Week 10: WALLACE COLLECTION

1. Labels

The labels within the Wallace Collection really stood out to me because they were engraved on the frames of the artwork. I thought this was a departure from most of the other museums we have visited, where labels were usually separate from the artwork. Comparing the two styles, I am less fond of the labels engraved on the frames. I thought this method was distracting, and especially for a museum like the Wallace Collection. Everything in the building had a classy, ornate feel to it, yet I felt the labels almost acted as graffiti on the artwork; therefore, I think separate labeling of the artwork would be more appropriate for this museum.

2. Object of Appreciation. 

My object of appreciation from the Wallace Collection is once again a historical painting (surprise!). A lot of the paintings in the collection sort of blended together for me, but The Divorce of the Emperor and Josephine by H.F. Schopis stood out to me because of the subject matter. Instead of another painting of fancy ladies having an opulent picnic in the park (which there were many paintings of), this piece depicted one of my favorite historical soap-opera moments, so I really enjoyed it. Clearly I like paintings of Napoleon, because this is the third one I've included in my blog.

3. Object of Excessive details/ornamentation

There were too many examples of excessively detailed and ornate artwork in the Wallace Collection, so I'm going to choose an entire room to answer this question. The room pictured below was the most gaudy room in the Wallace Collection, in my opinion, for multiple reasons. First, there is the wall color and pattern--neither of which is pleasing to my eye. I cannot imagine having a room like this in my home. Then there is the furniture: everything gold and black, with an unnecessary chandelier to top it off. Finally, the artwork. These pieces are the most gluttonous paintings I've ever seen--lobsters, dead rabbits, grapes, etc. Ridiculous.

4. Favorite Museum

Choosing a favorite museum from this course is difficult because I was able to find something I really enjoyed in each of the locations we visited. If I could only choose one to revisit, I would go the Victoria & Albert Museum. I loved this experience because there were so many different types of artwork to appreciate there. As someone coming from outside of the art world, this was a comfort to me because I felt less pressured into appreciating one type of art. For example, at the Saatchi Gallery, everything was startling and strange. There were such pieces at the V&A as well, but there were also galleries of Middle Eastern art, isotypes, ironwork, paintings, and fashion. I appreciated this variety, and I also loved the building and courtyard.

5. Museum Interest

 I absolutely have a greater interest in visiting museums after taking this course! Not only do I look forward to visiting museums in the U.S. and Europe, but I also am eager to apply the new skills I learned about critiquing museum design as well. Before this course, I never thought critically about the layout, labels, or graphics utilized by museum designers, but now I am really intrigued by it. In addition to learning more about museums and branding, this course opened me up to art more broadly, which I am so thankful for. I was absolutely intimidated by art before this course, and now I feel a bit more confident that I can have my own opinions about artwork, and I don't need to always appreciate something that others hail as a masterpiece. I am so happy to have had a lovely and encouraging professor to help me dive into the world of art :)