Denver Art Museum - Part 2

A view of downtown Denver, Colorado, December 2009 from a Denver Art Museum window.  See Part 1 of my visit to this museum at this link.

Even before I read the title I knew this was a Georgia O'Keefe painting, but had no idea what it was!  Can you guess what it is without looking closely at the sign?  I think I would have hung it horizontally, instead of vertically, as it would have made more sense that way, but on second thought in this position, it almost looks like one of the flowers O'Keefe was famous for painting.

The Denver Art Museum's European and American art collection includes more than 3,000 artworks. It is composed of paintings, sculptures, and prints. The European collection is rich in Renaissance and 19th-century French paintings and includes the Berger Collection of British paintings, on loan to the museum.

 

Two paintings by the Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo. On the left is "Summer" painted in 1572, and on the right is "Autumn" also painted in 1572.  Please click on each painting to enlarge them to see their delightful details.  Each portrait is composed of images of fruits and vegetables!

The museum website says: "During the 1500s, people associated the seasons with stages of human life. Spring stood for youth, and winter conjured up images of old age. Summer shows a man in his prime—a

 man, that is, composed of the ripest produce the season has to offer. In this painting, the different qualities of each fruit and vegetable add character to the face. A row of peas makes for straight, even teeth, and cucumber makes for a bumpy-skinned nose."

Again, there were so many wonderful paintings in the Denver Art Museum's collection that it was difficult for me to choose just a few to show in this blog post, but the following have click-able links with more information about each painting, that I thought you might enjoy:

Claude Monet

Childhood Idyll, William-Adolphe Bouguereau

Three Young Girls, William Larkin, ca. 1620

There were also examples of Modern Art such as the painting by Roy Lichtenstein on the left, and the Mondrian on the right (both will enlarge when clicked on)

The Modern and Contemporary art collections contain more than 4,500 works in a wide variety of media, with an emphasis on both internationally known and emerging artists. The collection includes photography, from 19th-century landscapes to the work of contemporary photographers.

Fox Games, Sandy Skoglund

"Garden Party On the Terrace of a Country Home" --Folding Screen -- Mexico City - circa the 1700s

 
The Denver Art Museum's collection of Spanish Colonial paintings, silver, Santos, and other art objects represents much of Latin America, including Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, and the southwestern United States is extensive. For information about the Mayer Center for Pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial Art at the Denver Art Museum, visit the Mayer Center link. 
 

 
One of the paintings in the collection is the beautiful "Madonna and Child with Bird," by Ignacio Chacón which was used as a United State Postal Service Christmas stamp in 2006, which I also showed on my Christmas post.  (click on to enlarge)
 
 

Virgin of Guadalupe, Sebastián Salcedo, 1779

Hayagriva mandala, monk-artists of Sera Je Monastic University, India

The Denver Art Museum's  Asian Art galleries are devoted to the arts of China, India, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, Tibet, and Nepal. Two changing galleries, the William Sharpless Jackson Jr. Gallery and the Sze Hong Gallery, feature exhibitions drawn from the museum's holdings and other Asian art collections.  Asian Art was one of my favorite exhibits, as the museum's collection was extensive and unlike any, I've ever seen.

 

 

Shiva, King of Dancers (Shiva Nataraja)

Guanyin

 

Hanuman South India 1800's

 

The Storyteller's Box

Japanese Suit of Armor and Helmet, circa the 1700s

 

The Denver Art Museum's Architecture, Design, and Graphics collection number more than 4,000 works. The museum’s diverse collection encompasses a broad range of design practices, including architecture, decorative design, graphic design, industrial design, and functional craft.

I wish I could have taken this antique desk home with me!

A work of art.....or not?

This photo is a view of the Colorado State Capital building from one of the museum windows.  Reality becomes art in this impressive museum! 

I hope that you enjoyed this little tour of some of the many wonderful exhibits in the collection of the Denver Art Museum and that you will make it a point to visit it if you visit beautiful Denver Colorado

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