Philadelphia Museum of Art

A very impromptu visit was to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  We decided to drive into the city and see if/where we might find a parking space and there, across the street, was the perfect spot.  This was a first visit for us.

The museum was originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and administers collections containing over 240,000 objects including major holdings of European, American, and Asian origin.

If you've seen the movie Rocky, you surely remember Rocky running the 72 stone steps as he trained for a fight with Apollo Creed, the World Heavyweight Champion.  The scene is widely considered one of the most iconic in the history of modern films.  Tourists often mimic Rocky's famous climb, which has become a metaphor for an underdog rising to a great challenge.  Today was no exception.

Waiting to make the climb - phones ready!

Before we started our climb, we stopped at the bronze Rocky statue at the bottom of the steps.

And then it was time to climb.  

Halfway point

We are not really art "fans" but it was nice to see some of the pieces we've either seen in photos or read about.  

Sunflowers 1889, Vincent van Gogh, Dutch, 1853-1890, Oil on canvas

When Paul Gauguin visited Van Gogh in Aries in September 1888, he discovered two paintings of sunflowers - one with a yellow background and the other a turquoise background - decorating his bedroom.  Van Gogh was fond of the humble, cheerful flower and created these ambitious compositions to welcome his friend.

Following Gauguin's departure, Van Gogh returned to the sunflower motif, painting this version from memory in January 1889, giving each bloom its own personality and richly worked texture, causing Camille Pissaro to marvel: "Vincent's flowers look like people!"

The Four Seasons, 1893 (Spring), 1894 (Summer, Fall, Winter), oil on canvas

Leon Frederic, Belgian, 1856-1940

With obsessive attention to detail, Frederic envisions the seasons as four prancing children.  Enveloped by flowers and fruits, they absorb the earth's energy (spring), sow seeds (summer), gather a harvest (fall), and fall asleep (winter).

Shot Orange Marilyn, 1964

Andy Warhol, American, 1928-1987, Acrylic and screen print ink on linen

Renoir worked longer and harder on this lighthearted bathing scene than on any other painting in his career.  Over three years, he made numerous studies for the figures in an effort to resolve their poses, settle the complex web of limbs in the center of the picture, and refine his approach to line and contour.  Expressing satisfaction with the final composition, he dubbed it his "masterwork."

The Great Bathers, 1884-1887

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French, 1841-1919

Oil on canvas

An air of mystery pervades this wintry forest landscape.  Dressed in festive carnival costumes, a couple stands in front of barren trees, their figures seeming to shine from within rather than from the light of the moon, which has left the forest in darkness.  An unexplained face peers out from the empty hut beside the figures, and an unexpected streetlamp glows strangely nearby.  

Known for his fantastic scenes, Rousseau was a self-taught artist whose works appealed to adventurous collectors and artists like Pablo Picasso.

Carnival Evening, 1886

Henri Rousseau, French 1844-1910

Oil on canvas

The Cubist concert has been discussed as a symbolic remembrance of lost prewar friendships among Picasso (as the trickster figure Harlequin playing a violin on the left), the deceased poet and critic Guillaume Apolinaire (as Pierrot, depicted in the center with a recorder or clarinet), and the poet Max Jacob (as a Franciscan friar holding an accordion at the right), who by this time had become estranged from the artist's circle.

It is probably also an acknowledgement of three composers with whom Picasso had recently collaborated on the productions of the renowned, innovative Ballets Russes dance company.  No single interpretation suffices.

Three Musicians, 1921

Pablo Picasso, Spanish 1881-1973

Oil on canvas

The museum also houses the armor collection of Carl Otto Kretzschmar von Kienbusch.  This collection was bequeathed by the celebrated collector to the museum in 1976, the Bicentennial Anniversary of the American Revolution.  The holdings are comprehensive and include European and Southwest Asian arms and armor spanning several centuries.

The four medieval European swords in the front row of this case are exceptional, both for their superior state of preservation and for the fact that they can be dated fairly precisely.  Unlike most surviving medieval swords, these were not excavated, but rather come from armories in which they had remained for centuries.  The Arabic inscriptions on their blades record that they entered the arsenal of the Mamluk sultans of Egypt and Syria in Alexandria in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

These crossbows were made in Austria c. 1470-1500.  They are made from wood, horn, birch bark, paper, flax, cord, leather and steel.

This hall was covered with tapestries.

This tapestry shows the Sea Battle between the Fleets of Constantine and Licinius.  It was designed in 1632-1636 and made in 1633-1637.  Central scene designed by Pietro da Cortona, 1596-1669.  

