Heaven should be like a museum - revealing two exquisite and niche museums in New York

Perhaps the best place to learn about a city’s past and present is at a museum. Every museum has its own temperament, just like every cultural relic has a story. I am also a museum lover. Every time I travel, I have to first check which museums are worth visiting in the destination. Several years of study abroad experience in the United States has allowed me to visit some well-known museums, and I was also fortunate to participate in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Youth Arts Project. Here, let’s put aside the reputation and scale of the museum for the time being, and introduce to you two niche museums that you have always loved - the Morgan Museum and the Frick Collection Museum.

New York is one of the cities with the highest concentration of museums in the world. More than a hundred unique museums are like a set of huge cultural magnets, firmly absorbing people's spiritual world. If you are just a passing visitor, then you must go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met), which is known as one of the four major museums in the world, you must go to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOMA), which is the leader in modern art, and you must go to the rich European museums. The Guggenheim Museum has a collection of modern art. However, if you want to find a quiet and quiet place in Manhattan to waste your time, some relatively niche but still high-quality museums should be your choice. , the first thing I want to recommend is the Morgan Museum, a "Renaissance treasure" located in the city center.

Architecture★★★★★

Abundance★★

Interest★★★

Aesthetic value★★★★

The museum is located at the intersection of East 36th Street and Madison Avenue in midtown Manhattan. It was built by the Morgan family and was originally J.P. Morgan's private study. I think this must be the quietest place on Madison Avenue where luxury goods are gathered. The wood-carved ceilings from England in the 17th century, the priceless religious paintings from France, Italy and the Netherlands, and the centuries-old angel candlesticks are all so beautiful. It is rare that the museum is classically elegant, gorgeous but not extravagant. Money and materials compose a moving movement of humanity and art here. You can see paintings by Monet, Renoir, and Rembrandt; manuscripts of music scores by musicians such as Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach; the first movable type printed Bible inlaid with gems, European rare books with gold foil, and stone-engraved scriptures—it’s like time. All the time travels are condensed here. Morgan's study is the most beautiful room in the museum, with red velvet walls and European church-style stained glass. It mainly collects famous paintings and sculptures from the Renaissance.

In fact, the building of the Morgan Museum itself is an amazing work of art. Its appearance adopts a simple classical design, with pink marble as the exterior wall. The main entrance is in the sixteenth-century Roman style with round arches and double columns. The indoor rotunda and library vaulted ceilings match this style, using variegated ancient marble inlays to emphasize their textures; they also contrast with lapis lazuli columns and porphyry floors, which are magnificent. The museum has therefore been hailed as "a model of American interior decoration."

The Morgan Museum will hold a variety of special exhibitions, and the first time I went there was just in time for the special exhibition of "The Little Prince". The exhibition presents the precious original text of "The Little Prince" as well as the author's letters, photos, etc. Those manuscripts covered with cigarette burn scars that have been repeatedly deleted are precious invitations to take you to appreciate the process of outlining the pure fairy tale world and to relive the pure touch of that day. Saint-Exupée shone with some clean light, and even the way he disappeared was so strange. He mysteriously disappeared during a flight mission. "The most important things can only be seen with your heart." At that moment, the fairy tale in my heart and the castle-like museum merged into one. People have to admit that the prosperous age is quick to decay, but art is eternal.

The following are three features that should not be ignored when visiting from a personal perspective:

The Morgan Museum is first known for its rich collection of sketches. Its collection of creative drafts, sketches and complete drawings is close to 10,000 pieces, covering a wide range of drawings and prints from the 14th to the 20th century. There are many masterpieces among them. Works by Blake, Degas, Durer, Gainsborough, Rubens, Watteau, etc. are all in his collection; One of the most famous and proud collections is Rembrandt's drawings and etchings. It is said that both quantity and quality are second to none in the country. Rembrandt's etchings are small in size, but their engravings are delicate and vivid, and their treatment of light is as mysterious and charming as his oil paintings. Even a print as small as the palm of your hand has the atmosphere and structure of a masterpiece.

