Museo de Arte Moderno de México, Mexico City, Mexico

This is such a gorgeous musem. It is among the biggest museums of its kind in Latin America, witn an extraordinary collection focuses on the evolution of modern art in Mexico, especially with the Mexican School of Painting and the Breakaway Generation. In the equally beautifulChapultepec Park, the museum is housed in two circular buildings with two floors each and divided into four halls, and a gallery. You walk in and are immediatelywowed by how spectacular the design is. A remarkable sculpture garden connects the two buildings. The Xavier Villaurrutia and Carlos Pellicer halls allow visitors to admire the museum’s considerable permanent collection. This includes works by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, and Frida Kahlo, among others. Other halls are used for temporary exhibitions which display parts of the museum’s collection curated under varying themes and topics. These exhibitions often reach some considerable international notoriety. The MAM plays an important role in research and investigation related to modern and contemporary art. Having opened in 1964 with an exhibition of works by Rufino Tamayo, the buildings were completed based on a design by the architects Pedro Ramírez Vázquez and Carlos A. Cazares Salcido of the University of Sonora. They worked in collaboration with Rafael Mijares Alcérreca. The main body of the museum takes an organic form, curved in parallel to the Paseo de la Reforma. It was intended to respond to the landscape and surrounding undulating trees. It’s also, importantly, always been understood as a highly modern capstone to the country’s modernization process. Having been designed, built, and opened at the very peak of the Mexican economic miracle, also part of the museum's story.

The Gelman Collection, Museo de Arte Moderno de México, Mexico City

The Gelman Art Collection is take your breath away amazing to behold. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. More on this museum later, but man oh man this is worth the trip to see. Here is a bit about the reason it hasn’t been available for public viewing: For the first time in 20 years, the Gelman Collection, perhaps the best private collection of modern Mexican art, is on view at the Museo de Arte Moderno (MAM) in Mexico City. The 68 objects that make up the temporary exhibition have been locked away since the death of Natasha Gelman in 1998. In the intervening decades the collection has become the stuff of legend here in Mexico, with whispers of the murder in 2013 of the notary who witnessed Natasha’s contested will; suits and countersuits over the means by which an elderly and diminished Mrs Gelman came to leave her Riveras, Kahlos, Tamayos and Izquierdos to a relatively unknown curator in New York named Robert Littman; and the disappearance of a large group of pre-Columbian treasures from the Gelman apartment in New York, whereabouts still unknown.

We were lucky to see the Chester Dale Collection of largely Impressionist Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Diego Rivera painted his portrait as well) years ago and this gives me the same feeling of awe. The Gelman’s lived with these treasures.

Casa Azul, Frieda Kahlo Museum, Mexico City, Mexico

The Frieda Kahlo Museum is the blue house where she was born, died, and spent most of her life within these walls. It is a gorgeous space and it is filled with some of her possessions, some of her clothes and jewelry, and some of her art. A hard to beleive fact is that as many people visit this museum as do the National Museum of Anthropology, a museum that encompasses the history of Mexico. Frida’s father, Guillermo Kahlo – Hungarian-German by birth – had the house built in 1904. The historian Beatriz Scharrer, “in the style of the time: a central courtyard surrounded by all the interior rooms, and the exterior totally French.” The home was the meeting place for many of the great personalities who lived or met with Diego and Frida. Among them, Leon Trotsky, Henry Moore, Remedios Varo, and André Breton.

The kitchen has been preserved in its original condition, and remains an important part of the entire house. All the objects within it, including dinnerware and cookware, reflect the impact of Mexican culture on the artists’ daily lives. It is very beautiful in itself and it was very cool to visit. I bought tickets well in advance and if you think you want to go, so should you.

