National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon - Sculptures, paintings and tapestries pertaining to the Museum's permanent collection; temporary exhibition - Ivory Coast masks and carved stool - The 21st of October 2017

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I kept on strolling around the various exhibition rooms, not necessarily looking for any sculpture or painting in particular though stopping to admire those that caught my attention the most. The morning ended up being a very interesting one, despite the fact that I have visited the Museum several times before.

 

15th century alabastar St. Catherine sculpture - Nottingham, England.

1475 polychromed limestone St. Catherine sculpture - Carved in "M"  monogram (left). 1460 polychromed limestone St. Catherine attributed to João Afonso (right).

 


1450 polychromed limestone Archangel St. Michael attributed to João Afonso (left). 1325 polychromed limestone St. Peter attributed to the workshop of Évora (right).

1475 polychromed limestone attributed to Diogo Pires-o-Velho

Cherry wood with gilded, textile and polychromed traces St. John the Evangelist - Iberian Province workshop. In the Portuguese Art produced during the transition from the Romanesque to the Gothic period it was quite common to see the representation of the Calvary with Christ on the cross flanked by the Virgin mary and St. John the evangelist as witnessed to the death of the son of God. In this representation the dramatic nature of the Saint is expressed in the gesture of the Saint as he supports his face on his hand expressing his innermost pain and suffering.  The schematic nature of the volume and the graphic work of the garment folds are still connected to the Romanesque-type of representation, whilst the vertical nature of the represented figure is closely tied to the idea of the column type of statue and its adaptation to sculpting architecture.

 

 

Tryptych of the Holy family with angels  - 1520-1525 oil on oak by unknown Nederlandish master painter. 

St. Francis receiving the stigmata - 1475-1500 - Tempera on pine wood panel by Valencian unknown master painter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flight into Egypt - 1765-1770 oil on canvas by Giambattista Tiepolo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acts of mercy  - 1600-1650 oil on oak panel by Pieter Brueghel the Younger.

 

 

Portrait of Dona Isabel of Portugal in the style of half length portraits dating  from the 16th century - Oil on wood panel.

 

Merry company - 1663-1665 oil on canvas by Pieter de Hooch.

Winter landscape - 1868 oil on canvas by Gustave Courbet.

Battle of Issus and the clemency of Alexander the Great when facing the family of Darius III - Mid 15th century oil on poplar wood panel by Apollonio di Giovani.

 

 

 

 

I must say I was particularly impressed with the two magnificent tapestries I managed to partly photograph.

Hercules ' fight with the Centaurus  -  1530-1540 Wool and silk tapestry - Manufactured in Brussels (left). Wool and silk tapestry "Painting" from a painting by Jean Restout - 1740-1760 Gobelins Factory - Cozette workshop (right)

Bete mask made of wood, natural fibres, horns and teeth of wild animals, Glé (Krou group) - late 19th century - Northwest and West of Ivory Coast (left).  Mahout Mask, koma made of wood, natural fibres, horns and teeth of wild animals - 19th century - Northwest and west of Ivory Coast (right). 

 

 

 

 

Baulé stool, Bia (Akan group) late 19th century - Ivory Coast.

(To be continued)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The latest films I have watched ...

 

The three films I have watched lately have led me into different worlds and realities from the ones we are used to in the West, but more than that made me ponder on complex issues such as family loyalty, self-sacrifice, self preservation, loss and the realization that very often life does clearly not align with one's idealized expectations.

 

 

Despite the harsh reality conveyed there's an immense beauty in the way each of these films approaches the main issue, whether it is in an Hasidic Orthodox Jewish family in Israel, a Nomadic tribe in Iran or across the borders  from Iran into Afghanistan. 


They are all slow-paced, delicately well acted and mostly "woven through" layers of  expressions, small moves, gestures and silences. If on one hand every main character in each of these films is a "prisoner" of a visible or invisible veil, I as a viewer became "hooked" onto what good filmography is (should be) by the time I finish watching them ... 

Each of these films deserves (needs) to be watched more than once because of the importance behind every word which has been said and  the hundred ones omitted. The wide cultural  and socio-political digressions conveyed by these alternative films, from the hardships women face under the Taliban regime to the Iranian tribal hand knotted rug ("Gabbeh"), whose weaving tells a story and the mysteries of Purin celebrations or Shabbat meals, have made me want to further immerse myself into getting to know more about these worlds. 

 

Strolling around Faro ...

My tight working schedule at the airport didn't allow me much time to freely stroll around Faro but in the evening. Despite being tired I made an effort to move about within a fairly limited city perimeter rather than throw myself onto the hotel bed and anticipate my sleeping hours.

 

 

These city "ventures" took me to the Church of Venerável Ordem Terceira de Nossa Senhora do Carmo area, where both the Third Order church and the one close to it were closed, as well as the marina to watch a beautiful sun set over the bay. 

I finally managed to visit the interior of the 18th century Venerable Third Order of Our Lady of Carmo the followind day, despite having had just twenty minutes to stroll around its premises before it closed. I must say I was rather impressed  by the altarpiece carving of the main chapel and the surounding chapels showcasing examples of the most significant art pertaining to the "Joanine" period in the Algarve. I still had time to look at the Chapel of the bones, whose walls are said to have been covered with bones collected from the adjoining cemetery. 

 

 

The last day saw me exploring another area, where the churches and chapels I came across were (as it would be expected) closed.

 

Artistic creativity ...

Some street Art never ceases to impress me. If I am to be honest, not all graffitis touch me but I keep on coming across some real creative ones, which I can't help being drawn to. Amongst those, the stern looking African man, whose eyes seemed to follow me as I walked away from his representation must have been the most powerful one I have recently seen, though many of the others impressed me for different reasons altogether, such as the colour tones or even the way they took over the once colourless space.

 

May artistic creativity keep on pouring out to feed the drought of our daily existence ...

 

The latest film I have watched ...

Omar has touched me profoundly. As according to a Huttington Post critic it is " a master-piece, multi layered, touching and wonderfully complex". It is in fact much more than a Palestinian drama and  an incredible love story under harsh circumstances. It touches a lot of issues from betrayal to honour and in my most humble opinion deserves to be watched more than once, so as to be thoroughly savoured. I can't help mentioning that the actors' performances are second to none despite the fact that most of them are fairly unknown actors, apart from maybe Waleed Zuaiter.