My Visit to National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

National Gallery of Art

While visiting Mat's family in Washington, D.C., we ventured out to the  National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. I was thrilled by the collection of Van Gogh paintings in the gallery.

I am next to Vincent Van Gogh's painting. 

The Olive Orchard

1989

oil on canvas

Women tend the trees in the olive grove.

Close up of Van Gogh's brush strokes.

 Van Gogh 

La Mousmé

1888

oil on canvas

Van Gogh told his brother that a "Mousme is a Japanese girl."

He made several drawings before painting La Mousmé.

Van Gogh 

Girl in White

1890

oil on canvas

Close up of  Girl in Whites hands.

 Van Gogh

Roulin's Baby

1888

oil on canvas

Van Gogh painted the Roulin family several times, especially baby Marcelle Roulin. He painted her five times.

 Baby Marcelle grabbing his hand. I wonder why the baby is wearing a ring.

Van Gogh's collection includes seven of his paintings, but only these were on view. 

I was also excited to see Pablo Picasso's original paintings.

 Pablo Picasso

Classified Head

1922

oil on canvas

 Pablo Picasso

Madame Picasso

1923

oil on linen

 Pablo Picasso

The Tragedy

1903

oil on wood

The blue period.

 Claude Monet

The House of Parliament, sunset

1903

oil on canvas

 

Claude Monet

Rouen Cathedral, West Facade, Sunlight

1894

oil on canvas

 Henri Matisse

La Coiffure

1901

oil on canvas

Jackson Pollock

Number 1 Lavender Mix

1950

oil, enamel, and aluminum on canvas

I stared at this painting for fifteen minutes. I was lost in it.

Jackson Pollock

Number 7

1951

enamel on canvas

 I see a human face meshed into a camel's face:P

Auguste Renoir

Odalisque

1870

oil on canvas

I cant imagine how long the details of the clothes took.

Eugène Boudin

The Beach at Villerville

1864

oil on canvas

Eugène Boudin was one of the first French landscape painters to paint outside. What I really liked about this painting is the sky. The colors of the sky are so beautiful.

Chuck Close

Fanny/Fingerpainting

1985

oil on canvas

I had to capture this image because when I passed by it the first time I thought it was a photograph and nothing more,but then when I passed by it again, I noticed that it was not. This is a large-scale photo realistic painting. This artist is severely paralyzed, but yet he does not let anything get in the way to do what he loves.

Louis-Leopold Boilly

A Painter's Studio

1800

oil on canvas

This painting captured my eye because the painting has many objects, but yet the composition intrigues the eye. The light source and the shadowing also fascinated me.

The details in this painting are incredible.

 Circle Of Jacques-Louis David
Portrait of a Young Women in White
1798
Oil on canvas

The flash of the camera cannot capture the beauty of this painting. This painting remains beautiful even with the lines of age.

The gesture of her hands are gentle and smooth. 

Even though you can capture everything with a camera, a realistic painting is still more intriguing. 

 The walk way to the east building was covered with fascinating lights.

 

 Realistic Hands

There are other amazing paintings in the gallery by Paul Cézanne, Gustave Courbet, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. Edourd Vuillard, Camille Pissarro, and many more.

The photos below were taken from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

This is one of the oldest known artist's palettes that was used to paint in the caves.

 These are some of the earliest sculptures that were found thousands of years ago. Its a horse and a figure of a women.

 I had an amazing experience viewing many creative pieces. If you ever get a chance I certainly recommend you visit the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. (Its free)

Thanks for viewing;O)