Maison de Vicor Hugo, Paris, France

I read both Les Miserable and The Hunchback of Notre Dame when I was a teenager, my era of doing deep and thorough dives into the classics, and love Victor Hugo as a result. When I was looking for a museum that was small and hopefully not too crowded and not too far from our hotel for a recent Paris trip (I was trying very hard, maybe too hard, to avoid being jousled as I was less than two months past a shoulder replacement--I did not want to give up the trip, but also didn't wan an unforced error), this one was suggested. This intimate museum is located in the southeast corner of beautiful Place des Vosges. Stroll around the square to number 6 and look up to the second floor to see the windows where Hugo once lived. The buildings surrounding the Place des Vosges were inaugurated in 1612 in honor of Louis XIII’s wedding to Anne of Austria, and they’ve always been a fashionable address in Paris. Victor Hugo moved into an enormous 3,000 square foot apartment in October 1832 with his wife Adele, and it is here that Hugo wrote much of his most famous work Les Misérables and many other important works. The entire building was converted into a museum dedicated to Hugo’s life and works, and is now managed by the City of Paris. Inside the museum, visitors can explore a reception hall with family portraits, a salon (my favorite room) with an impressive collection of Chinoiserie, or Chinese style art and design, a family dining room, and Hugo’s bedroom with his original writing desk. Hugo’s creativity and passion extended well beyond writing, and the museum displays some of his drawings and the Gothic-style furniture he designed. It’s such an unique experience to be so close to where Hugo lived and to see the moments of daily life frozen in time. Hugo had the unusual preference to write standing up, and you can see how high his writing desk was compared to a nearby chair--ahead of his time. I very much enjoyed this and it takes very little time to see thoroughly and completely.

Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Kanazawa, Japan

The National Craft Museum was moved from Tokyo to Kanazawa, but was closed when we were there—luckily we were able to see the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, which has an excellent permanent display of Kutani pottery.

Kutani ware is a pottery produced in the Kaga region of Ishikawa Prefecture, with a history spanning over 350 years. It is characterized by the heavy brilliance of the five colors of navy blue, red, purple, green, and yellow that are applied to the bold and daring lines. Its long history has evolved through the tireless efforts and enthusiasm of people who have sought innovation while maintaining tradition. These are Edo era mostly but this type of pottery is still made in this region.

Sumida Hokusai Museum, Tokyo, Japan

I love the Japanese Edo era woodblook prints, as did the impressionists, who I also love. This museum has just the works of Katsushika Hokusai. He moved dozens of times, but he was born in now Sumida-ku now and spent much of his life there. He also wrote some pieces of ukiyo-e of this area. This museum has collected only works of the artist. He is most famous for his wave print, and I love his Mt. Fuji series, but we saw depictions of courtesan life. These were produced in huge numbers and were hugely popular during the Edo period (1615 – 1868). They are known as ukiyo-e, and depicted scenes from everyday Japan. Ukiyo-e literally means 'pictures of the floating world'. The 'floating world' referred to the licensed brothel and theatre districts of Japan's major cities during the Edo period. Inhabited by prostitutes and Kabuki actors (Kabuki is a traditional Japanese form of theatre), these were the playgrounds of the newly wealthy merchant class. Despite their low status in the strict social hierarchy of the time, actors and courtesans became the style icons of their day, and their fashions spread to the general population via inexpensive woodblock prints.

The Water Museum and the History of Sanitation, Buenos Aires, Argentina

This is also known as El Palacio de las Aguas Corrients, or the Palace of Running Water, and it is spectacularly beautiful inside and out. In the mid-19th century, Buenos Aires was experiencing massive population growth and several epidemics, including cholera and yellow fever. So the city decided to fix the water supply. It took 7 years to build, finiahws in 1894, and it contains 12 water tanks (provided by a Belgian firm) with a total capacity of 72 million liters of water. The style of this building is quite eclectic and is yet another example of the upper classes of Argentina fancying everything European. Almost everything was pre-fabricated in Europe. There are over 300,000 tiles making up the exterior of the building, each individually numbered to enable easy placement. In addition to being a water and plumbing museum, it is also where you go to pay your water bill.

Benito Quinquela Martín Museum

Benito Quinquela Martín was a painter of ports. This arts museum in the heart of La Boca was donated to the city by the artist--he is the man responsible for the bright colours of La Boca neighbourhood. His intention was to create an educational and cultural centre in the neighbourhood. As I learned from reading a biography of the city, Buenos Aires did not have an exceptional port. The river is too shallow and it was never the thriving port of other Latin American cities--but because of the enormous wealth coming out of Potosi in the form of silver, there was money to be made and and the port thrived despite it's failings. The museum's collection is representative of the history of Argentine art and features several key figurative artists working from the late 19th century to the present day. It houses the largest collection of Quinquela Martín’s oil paintings and etchings in existence, all completed between 1922 and 1967. There’s also a unique collection of ship figureheads, and, on the terrace, a display of Argentine figurative sculptures. Temporary exhibitions are held in the Sívori room, and on the third floor, the Casa Museo Benito Quinquela Martín exhibits some of the artist's personal possessions.

