Art Time

-

This past Friday we had the pleasure of visiting the Ashmolean Museum. There was so much to see (in fact, I'm pretty sure that I didn't see everything) and all of it was fascinating. There was a heavy focus on art from antiquity and from Medieval Asia, and less of a focus on post-Renaissance European painting, which was an interesting curation choice. Most art museums focus pretty heavily on Renaissance and more recent pieces, but most of the art at the Ashmolean fit the vein of archeology rather than art. The curators also addressed the origins of their art quite well, and acknowledged the colonial past of Britain as well as Oxford specifically in acquiring the artifacts that they display. All of the art was really wonderful, but one of my favorites were these hydrangeas.


There was also a fascinating 19th century painting of Jerusalem which I found to be interesting.

And what's a visit to an art museum without at least one severed head painting?

-Tobin Gold


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Quiet Moments

-
Image
       When I'm at home, all I do is walk. I'll feel that I've been sitting too long, throw on an album, and just explore. I think that I must have acclimated quickly to Oxford because that's exactly what I've been doing here. It has made this little community feel more like my own. I'm starting to find joy in recognizing my way around: turn left at the family owned Thai place, continue past the grocery store covered in scaffolding, take a moment to admire the university press, and jolt across the median before the light turns red again, finding yourself next to an old brick wall with foliage growing over it. This last week, my tutorial lined up perfectly for me. My tutor had to change our meeting location, and it happened that we met a block away from The Ashmolean library, where we were going as a group later that day. I woke up early, and I began my walk, accompanied by  Animals  by Pink Floyd. I walked into a cafe I had never noticed before and ordered an es
Read more

From Romans to Bridgerton: The True Bath Experience

-
Image
On Saturday, June 26th, the class took a field trip to Bath to see the Roman baths! The baths were very ancient, and it was cool to see how they were restored to a more modern-day glory (minus the roof. The roof is just gone).  Unfortunately, there was no time to enjoy a luxurious spa day. After the baths, Tobin, Sam, Cole, and I hiked up to the Royal Crescent, and that’s where my Bridgerton filming locations scavenger hunt began (I would highly recommend watching the hit Netflix series “Bridgerton”). The Royal Crescent is a massive apartment complex, a hotel, and hosts a museum in the NO. 1 apartment (home to the Featheringtons in the Bridgerton series).  After the crescent, I went to Beaufort Square, a charming outdoor space in a quaint little neighborhood. Funny enough, when I was watching the show, I wondered where that shot was located and hoped to see it one day. And after going down a side street to avoid some crowds, I literally ran into it! However, I did get a few looks from
Read more

Tutorials!

-
Image
Well, our time in Oxford is already nearing an end! In fact, today is the last that I'm meeting with my tutorial professor.  It looks like none of my classmates have spoken about the tutorial process yet, so I figured that today is the perfect time to quickly explain it.  Before arriving in Oxford, I was asked for a few ideas for a specialized course in my field that I'd like to focus on.  Then, before I knew it, I was here! A few days later, I was matched with a professor to study my second-choice topic: the neuroscience of dreaming.  (I know it sounds nerdy, forgive me. I'm a STEM major.) The tutorial itself is a one-on-one meeting between you and a professor, where they assign you a reading list and an essay prompt each week. Then you write a ~1500 word paper to present for your next meeting, rinse, and repeat.  It's a bit of a blur honestly– the tutorial combined with our Shakespeare course is more weekly writing than I've done in years.  That's not to say i
Read more