Day 03 (Sunday): CENTRAL PARK / (Frick Collection)
started the day from 9.00 am Mass at the Cathedral of St. Patrick which welcomes us with a celebration in honor of large community of Polish. Beyond occasion, I found that the whole ceremony was a more solemn than we are accustomed. We are in a city where the Catholic Church, but has an important place, is not dominant, and this fact, it occurs to me, urges Catholics to emphasize aspects of the ceremony itself. Among other details, we note that for example the homily is delivered from a high pulpit, remain kneeling from the consecration to the Father, and there are no ministers of the Eucharist. The liturgy is led by a priest, the music comes from a powerful and tuned choir and the whole ceremony has a somewhat aloof air.
After the Mass, procession of costumes and Polish greetings Bishop, we took the bus to the Upper East to visit the Frick Collection which opened at 11. We take the time prior to the opening to sitting on a bench at the edge of Central Park, admire the French-style building that sits in front of it, plus also see people who was attending mass at the park to take advantage of the magnificent sunny day.
The house, which opens with a large garden on 5th Avenue, was her family residence Frick, a native of Pittsburgh and, as tradition of that city, engaged in steel business, which amassed a considerable fortune. Part of it was devoted to his mansion, designed in 1913 by the architects of the time, Carrere & Hastings , who were also the architects of many of the French-style mansions that are in the area. In 1935, after the death of Mr. Frick and doing his will, the house was adapted by the architect John Russell Pope to exhibit the private collection to the public.
This last statement highlights the covered courtyard in the center of the building serves as a haven and connection between the different rooms that hold most of its original appearance. Composition excels in the grand staircase, where it shows the power of this family. The stairs are always significant in this regard. Be the vertical or the sense of movement that has a ladder that becomes symbolic.
The collection covers a large part of the history of painting, from Cimabue to the Impressionists. There is a very large number of works, but in return they are all virtually unbeatable quality. Without trying to make an exhaustive review, I will mention just a few that struck me particularly.
for the visit, since the museum has bounded size, we do not support a tour first, then turn to the excellent audio guide. In this way I could get a first impression "Unbiased" of the work, and then verify the information from telephone books, whose vision is usually excellent and complete. One way to go as valid as any other.
begin with the San Giovanni air primitive, of Piero Della Francesca , distinguished in a blue sky in a very typical Piero. It is remarkable that you have chosen to portray the holy, which generally emphasizes his youth, in advanced old age and full of wisdom that is reflected in his countenance. San Juan is the year of the Apocalypse, but in the harshness of his features discover the old fisherman from Galilee. The richness of the embroidered tunic and red mantle, his own apostolic hierarchy, in contrast to the bare feet of the pilgrim. Concentrated reading of the word, holding the book firmly and with strength, and seems to expect the imminent death calmly.
The collection includes three works by Vermmer , which is a miracle if we think that in the world, renowned Vermeer spend just 30. The largest, and perhaps the best known, is the famous Mistress and maid. A picture that has deep psychological reading. The difference in rank between the two characters is reflected in many details, starting by the varying quality of the dresses. However, the reason for the letter expresses the intimacy that exists between them and a degree of confidence. The drama of the scene is accentuated by the always superb handling of light from a source that remains invisible. A strange windowless Vermeer.
The other two by the same author are smaller, but equally suggestive. Both, this time with the typical high windows, represent, as well as common, simple scenes of everyday life of his time. The one I liked of the two is the girl who smiles softly at her suitor ( Officer and Laughing Girl ), which appears in a seductive stance and transmitting security, but in the shadows. One can imagine the bold tone of the officer, who tells the young adventures in distant lands, as suggested by the beautiful map hanging on the wall. However, a second reading might suggest otherwise, she is the one that dominates the situation and the officer in the shadows is the one in trouble.
The last Vermeer is a marvel of spontaneity. Narrative of a breakdown, suddenly, the music seems to have stopped at that moment ( Girl Interrupted at her music ). The teacher still remains trapped in the lesson, but the young student, more given to distraction as belonging to her young age, looks directly at us surprised. There seems to be someone just where we stand, a third character invisible in the box. Vermeer's works are small, but always evocative story of everyday life.
The San Francisco of Giovanni Bellini is a striking picture of a generous size, but at the same time worked with the precision of a thumbnail. As is common in the author's work, there are a lot of allegorical detail, a beautiful landscape and a great use of color, which protrudes into the bluish rock that looks like ice cave. Anyway, what most struck me was the general climate surrounding the painting, the quiet waiting for the saint who seems confident to receive the miracle of the stigmata and the total indifference of the surrounding environment. The world goes on ignoring the action of God, and although the title of the work refers to the desert, this seems more psychological than geographic. The place where the action takes place over a desert suburb.
As I learn from my phone, Forge of Goya seems to have been bought by Frick in his capacity as employer of the metal and as a tribute to the origins of his fortune. Perhaps has seen a summary of the work being done in their factory, as there is in painting a celebration of coordinated movement, necessary to all production. The three men who appear on the web depend on each other: the strength of powerful young back who hits the concentrated firmly holding the hot iron and the old man bellows blown with a spiritual dimension to work.
