Inspiration from Art, or, Why I Love Museums

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

The old adage says a picture is worth a thousand words.

The same is true for a house, a sculpture, even an old necklace.

Museums are a treasure trove of ideas. When I’m at school, I’ll spend hours wandering the corridors of various museums, notebook in hand. A damaged Sphinx provides a line of poetry. A painting inspires a scene or brings back memories (I have a fondness for Saint Sebastian after the Uffizi Gallery, so every painting of him I see reminds me of Italy).

When I was in high school, I often flipped through my massive European History text. One painting (I wish I could remember who painted it) caught my eye, specifically one individual. It was a painting of an Italian family, huge and varied in ages. Towards the back there was a young man, staring out at the viewer. Captivated, I later wrote a few scenes about him, alas, they came to nothing.

I always want to know what happens in the dark corners of paintings and photographs, or what has just been interrupted. Telling the stories myself is a lot of fun.

2 thoughts on “Inspiration from Art, or, Why I Love Museums

  1. Mmm, nice.

    I love wandering museums with my iPod on–helps distract from the crowds–with no timeline or anyone waiting on me.

    I’m not a huge Dali fan, but there’s one sketch of his, for St John on the Cross, which blows my mind. Never saw such a beautiful rendering of Jesus–he sketches him vulnerable, human…not the usual. and from the angle of God looking down on him. Not about him towering over man, but of him weak.

    I love it, and I have to say I’m not a huge Jesus-in-art fan.

    The Uffizi…they had a lot of Boticelli’s there, right? It was uber dark inside when I went…

    Like

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