What is happening in this tapestry?  Emperor Constantine's navy, marked by crosses on the top of his military standards, advances from the left.  The fleet of Emperor Licinius, bearing eagle-topped standards, is losing smoke bellows over its vessels and in the right foreground one of its ships begins to sink.

There was so much to see but one more thing caught our eye as we left the museum.

This bronze monument portrays the nation's first president, George Washington, in his role as commander in chief during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783).  The allegorical figures on the pedestal represent Washington's era in American history.  The groups arranged around the lower level show Native American people as well as animals and plants of the period.

The monument was donated to the City of Philadelphia by the State Society of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania, a group of descendants of Revolutionary War officers.

Washington Monument, 1897

Rudolf Siemering, 1835-1905

More on our visit to the city in my next post.

Valley Forge

One item on Ron's bucket list has been to visit Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, the site of the third winter encampment of the Continental Army.  We missed it the last time we were on the east coast so we made sure to plan for it this time.

Continental Army troops under George Washington's command were encamped at Valley Forge from December 19, 1777 to June 19, 1778.  Washington chose the site for the encampment because it was between the Second Continental Congress in York and supply depots in Reading, and close to Philadelphia, the revolutionary capital that the British occupied following the Battle of Brandywine and the city's fall.

The encampment was one of the most trying moments for the Continental Army during the war, but they also used the encampment to retrain and rejuvenate.  The shared hardship of the officers and soldiers of the Continental Army and the military training provided are considered a turning point in the Revolutionary War.

We spent some time in the Visitor Center for an overview of the area.

Quite a display on the medical tools used.  Can you imagine?

Amputation knives cut through the flesh of the limb to expose the bone for the amputation saw.  Amputation was often deadly due to infection and the lack of antibiotics.

Army surgeons used amputation saws to cut through arm or leg bones.  Surgeons removed limbs after battlefield injuries or to prevent spread of diseases like gangrene.

It was interesting to learn about smallpox and immunizations.

An extensive display of the weapons used in that time period.

And then we got in the truck and started our drive around the area.

On December 19, 1777, 12,000 soldiers and 400 women and children marched into Valley Forge and began to build what essentially became the fourth largest city in the colonies at the time, with 1,500 log huts and two miles of fortification.  The encampment was as diverse as any city, and was made up of free and enslaved African American soldiers and civilians, Indigenous people, wealthy officers, impoverished enlisted men, European immigrants and speakers of several languages.

It was time to move on the Washington's Headquarters, also known as the Isaac Potts House, which is one of the centerpieces of the Park.  The house was built by Isaac Potts, a Quaker who operated a grist mill nearby.  George Washington, and later his wife Martha, occupied this house from Christmas Eve 1777 until June 18, 1778.  

Washington conducted the army's business in an office on the ground floor during that period.

This room was used by his staff during that time period.

The bedroom that George and Martha used.  The majority of the furniture in the house is period pieces but not necessarily the original furniture.

And the other bedrooms.

As with many homes in that time period, the kitchen was separated from the main house in order to keep the heat out of the house in the summer and to eliminate the possibility of a house fire.

The house became part of a state park in 1893 which was given to the people of the United States by Pennsylvania in 1976.

Of course, there was a statue outside memorializing George Washington.

Another interesting statue was that of  Anthony Wayne.  During 1774 Wayne was the chairman of the Chester County Committee and the deputy of the Provincial Convention.  In 1787 he was a member of the Pennsylvania Convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution.  

During the encampment, George Washington relied heavily on Wayne's leadership, saying "In Wayne the spark of daring might flame into rashness, but it was better to have such a leader and occasionally to cool him to caution than forever to be heating the valor of men who feared they would singe their plooms in battle."  Wayne's duties included recruiting replacement soldiers and providing clothing for the men of the Pennsylvania line.

On to see the National Memorial Arch.  The monument honors the arrival of General Washington and the Continental Army.  Construction of the structure began in 1914 and was dedicated in 1917.

I loved seeing the American flag through the arch.

Next was the Washington Memorial Chapel.  The chapel was built in 1903 to serve two purposes.  The first is as a tribute to George Washington and his service to our country.  It currently serves as a wayside chapel for the visitors of Valley Forge National Historical Park.  The second purpose is as the home for the Episcopal parish that worships at the chapel.

The inside is beautiful.

The Justice Bell (The Women's Liberty Bell, also known as the Woman's Suffrage Bell) is a replica of the Liberty Bell made in 1915.  It was created to promote the cause for women's suffrage in the United States from 1915-1920.

This memorial caught my attention.

I scoured the plaques looking for "my" patriot, Ashbel Waller from Connecticut.

Darnit, he wasn't there :-(

A nice view of the lobby as we exited.

What wonderful history at Valley Forge.  I'm glad we were finally able to check this bucket list item off.