Old and New Art

Last weekend I visited the Museu de Arte Antiga and this week I visited the Belem Cultural Center and specifically Berardo’s Modern Art collection.

The Arte Antiga museum is also known as the Museu das Janelas Verdes – (Museum with the Green Windows). It is housed in the Palácio Alvor-Pombal, built for D. Francisco de Távora (1646-1710).

The permanent collection wasn’t anything terribly exciting. I’m not a huge fan of still lifes and I definitely got my fill there. I was also not a fan of the American who I couldn’t get away from that made me cringe every time he opened his mouth – so incredibly loud!!


There was a floor dedicated to Portuguese artists -- I'm afraid they didn't stand out from their French and Dutch counterparts of the time (at least not to my eye). 

However, the temporary exhibition from Spain, “Cuerpos de Dolor” was striking. The exhibition was set in rooms that had all been painted black and where the only light came from spotlights on the sculptures that all depicted human suffering and pain. Many were religious in nature, but not all. Having just looked at paintings of bread, fruit bowls, dead rabbits, and portraits of nobility, it felt very real.  Whereas the rest of the museum seemed to reflect wealth and a polished view of life, these rooms reflected the other side of human existence of the period.

With that said, I must admit that my favorite part of the museum was the garden with a few sculptures and a fantastic outdoor seating area with a view of the Tagus River (Tajo), the 25 de Abril bridge and the Cristo Rei Statue across the river (the two photos below were pulled off the net – the lighting made my photos very washed out).

Yes, it is strikingly similar to the Golden Gate Bridge
except that it is a double decker, the bottom deck is a railroad track.

I enjoyed my pastel de nata e um café pingado (a mini custard tart and an espresso with a few drops of steamed milk) and enjoyed the sunshine with the other visitors. I was mostly surrounded by locals who had come out to lunch on a beautiful sunny Sunday. In this older part of town I definitely spied a few more tourist books coming out of backpacks, but it is definitely not tourist season yet.  

Yesterday (yes, Saturday, not Sunday) I visited the Berardo Modern Art Collection in Belem -- taking the bus service around here for the first time. I believe the bus ride to Belem resulted in my internal organs being rearranged – no size shock absorber can handle these older cobble stone streets – most are asphalt, but not every where especially in the old center.

I was excited to go. I was promised Dali – well, I got one Dali – the Lobster Phone, but it wasn’t one of the finished painted ones (I believe there are six of them in existence) that I had seen in Spain so many years ago, it was just its natural plastic color, as if a trial run. I should look up its history. The surrealist section was good, but I’m partial to the surrealists.


If you find yourself in Lisbon, I would still encourage a visit – the Warhol pieces are worth a look and I will return because there were a few exhibitions that were being changed. Again, the gardens were beautiful and the museum is near the other attractions in the area: Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Belem’s tower and a variety of other small museums. This port area is where the boats of exploration in the 16^th century embarked on their voyages. Now, it is a place where families seem to come and hang out alongside the tourists coming off the big buses -- there were definitely a lot of tourists in this area. There are also a lot of cultural events in the area: theater, music, etc.

                                     

And, of course, one cannot miss stopping and having one of the Pasteis de Belém – a famous café serving what many say are the best custard tart pastries. They make them all day and are therefore always fresh and warm.  Not a tourist trap – a real treat.

I’ll definitely return to the area to explore more. I was tired, but I was close to an Irish bar I wanted to check out. I found that there are two Irish bars and a British Bar all around the same plaza (the one below) just east of Cais de Sodre.

                                         

I got my Guinness and fish n chips fix, but it was a bit early for music and there were several soccer games that every Irish and British person in the city were watching in there :-)


I decided to return again soon.

I really love my new neighborhood.

I have a great fresh market about two blocks away with fresh vegies and fruits as well as fish and meats. I also have about four grocery stores that are all less than a 5 minute walk. However, I still had to go to the “American style” grocery store (about 20 minutes away) this morning to get vanilla extract and baking soda. (Making apricot scones J)

I love the movie theatre that is also very near my apartment. The Cinema City Classic Alvalade (yes, it has an English name, but it is definitely Portuguese) is a great theatre.  Not only is it a movie theatre, it also hosts stand up comedy night, poetry night, live music night, etc. I also love that you can go and sit down and either have a bite to eat, like a Panini, or a pastry and an espresso before the movie. I noticed they did have troughs of popcorn and gallon size coke cups that were ridiculously priced as they are in the States, but I didn’t see anyone ordering them.