Thanjavur Art Gallery, Thanjavur, India

Thanjavur Art Gallery, located in the Thanjavur Palace has an exquisite collection of ancient sculptures and coins. It is officially called the “Raja Raja Chola Art Gallery” and locally known as “Thanjavur Kalaikoodam”. These bronze sculptures of Hindu Gods and Goddesses range from 9th century A.D to 19th century A.D. Some very unique deities and saints can be seen. Early Indian lifestyle, their clothing, ornaments and even hairdo are carved in these statues. I really enjoyed the sculpture on display here.

Artifacts are placed in a hall which used to be the Kings’ royal court (Durbar Hall). The walls and the ceiling of Durbar hall are ornamented with paintings and statuettes. Even the pillars and arches are decorated with fascinating scenes from Hindu epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. The highlight of the art gallery is the collection of stone sculptors and bronze idols that belong to the Chola period, Vijayanagara period and later periods. There is so much to see here that it is easy to get overwhelmed!

Hayward Oubre

I saw this exhibit this fall at the Birmingham Art Museum--which is free to the public--and really loved it. Oubre is best known for his work with an everyday material—wire coat hangers—which he used to create modernist masterworks. While living in Alabama and North Carolina, he made art in his vanguard style. These artworks fuse his lived experience, wide-ranging interests, and art historical influences in compositions that range from realism to pure abstraction.

Oubre shaped art in the United States not only as an innovative artist, but also as a distinguished educator at two prominent Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He served as the first chair of the art department at Alabama State University (ASU) in Montgomery, from 1949 to 1965. After leaving ASU, Oubre established the art department at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) in North Carolina, building on the legacy he established at ASU. When he retired in 1981, he had taught and created art for more than forty years, educating generations of Black artists.

Rembrandt Etchings, Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec, Québec City

It was a rare treat that we saw-- the Rembrandt Etchings from the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen were on view when we were in Québec City this past summer. Rembrandt was profoundly innovative and revolutionized the art of engraving. He adopted a resolutely experimental approach and developed the process to the utmost. Like Dürer, Goya, or Picasso, Rembrandt is regarded as one of the greatest engravers of all time. He produced some of the most celebrated works in the history of the medium and his impact on the discipline is still relevant today.

Rembrandt produced 300 engravings between 1625 and 1665 and 80 of them were on view. Most of the works are etchings, a complex technique in which the image is etched on a copper plate using an acid. For Rembrandt, etching was a full-fledged art form equal to painting that he researched passionately throughout his career. Moreover, almost all of his prints are original works independent of his paintings. The exhibition encompassed all the topics that Rembrandt broached. His self-portraits reconstitute the artist’s biography while his religious prints propose a unique, spectacular interpretation of the Bible. His landscapes reveal an artist of exquisite sensitivity. His portraits and genre scenes display the full diversity of Dutch society at the time. The exhibition also allowed visitors to see Rembrandt in his historic period and environment as a resident of Amsterdam, a thriving, cosmopolitan city and brilliant hub of intellectual and artistic life, and an inhabitant of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, one of the great European powers of the 17th century. It also reveals the vagaries of the artist’s personal life, including the painful loss of loved ones and the serious financial difficulties that darkened his final years.

Paris 1874 Inventing impressionism, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France

150 years ago, on April 15, 1874, the first impressionist exhibition opened in Paris. “Hungry for independence”, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Morisot, Pissarro, Sisley and Cézanne finally decided to free themselves from the rules by holding their own exhibition, outside official channels: impressionism was born. To celebrate this anniversary, Musée d’Orsay presented some 130 works and bringing a fresh eye to bear on this key date, regarded as the day that launched the avant-gardes. It was stunning, so beautiful as to be almost overwhelming, and when the museum emailed me several says after I returned home with the question "did you see everything?" (wanting me to consider museum membership as a means of rectifying that) my reply was that I saw almost none of it, I just saw this amazing feast of color and talent.

In the museum's own words: What exactly happened in Paris in that spring of 1874, and what sense should we make today of an exhibition that has become legendary? “Paris 1874. The Impressionist Moment” seeks to trace the advent of an artistic movement that emerged in a rapidly changing world. “Paris 1874” reviews the circumstances that led these 31 artists (only seven of whom are well-known across the world today) to join forces and exhibit their works together. The period in question had a post-war climate, following two conflicts: the Franco-German War of 1870, and then a violent civil war. In this context of crisis, artists began to rethink their art and explore new directions. A little “clan of rebels” painted scenes of modern life, and landscapes sketched in the open air, in pale hues and with the lightest of touches. As one observer noted, “What they seem above all to be aiming at is an impression”.