Recommend manuscripts from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The Morgan collection spans ten centuries and includes 1,300 medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and papyri. The most eye-catching item in the Americas in terms of quantity is the Bible manuscripts from the ninth century. These manuscripts have neat and dignified handwriting, well-proportioned pages from beginning to end, meticulous attention to detail, and are equipped with colorful illustrations. The most exquisite part is the jewelry inlaid on the hard cover. Those ancient gem decorations are gorgeous but not kitsch, and have a solemn and sacred feeling.

Finally, there is the stunning ancient seal.

The ancient seals in the Morgan collection are actually the smallest and most exquisite sculptures. The cylindrical seal is only one inch high and is made of stone. Patterns of figures, beasts or ornaments are carved around the columns, many of them narrative images. Its special feature is the "inverted engraving", which is not only the expression of lines, but also the depiction of volume. If the seal is rolled on a clay-like substance, the printed image will be as clear and vivid as a relief. These images can be traced back to the phenomenon of human life before the Era. One instrument enters the soul, and the immortal thoughts are accumulated in the years of tempering.

I remember that "The World" once wrote, "Above all concrete, abstract principles exist with a sneer." I don’t deny that specificity is always important. But sometimes, believing in a few abstract principles can save your life. This is like thinking about how to build a church to be strong and beautiful, which is respectable, but more importantly, it should be thinking about how to bring people closer to heaven. So we need to have the ambition to occasionally break away from the concrete and then concretize abstract principles.

With a tiger in your heart and a scent of roses, here is the perfect combination of the vastness and subtlety of art, and it is also the best form to concretize abstract principles in the name of art.

How pure your heart is, how free your thoughts are. I hope that no matter how old we age or how much experience we accumulate, we can still be “pure in heart and evergreen.”

(2) Frick?Collection Frick Collection

Architecture★★★★★

Abundance★★

Interesting★ ★★

Aesthetics ★★★★

The section east of Central Park on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan is called Museum Mile. In addition to the giant art institution like the Metropolitan Museum, the avenue also has several museums of different sizes. South of the Museum Mile, at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 70th Street, the Frick Collection has an inconspicuous front entrance. Entering the museum, the golden light dazzled your eyes. It was early in the morning, there were not many tourists, and we were instantly transported to the era when the wealthy businessman Frick lived.

Everything about the Frick Collection is exquisite and expensive. This neoclassical building was built in the 1910s by steel tycoon Henry Clay Frick. Frick was a crazy painting fan who liked to buy high-profile items at auctions. Frick decorated his mansion with purchased paintings, which he personally selected and assembled. Each room had a different theme. After dinner, he was in a daze looking at the paintings in the room. Unfortunately, shortly after moving in, Frick suffered a heart attack and passed away. In addition to oil paintings, Frick also purchases top-quality Chinese porcelain to match the paintings. It is said that people in the early years criticized Frick for being too obsessed with painting. The main reason why he moved to New York from Pittsburgh was because he was worried that the industrial pollution there would affect the preservation of his paintings. His obsession and huge wealth support determined the richness and exquisiteness of the paintings he collected throughout his life.

Architecturally, the renovation of the Frick Collection from a residence to a museum in the 1930s was a successful example. The renovation plan not only expanded the exhibition space on the basis of a unified style, but also created a central fountain. Such a masterpiece has become the soul of the entire building. The architect is also the designer of the famous New York Public Library. In addition, the layout neither according to art schools nor art eras makes people question the academic museum display paradigm. In terms of paradigms, the National Gallery of Art in Washington is extremely clear, and it is like a complete review of art history; the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s exhibitions are holistic and complete and solemn; the Metropolitan Museum of Art is astonishing in size, but due to the density of exhibits it should take a week. Let’s take a look at each collection slowly; the layout of the Barnes Foundation is very bizarre, and the collection is uneven, but there is an interesting juxtaposition; while the Frick collection is extremely exquisite, showing the splendid temperament of a mansion in the Gilded Age. I often wonder, do people today really need an orderly clue when visiting museums?

