Washington D.C.

A beautiful glimpse in Washington D.C., New Year's Eve, National Gallery of Art: It seems as if the landscape has grown only in order to accommodate Ginevra di Benci, painted by da Vinci (the only da Vinci in the U.S.). Check in comparison another, totally different relation between background and foreground in El Greco's Laocoon:



The background, so at least it seemed to my staring eyes, is being formed at the very moment of the composition, in order to integrate, or rather not to integrate the foreground. This was one interest and focus during our visit today. We were disappointed not to find the Cézanne room but four out of his six paintings, which were supposed to be on display, scattered in this impressive museum, the National Gallery of Art. And there were many surprises, pearls that emerged unexpectedly, like Correggio's Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine:





Happy New Year, dear friends.
PS: I also like the American Landmark Theaters. We watched Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method" (to be screened in German cinemas under the misleading title: "Eine dunkle Begierde", whereas not the desire is here at stake, but the method). I would prefer a more "European" direction though, with more content on the dialogue and the hot debates between Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, beyond what we read in wikipedia. The film was fine nonetheless.
Back to Plato and Aristotle and my seminar on the concept of pleasure. I could not have wished a better start for 2012!