Musée National Gustave Moreau, Paris, France

Gustave Moreau first rose to fame with the exhibition in the 1864 Salon of his Oedipe et le sphinx, though, from the 1880s onwards, he increasingly shrank from public exhibition. This enormous house in Nouvelle Athens with soaring ceilings, which had been his childhood home, became his increasing focus during this period of his life. In 1895, he commissioned the young architect Albert Lafon to convert it from hôtel particulier into a museum including a dedicated gallery space, private domestic quarters and studio. The latter extended over the second and third floor, connected by a small staircase, providing space for hundreds of paintings and thousands of drawings.

In 1897, Moreau decided to bequeath the house and its contents to the French nation, in the hope that its preservation in total would 'allow the public to appreciate the culmination of the artist's lifelong work and labour'. When it opened to the public in 1903, the Musée Moreau had in its collection some 14,000 works. The museum appears today much as it did then, and includes a major collection of paintings by Moreau. If you prefer architecture over paintings, all the more reason to tour this spectacular space.

Vietnam Ethnologic Museum, Hanoi, Vietnam

With a population of about 86 million people Vietnam comprises 54 ethnic groups: the Viet (Kinh) which make up 80-85% of the population, and 53 minority groups. Many of these include numerous local groups. The language of ethnic groups in Vietnam is also diverse with five linguistic families: - Austroasiatic - Thai - Kadai - Hmong - Yao - Sino - Tibetan - Austronesian Each ethnic group has its own cultural identity while still sharing certain similarities. The culture of the ethnic groups is a continuity of tradition, of mutual exchanges and mutual influences across and within national borders but also regionally, especially the influence of China, India, and Southeast Asia. Traditionally, most of the groups rely on wet rice agriculture or swidden farming, combined with raising poultry, collecting, hunting, and fishing; handicrafts (weaving, forging, making pottery, carpentry) and on commerce of different levels. Most ethnic groups consider the village as the most important social unit; however, village organization, house styles, family, society and religious traditions are diverse. Beliefs of spirituality and remembering ancestors are the basis for many ritual activities of the majority of ethnic people. Only 25% of Vietnamese identify with a religion, with half of those identifying as Buddhist, and then Catholicism a distant second. Above is a Bahnar communal house.

Viet House—Originally this house belonged to a wealthy family who lived in the early 20* century in Tho Loc commune, Tho Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province. Mrs Hoi's family's main house, built in 1906, had 5 rooms including a living room where they received guests, worshipped ancestors, and the head of the household's space. This room was passed down to Mrs Hoi's eldest son, then to her grandson and great-eldest son. The ancestors! altar was carved with stylized flowers, dragons, and phoenixes. Chinese characters are engraved on the walls and along the beams and lintels.

New Zealand Te Papa Museum, Wellington, New Zealand

The museum name, 'Te Papa Tongarewa', translates literally to 'container of treasures'. A fuller interpretation is 'our container of treasured things and people that spring from mother earth here in New Zealand'. This replica of a waka taua (war canoe) called Teremoe once belonged to Te Reimana Te Kaporere and Matene Rangitauira, leaders from the upper Whanganui River. They had become involved in Pai Marire, a Māori religious movement committed to the defence of Māori territorial and political independence. Its followers were popularly known as Hauhau. Teremoe had a crew of up to thirty. As well as being used for warfare, it was also used as river transport and as a fishing canoe.

In 1864 and 1865 Teremoe took part in battles on the Whanganui River between Pai Marire and their lower river relatives who were loyal to the government. The first was at Moutoa Island, when Pai Marire used Teremoe to carry their dead and wounded from the battlefield. The second was at Ohautahi, where the prominent Whanganui chief Hoani Wiremu Hipango was killed. The waka did another tour of duty later in 1865 when Pai Marire besieged the garrison stationed at Pipiriki. By 1869 the breach within the Whanganui iwi had been mended, and the Pai Marire and kawanatanga (government) sides, led by Major Kemp, worked together to chase guerrilla leader Te Kooti from the upper reaches of the river.

Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, New Zealand

This is the best art museum on the south island, and of all the museums we went to on our recent trip to New Zealand, it is the one that has the most contemporary art. Some things were so recent that the paint was barely dry! The building itself is as contemporary as the art--it has a glass dominated fascade that curves much like the Avon River, which flows through Christchurch, containing 9 galleries. It is a work of art itself. The Māori name, Te Puna o Waiwhetū, relates to the life-giving properties of the artesian spring on which the Gallery is built and the museum's role in contributing to the cultural wellbeing of the community--the no defunct university campus across the street has several spaces that have been repurposed for artists to create and show their work.