Another allegory of work, in this case more commercial side of industrial production, is marked by particular effectiveness of the two large canvases faced to Turner, representing the bustle of two major European ports, the river and very commercial Cologne in Germany, and maritime and fisheries Dieppe on the Channel, the French bank. Both have a light golden hazy appearance that is so typical of the work of Turner.
Turner also, I liked the Mortlake Terrace and irresistible summer morning air is sensed in an atmosphere where the day quietly preparing. One day it takes to start, as always happens in the summer, and you can imagine in its peaceful development. Another landscape that was me too suggestive, and which looks similar to above, is the Salisbury Cathedral, his compatriot John Constable . One of the many versions of this issue to execute the great English landscape, a contemporary of Turner.
The collection also features a large number of portraits of various authors, which would take too long to refer in particular. The Rembrandt about (one of the most famous of his many self-portraits) of Velázquez, Goya , the San Jerónimo of El Greco, dressed as a cardinal of the Renaissance, the young and enigmatic Knight Bronzino, the mysterious Countess Haussonville painted by Ingres , and the classic Washington of Stuart.
addition, Mr. Frick liked the idea of \u200b\u200bbringing characters in pairs, we see that he was interested in contrasts. In this line are the two gentlemen of great Tiziano and the couple painted by Frans Hals .
Finally, we leave the room Fragonard and his very famous stages of love , where it is told in a series of six panels of various vicissitudes of two lovers in the court of Louis XV, in a flowing rococo, particularly in the context of a generous nature, adorned with pieces of classical statues and vases .
All the rest of the day was devoted to cross the Central Park , starting with lunch at one of its features hills, where we bounced back after last week's intense in the Frick.
The first thought that comes to me is in reference to his heavy use, making it constitutes an example to the public space. It is an enormous amount of people who go to this place magically disappear all kinds of differences. The park is a place that unifies and placed on an equal footing with those who use it with great freedom and at the same time with enormous respect for the neighbor. Are those places where it seems that the coexistence of men can no longer be a dream.
The sheer size and variety of the park offer many possibilities, ranging from contemplation to active sport, where it stands out above all an intense aerobic activity.
The design is outstanding merit in her long extension. It seems incredible that it has been decided at a time when the city was little more than a village. The will reserve an area of \u200b\u200b340 hectares in the middle of nowhere speaks of an urban vision that borders on the prophetic. The planning is a discipline that shines when it can rightly imagine a future, and why it is so rare today, when dominated by apocalyptic visions. It seems that the enormous energy (necessary, on the other side) that the man spends close to preserve the existing possibilities to imagine a tomorrow that is not that of the catastrophe.
Another success of the project, by Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted , is the strong choice made in favor of the pedestrian. Success is even greater in a society before the car. A complex system of bridges and changing levels makes the park you can go almost without interruption. The whole is seasoned with a rich altimetry. Next to enter is lost relative to the edges and the height of the surrounding streets and you find yourself in a completely different just a few meters left behind. Surely take full advantage of terrain differences, which contrasts with that experienced in other parts of the city, which is mostly flat.
landscape is very varied and quite rightly combines wide plains surprisingly open fields with wooded areas and wild. Naturally intertwined paths suitable for walking trails with intermediate speed zones (bicycles, jogging, etc.) and with the cars that usually circulate at another level. Several times during our walk we lose our direction, but finally with a map that we provided in Castle Rock, began to move more safely.
There are some isolated points of attraction, but none appears to be of interest superlative: the named Castle Rock, the sailboat pond with statues alluding to Lewis Carroll's Alice the Great Lawn and Great Lake small , near the huge lake of Jacqueline Kennedy Book on the north side. Undoubtedly, the variety of the park and especially the people are the best ride.
In principle, the relationship of the park over the city seems problematic, given that they are located in parallel, based on the narrow island lengthwise into two. Anyway, this obviously feels uncomfortable in the functioning of the city, gives much of its character. Among other things, the mythical "rivalry" cultural between the two banks in which it is divided is a seasoning that adds substance.
lying on the west side, we visited the curious Strawberry Fields, which commemorates the place where John Lennon was murdered on December 8, 1980. A simple mosaic floor with the caption "Imagine" in the middle, partially covered with flowers that are left on the floor as a tribute. In the ambient air of quiet repose and an atmosphere that is something religious, even a recollection that we would like sometimes in our churches. Then we return to the south, while never leaving the west bank that offers magnificent views of the lake, illuminated by a perfect sunset. We
dedicated to replace some high forces and look at the vast variety of aerobic population, which includes almost all existing types in the human race. Leaving the park by the angle Southwest, in Columbus Circle , governed by the small statue of Genoese who turns his back to the park and leave for later the opposite angle. The day ends with an angry sunset that is reflected in the windows of the twin Time Warner Center, which also will visit another day.
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