The famous Dutch national treasure painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring" was temporarily exhibited here. Against the dark background and the side light, the girl's delicate skin and clear eyes melted into the light. . The painter's great emphasis on lines and shapes gives the characters extraordinary accuracy and profundity, and he does not overemphasize colors, getting rid of the extreme splendor of the Rococo period in the 18th century, creating an elegant and noble inner beauty that reflects the ancient Greek and Roman style. The artistic pursuit of "quiet greatness" during the period. It is true that modern photography lighting tutorials were born out of classical oil paintings. I think if there had been "Vogue" in the 19th century, the cover girl would have looked like this.

The gurgling sound of the indoor garden spring is especially suitable for reading. In addition, I highly recommend the Frick Collection Library, which has a very exciting and rich collection of art history. It is located in a mansion on the Upper East Side facing Central Park. As long as you have a photo ID, you can get a free library card. Imagine reading in a palace-like place, listening to the sound of the garden spring. Gurgling. There was no crowd, no flashing lights, no noise, it was as quiet as an ordinary house. After pushing the door open, it was still quiet, with a few tourists cautiously buying tickets. This was completely different from the lively atmosphere of a metropolitan party.

Perhaps it was the private atmosphere of the residence that made everyone behave themselves unconsciously. Outside the pavilion window of the ticketing hall is the owner's outdoor courtyard, with a pond of water lilies in full bloom, which is quiet and a little Zen-like. The layout of the rooms is still the same as before, and the explanatory pictures are also marked according to the original functions: nursery, dining room, living room, etc. The floors are exquisite oak floors and gorgeous carpets, the fabric sofas are also embroidered with famous paintings, and all the furniture The furniture, lamps and accessories are all luxurious and elegant, showing the owner's wealth and artistic taste.

Furniture, porcelain, enamel, sculpture, and the most famous are oil paintings. Among them, the most impressive ones are "Portrait of Baroness Housenville" and "General and Smiling Girl". The former is so delicate and vivid that her tranquil gaze seems to be omnipresent and the shimmering luster of her satin dress is within reach. In the latter, the bright sunlight shining on the girl through the window makes you sigh again and again at its wonderful light and shadow effects. Such a private collection owns four oil paintings and many sketches by Rembrandt, including the most famous "Self-Portrait" created in 1658. The brass-like loud texture seemed to give the room a heavy metal tone. It is said that there are only more than 30 extant works of Vermeer in the world, and the small Frick Collection owns two. Ingres, Renoir, Titian, Grico, Hals, Fragonard, Boucher, Constable, Turner and other famous artists in the history of European art are hung in rows like this. On Frick's wall. The works of Boucher and Fragonne give people a lively impression of glitz and glamour. These works, because they reflected the flashy life of European royal families and nobles, were also favored by the emerging aristocracy of the United States. When visiting, I couldn't help but sigh that these paintings seemed to be tailor-made just for this room. The power of a tree, the fragility of a flower, the sheltered space in the woods and the shock of the vast grassland were not "hanging" on the wall, but It's painted on the wall. There are too many details that I want to remember, often running out of memory and only retaining one frame.

Looking around, there are countless sparkling colorful gems, and the ancient king is holding flowers on the wall and smiling. In the middle of the empty palace, there is still a throne carved from sandalwood, which is covered with white sand. The long and dark corridor is full of exquisite light and shadow games. People in it seem to have touched the yellowed marble window panes carefully, looked out from the rose holes solidified in the marble, and covered their palms with their palms. The smell of dusk covered half of the windows. The leaves seem to meet the people in the painting through the heavy smoke of time.

Yes, wait until everyone disperses and the surroundings become quiet, then you can see every trace of flying dust in the clear light.