The emphasis on New Zealand, with its mixed Maori and European heritage, is very clear and interesting to behold. All signs are in both Maori and English--it reminded me of Canada, where roughly 20% of the nation is French-speaking, but throughout all signs are bilingual. About 18% of New Zealanders identify as Maori, and many do not speak Maori as a first language, but it is a way to keep Maori alive, as well as celebrated. This was a great introduction to art in New Zealand as well as a lesson on how to embrace a diverse heritage in a former colony.

Roman Sculpture, Museo Correr, Venice

The Correr museum houses a collection of Canova sculptures. This style of sculpture is something that I never seem to tire of seeing. Antonio Canova was born in Possagno in 1757, at the foot of the Treviso Prealps to a family of experienced stonecutters. He received his technical training from his grandfather and the workshops of skilled late Baroque sculptors between Asolo and Venice; it was not long before he met members of the more modern and influential circles of Venice and it was there that he began to develop his fundamental classicist direction and received his first commissions.

With Orpheus and Eurydice (1775-76) – statues in soft stone that were originally on the pillars of the villa gate belonging to Senator Giovanni Falier in Asolo – the sculptor barely eighteen years old, completed his first evocative large-dimensioned sculpture, revealing he was still under considerable influence from the painting style of the Eighteenth century. This changed immediately with his first sensational masterpiece Daedalus and Icarus (1777-79) [in the next room 6/3], which enabled him to go to Rome and finish his training. He made his name once and for all as the most advanced and skilled sculptor in Rome with the creation of the Funerary Monuments to Popes Clement XIV (Basilica dei SS. Apostoli, 1783-87) and Clement XIII (the Venetian Carlo Rezzonico in Saint Peter’s, 1783-92).

Museo Correr, Venice

This is quite the place. It is situated in the ex-Royal Palace in Piazza San Marco, across from the San Marco Cathedral, so part of a full day in this neighborhood. The design and initial building date from the years when Venice was part of the Kingdom of Italy (1806-1814) of which Napoleon was sovereign and his stepson, Eugene de Beauharnais, was Viceroy. The site had previously been occupied by the San Geminiano Church – an ancient foundation that had been rebuilt in the mid-16th century by Jacopo Sansovino – and ran between the Procuratie Vecchie and Nuove, the two long arcades of buildings which extend the length of St. Mark’s Square and had housed the offices and residences of some of the most important political authorities of the Venetian Republic.

The Venetian painter Giuseppe Borsato worked on the interiors decoration, producing a personal and very careful interpretation of the Empire style, clearly influenced by the French architects Percier and Fontaine and the Biedermeier style that then prevailed in most of the major royal courts of Europe. The frescoed ceiling of the Main Staircase – showing The Glory of Neptune – was painted by Sebastiano Santi in 1837-38. The building has maintained many of the distinctive features of the Napoleonic and Hapsburg periods; neo-classical influence in architecture, decor, frescoes and furnishings make it an important record of the culture and style of a period. Here, the refinements of French taste go together with an interest in the traditions of Italian Art.

Palazzo Ducale, Venice

This is recognized as a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. The Doge’s Palace is an impossing structure composed of layers of building elements and ornamentation, from its 14th and 15th century original foundations to the significant Renaissance and opulent Mannerist adjunctions. The structure is made up of three large blocks, incorporating previous constructions. The wing towards the St. Mark’s Basin is the oldest, rebuilt from 1340 onwards. The wing towards St. Mark’s Square was built in its present form from 1424 onwards. The canal-side wing, housing the Doge’s apartments and many government offices, dates from the Renaissance and was built between 1483 and 1565.

One thing that is clear walking through this building that has been renovated and added on to multiple times is that the Doge was in charge. He had the government, the judicial branch, the censors, and the spiritual component of Venetian life all on his property under his control. The building is stripped of almost all it's furnishings, but the ceilings more than the floors and walls ooze with oppulence. Howeverm when the Republic fell in 1797, the role of the palace inevitably changed. Venice was firstly subjected to French rule, then to Austrian, and ultimately, in 1866, it became part of a united Italy.

Matisse in the 1930's, Philadelphia Art Museum

This exhibit is at the Philadelpohia Art Museum and will be there until the end of January. A large portion of it comes from the Baltimore Art Museum, so if you miss it, head down the coast to Baltimore in a year when they will all be there, but in the meantime learn about Matisse in America! Here is from the museum website: By 1930, Henri Matisse had achieved significant international renown, yet he found himself in a deep creative slump. The turning point came with a commission to decorate the main gallery of the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. The resulting monumental mural, The Dance (1930–33), turned Matisse’s artistic practice around.