Artfully done or art fully done.

While tropical storm Hanna has been a bust - I didn't die eventhough I failed to fully prepare by buying extra toilet paper and gas as the government e-mail suggested - the storm did keep most people at home and provided me with a preium parking spot directly in front of the door to the National Gallery. This is why I live here. I can drive 15 minutes, park on the street, run into a museum and see an exhibit and then pop home. Love it! So I finally, FINALLY got to see the Afghanistan's Hidden Treasures exhibit which closes tomorrow at the NGA (wipes sweat off brow). It was good. I'm glad I didn't miss it. Afterwards, I swung by the Calder room and then headed by to see the Da Vinci and the Flemish and Dutch art. While I still love archaeological exhibits, like the afghani one, I'm becoming increasingly fond of paintings of people... I'm finding there are certain artists and periods which had a highly skilled hand in painting things that can still be related to today. I adore paintings that look like real people - in which you can sense their personality, almost hear how they laughed - they really don't look like people who have been dead for 300 years. I appreciate things where I can feel like I can connect with those who came before me. For instance, this painting by Frans Hals at the National Gallery

He totally looks like a guy that I dated briefly in college.
Then, I just found this on Hals Wikipedia page...

I don't know about anyone else, but I SWEAR I walked past that guy at the Renaissance Festival the other day. He looks fun to hang out at a pub with. I'd like to go see that one someday, I think.

Then there's this one at the NGA by Quentin Massys called the Ill-matched lovers.

It threw me for a loop because there are about 15 different common, every-day scenarios that you see in the bars that could result in this picture... until you notice her hand in the lower left handing off presumably a money bag to that evil lookinf jester guy behind her. Now there's two ways I could go with this... A) she just cozied up to him & ripped him off (most likely), or B) that she's really married to him and it's like any modern day scenario of a young hottie who is with a heinous older man because he's her sugar-daddy, and while she's sucking up & keeping him happy, she's also paying off her bookie or drug dealer with the most recent "allowance" she's gotten. Hehe. This amuses me greatly.
Now, one irritating thing is that they have the halls for the 18th and 19th century American and European paintings closed for renovation right now and they put "the favorites" in a tiny hall downstairs. The website is completely remiss as to which paintings are included with the exception of the five most famous. grrr... GRRRR! There was one that struck me as the 18th century Paris Hilton. Thanks to another site, the museum syndicate, I was able to find it. It's the The Marquesa de Pontejos by Francisco de Goya.

Anyway, it was a good afternoon. : )