“Put your hand in mine and let us help one
another observe ever more closely.”
- Claude Monet to his friend Georges
Clemenceau, Prime Minister of France
Currently
on display at the Art Gallery of Ontario is Mystical
Landscapes: Masterpieces from Monet, Van Gogh and More (Link). It is a stunningly beautiful and
contemplative collection of paintings from art galleries around the world.
Brilliantly curated by Katharine Lochnan, Senior Curator of International
Exhibitions at the AGO, the ninety paintings are a feast for the eye and a
meditation for the soul. Two weeks ago, I spent two hours staring in awe at
these masterpieces.
Each of the
paintings – from Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night over the Rhone’ to Claude Monet’s
‘Water Lilies’ – is a summons to the inner journey. I look forward to seeing
the exhibit again before it leaves for the Musée d’Orsay in Paris on January
29, 2017.
And the
exhibit got me thinking…
In my own
humble photographic journey, I have noticed that most of my images focus on the
world of small, telling details and vibrant oddities. There are very few
landscapes that take in the grand sweep of nature. With that in mind, I set out
one warm autumn morning last week to explore the muted landscapes of November.
The images
that follow were all photographed along Huff’s Island Road and adjacent Marsh
Road in Prince Edward County. With the exception of one passing truck, I had
the area to myself for ninety glorious minutes. Similar to my experience at the
AGO, I was called to silence by the beauty of the landscape. Enjoy.
A side
note: Mary Hynes interviewed the AGO’s Katharine Lochnan recently for her CBC
Radio program Tapestry. It makes for
wonderful listening. Here’s the link.
I'm drawn to this place also. Lovely, the way you record it. Larry. Did you venture down the Marsh Road? I kept thinking the road would disappear at any moment.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Yes, I did drive along Marsh Road and shared your fears about the road! Ironically, given that I was born in Prince Edward County seven decades ago, I had never driven along these roads before. One of my goals will be to revisit at least once per season to record the evolving landscapes. No doubt Marsh Road will be flooded in the spring.
ReplyDelete