We were out with Chris today and decided to head to the Kunsthistorische Museum. We haven’t been there in awhile and it was WAY too cold to play outside.
Here is James saying, “I am cold. Take me off this bush so we can go inside!”
Elora on the other hand thought it looked like tons of fun to sit on top of a bush and told Chris he needed to let her try it. She will always find a way to climb trees and bushes if we let her!
This is my favorite museum in Vienna. I love coming here and just enjoying the building itself. The walls are covered with art, there are sculptures, the architecture is art. It is just wonderful. I am always finding or learning something new. Today I learned that Gustav Klimt painted to paintings above the arches that go over the stairs.
We went to an exhibition today called “Edmund de Waal meets Albrecht Dürer”. Edmund de Waal is a writer and artist who chose pieces from the Kunsthistorische Museum collection and then wrote his thoughts on each piece. Much of his writing invited the patrons of the museum to look closer at each piece and reflect on the questions he poses about the piece. The pieces he chose were wonderful and the kids all really enjoyed exploring this exhibition. And I learned something else new! The items in the pictures are bezoars. Bezoars are found in the stomachs of bezoar goats and llamas. For all the Harry Potter fans out there, bezoars have a history of being known as healing stones and were exquisitely decorated and placed on tables to detect poison. I guess J.K. Rowling did her research! The kids thought this was an amazing bit of information since they all love Harry Potter and have read about bezoars in the books.
Next we headed to the painting gallery and enjoyed looking at some of the paintings. We spent most of our time in the Pieter Bruegel room. The more I look at his work, the more I love it. The kids also really enjoy his paintings and searching through his detailed pictures. Our favorite is the Tower of Babel, but I was impressed with how interested the younger two kids were in looking at each and every one of his paintings today. There are often painters working in the gallery as well, and Elora loves to watch them paint. She loves to study paintings and get ideas for her own artwork.
Elora loved this little bunny with amber eyes and wanted a picture taken of it. Chris took this great picture with the museum in the background and reflected in the case. Marion cried when it was time to leave because we hadn’t seen the Egyptian section which is her favorite. Time to start coming to the museum more often so each of the kids can enjoy their favorite sections!
