A Popular Lady

Mona Lisa, a photo by dlnwelch on Flickr.

I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this. The crowd to see the Mona Lisa was non stop, pushing and crowding their way to snap a shot with their digital cameras. Da Vinci's portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo, is undoubtedly the most popular painting in the history of art. I had hoped to spend some time studying her eyes and facial expression, and creating my own theories for the famed mystique. Instead I observed from a distance the frenzied crowd who could now say they had seen her. I have read that on average a person only looks at the painting for 15-20 seconds.  You can hardly get any sense of the paining with that short of time. Anyway, I saw the Mona Lisa, so I guess that's something.

Top of Mont Ventoux

top of Mont Ventoux, a photo by dlnwelch on Flickr.

One of the must dos on the trip to Provence was to check out Mont Ventoux. If you are not a follower of the Tour, this is one of the regular mountain stages they do. It was not on the year's tour route, so we took the opportunity to drive, not ride, to the top. It is a tough mountain to climb. You do not get the true nature of the difficulty by watching it on TV. We drove up the typical, and most difficult route, starting in Bedoin. I copied a description from Wikipedia, just to give you some details.

"South from Bédoin: 1617 m over 21,8 km. This is the most famous and difficult ascent. The road to the summit has an average gradient of 7.43%. Until Saint-Estève, the climb is easy: 3.9% over 5,8 km, but the 16 remaining kilometres have an average gradient of 8.9%. The last kilometres may have strong, violent winds. The ride takes 1h30m-2h30m for trained amateur riders."

I'm not sure I would try this, but must admit many were out there giving it a go. I have climbed The Geysers in Sonoma County, but this is far worse. I think Mt. Hamilton might be comparable, but I don't think it is as high. At any rate, it would be a challenge. There are easier routes with the same distance but less average grade. Hmmmm...

Yellow Jersey at the Tour de France

What a blast. Part of my sabbatical trip to France was to see the last stage of the Tour de France and the sprint on the Champs-Élysées. I wanted to get a good picture of the riders and researched possible places and strategies. Its tough. The riders come into town at 4PM, but you have to be there around 10AM to get a prime spot. Otherwise you end up shooting past a bunch of heads.Nathaniel and I got there around 2PM and it wasn't the mob scene I expected. We were able to get a comfortable 4 or 5 people back from the barriers. Some people had step ladders, which allowed them to get above the crowd. I had been advised that was one way to go, but couldn't easily find one in Paris to borrow or buy. Anyway, I got a few shots.This is the best. Cadel Evans is in the Yellow Jersey and this is the second to last lap. He was the overall race leader and deserved it. He rode a masterful race and was the first Aussie to ever win it, I believe. It was great fun to see, and would definitely do it again.

Good-bye to the Barnes

The Barnes Foundation in Merion, Pa closed at the end of June. The collection will be relocated to a new museum near the Phildaelphia Art Museum in downtown. The move was heavily debated as described in the movie The Art of the Steal. It is a shame IMO to see the original location and collection of Albert Barnes move to a more "accessible" location. It is counter to what he had intended. Barnes was a scientist, innovator, art lover and collector. He lived at the same time as the birth of the Impressionists and sought to educate the world about the value of the new movement in art. He was scorned as an outsider and retreated to a world where he could espouse his own thoughts and beliefs about the art. His world was the Barnes. The use of wall ensembles to tie together different works of art with African sculpture, furniture, and architectural elements is brilliant. In his book, The Art of Painting, Barnes lays down his scientific approach to understanding art. Its a struggle to read, but gives you some insight into the ensemble approach. On a recent vacation to Paris, we visited the Orangerie to see an exhibit of the collection of Paul Guillaume. He was the dealer in Paris Barnes worked with to secure many of his pieces. Guillaume was influenced by the Barnes approach to art collection and himself had a "wall ensemble" in his home. Barnes was not appreciated in his time. As the collection and approach to art appreciation become more public in the new museum, we can only hope that his true genius will be seen.