemed to set a calming tone for the rest of our visit. As our walk continued in Winchester we arrived at Jane Austen's House. We were unable to visit inside of the house, because it was currently occupied, but we still received an idea of what the town meant to her. As we walked around the grounds of the cathedral it was nice to take a moment to enjoy the scenery and walk the same grounds that Austen once did. We were able to have the opportunity to see her were she spent her last days and heard a reading in the same garden she woke up to every morning.
With this said, it is easy to see why Austen was so compelled to write her novels with such detail about everything that surrounded her from the houses to the gardens and paths around the town. The passage that I read from Austen's Persuasion showed her attention to detail and demonstrated how she looked at her surroundings closely. She described the house of the Musgroves' with detail so the reader can picture the home as Austen did. While we were there I could not help but wonder did she include a house from the town of Winchester? Could we have walked right by a house she wrote about in her novel?
Winchester was also noticeably less of a tourist attraction as the other places we had visited, such as Wordsworth's home. It was also interesting to see that the home of Austen was lived in, instead of being used as a museum to attract more visitors to the town. If you continue to compare the sights we have seen so far, you will remember Austen also used the town of Bath in her novel Persuasion with great detail as well. My next thought is will the quiet town of Winchester become more of a tourist attraction as the years continue on once the current occupants of the house leave? Or will the town stand against it and let it remain the same?
With this said, it is easy to see why Austen was so compelled to write her novels with such detail about everything that surrounded her from the houses to the gardens and paths around the town. The passage that I read from Austen's Persuasion showed her attention to detail and demonstrated how she looked at her surroundings closely. She described the house of the Musgroves' with detail so the reader can picture the home as Austen did. While we were there I could not help but wonder did she include a house from the town of Winchester? Could we have walked right by a house she wrote about in her novel?
Winchester was also noticeably less of a tourist attraction as the other places we had visited, such as Wordsworth's home. It was also interesting to see that the home of Austen was lived in, instead of being used as a museum to attract more visitors to the town. If you continue to compare the sights we have seen so far, you will remember Austen also used the town of Bath in her novel Persuasion with great detail as well. My next thought is will the quiet town of Winchester become more of a tourist attraction as the years continue on once the current occupants of the house leave? Or will the town stand against it and let it remain the same?
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