I thoroughly enjoyed my latte before going to see “The Artist” – a great movie, by the way. It was a great way to end the work week. It was the first week I felt like I was really at ICS and really working. I gave my first presentation Friday afternoon and I felt it went well.

This afternoon I am enjoying a nice white wine from the Alentejo region on my terrace as I wait for the dishwasher repair guy (again!). 

Tomorrow – the National Museum of Ancient Art. 

A lazy Sunday morning, enjoying coffee and the view.

Shortly after I arrived in Lisbon I decided that Sundays would be my museum day. I had never thought of Portugal as necessarily a destination for museum touring, however there are several and their collections, though relatively small, do include some gems.

Last Sunday I visited the Colouste Gulbenkian Museum. Small. It took me less than 90 minutes to peruse the entire collection, albeit moving quickly through the furniture. The museum holds a few Rembrandts, the most impressive being "Portrait of an Old Man" and a few Monets. Though I appreciate Monet, I can't say I've ever been overly excited by his pieces. The painting that I most enjoyed was by an artist I had not heard of before, Sir Edward Burne-Jones, and his piece "The Mirror of Venus".

However, the items that I may return to the Gulbenkian to appreciate again are two sculptures. One by Rodin and the other by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux. The Rodin piece, "The Blessings", is amazing. The photo below doesn't do it justice. The detail of the wings is extraordinary. It's hard to believe the downy looking feathers are stone.

The other piece that I found enchanting was Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux's "Flora". The photo below does not quite capture it, but that smile made me smile. Beautiful.

Today is Sunday, but instead of a museum I will be going to IKEA to get some essentials for my new home.

Next week...Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga!

I’m back!

I moved into my new apartment a week ago! I haven’t had access to the internet at home (other than on my phone) until today and have been a bit too busy at work. So, now let me catch you up! 

It is hard to believe that I haven’t quite been in Portugal for three weeks. I secured my apartment, set up utilities, got a cell phone, and a bank account! Though those all seem like straight forward tasks, everything takes a bit longer when you have no idea where everything is and how it all works. I think I’ve managed ok. The real test of my Portuguese reading skills will be to figure out how to record using the HD DVR thingy.

Well, I survived the coldest European winter in six years. Temperatures dropped below freezing. The local news was broadcasting photos of Spanish beaches with snow on the palm trees. Very weird. I know Colorado folks, it isn’t that cold, but for a place where apartments/houses aren’t built to handle it, it was seriously cold. I must say that I was the recipient of some karmic payback. I used to bad mouth UGGS, but I would have killed for a pair this past weekend. I could not find decent slippers anywhere. I ended up with these gems from H&M – yes, those are pompoms and they are totally cozy warm and ridiculous looking.

I have been enjoying the sales though…I got some great black boots to make up for the silly slippers. 

I’ve learned more about what the Portuguese refer to as “a crise” (the financial crisis). I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I have found that in general there isn’t much outwardly obvious to indicate the state of Portugal’s economy. There are a lot of iPhones walking around, the cars are relatively new and maintained (though taxi cabs are always dented), the metro is clean, and even the streets are relatively clean.  There are homeless, but less than I would expect – definitely less than you see in San Francisco.

I’ve been told that for most people, the crisis means they can’t get a loan so they won’t be buying a new car or house. People are also probably scaling back vacation plans. Of course, there are people who have lost their jobs and have been personally devastated, but at a societal level it isn’t very obvious.

I have started at ICS. Lab meetings are in Portuguese (though those of us who aren’t great Portuguese speakers are given license to switch to English when necessary).  I’ll be presenting my research to the group next Friday. Thankfully, presentations are in English.

However, I have for the first time in my life begun to think in Portuguese sometimes. Very weird. It still freaks me out a bit.

I’ve started analyzing the data that I collected before I left the states. I hope there's something publishable in there.

 I love my temporary office. It’s a corner office. It is unlikely I will remain in this office, but until they can figure out space for me, this is where I am J

Okay – until next time!