It's been several years since I visited the museum, and it was my Mother's Day request, so Mark also came with me. He was mesmerized by a semi-scientific exhibit that showed different species and their symbiotic relationship. I go for the classics: Arthur Dove's "Cloudy Day" continues to be a favorite and there is (still, thankfully) an exhibit that includes this glazed terra cotta (1440, Florence, Italy) by Lucca Della Robbia, a favorite of the De Medicis. A new painting that moved me was a portrait by a female artist (I should have written down her name but it was later that I realized how this portrait stuck with me) and her "story" inspired" my short reflection below:
I sit beside Renaissance paintings
that tell stories from the Bible, the Aenaid and other ancient texts.
There is also a map of Mexico City,
sketched after the fall of the Aztecs.
A daughter,
forbidden by her father to attend the court
of the King of Spain,
painted a goldsmith, his eyes glinting with greed.
Dying before her thirtieth year,
and never called "artist",
her father grieved over her dried brushes and palette.
So many stories hang on museum walls,
all for the price of admission.
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