Portland Art Museum
Ever since our trip to Italy back in 2019, Jake and I have had an affinity for art. Seeing the gold-ground Bible depictions on the ceiling of St Mark’s Basilica in Venice and touring the extensive art in the Vatican and St Peter’s Basilica completely opened our eyes to the ethereal beauty that certain art possesses. We saw breathtaking masterpieces by infamous artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and so many more.
Jake and I had previously been to the Austin Art Museum back when we lived in Texas, but because this was before our enlightening Italy trip, we kind of just skimmed the surface when viewing the art. We didn’t read up on the history of each piece and the experience was kind of like, “Oh, that’s kind of cool. Moving on!”
However, Italy opened our eyes to the intriguing history that each artist possessed. How each piece sometimes influenced entire movements. Learning about the different art styles really made me wish I had paid more attention during my Intro to Art I class in college. My bad!
We had been wanting to check out the Portland Art Museum for some time now. And when I was able to score free tickets, it gave us the push we needed to finally explore some more of our beautiful cities art scene.
Tickets are usually $25 per adult, $22 for both seniors and college students and free for kids under 17!
We arrived at the museum mid-Sunday, and the place was packed!
Built in 1932, The Portland Art Museum is comprised of more than 50,000 art pieces, all aspiring to provoke deep thought. The 240,000 square foot museum is technically comprised of two separate buildings, the other being The Northwest Film Center, which has an underground tunnel that leads between the two. There were actually quite a few levels in each building. We brought Dove in her stroller, so to say we were glad for the extra wide elevators would be an understatement. It definitely made maneuvering around the gallery a lot easier.
We decided to start in the adjoining Film Center in The Modern and Contemporary Wing, and planned to work to make our way back to the main building later. That way to try and avoid most of the crowd, because it seemed like the masses were going through their touring in the opposite order.
We began on level 1 with some of my favorite art styles, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism.
Each of the paintings really made me feel like I was looking into a captivating scene. I felt in that room that I was able to travel the world. One second I was in a vineyard in France, and the next I was in the fields of Germany. And then, I was reminiscing, viewing a villa in a quaint Italian town.
Claude Monet had his oil painting, Waterlilies, on display. As you can see, Dove was very intrigued. LOL.
And yes, she does have clean socks on her hands. My poor little eczema babe has been scratching extra in this cold weather :(
We then moved on to level 2M, The Human I Nature exhibit. This level featured mostly Japanese artists. The art in this room was a lot smaller, and in some cases more detailed, so you could find yourself looking at one picture for a long period of time. I really liked how many mountainous regions were in this room. As well, the depictions of the cherry blossoms in many of the different paintings was quite captivating.
Ever since moving to Oregon, Jake and I have loved cherry blossoms. When Spring comes around, the whole state blooms into pops of varying shades of pink. Ranging from light to neon, cherry blossom trees are everywhere. I really hope to do a family photo shoot this Spring with some of them!
Jake and I have a goal to plant a light pink cherry blossom tree on our property. When Dove was born, we promised each other that we would plant this tree at our home in honor of our precious firstborn. However, we didn’t know that usually you want to plant 1-2 year old trees. So we are waiting for her tree to mature some before we plant it so that it can be the same age as Dove!
There was also a image of one of my favorite Japanese art pieces, Under The Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura) also known as The Great Wave. I used to have this image blown up on a huge tapestry in my living room all throughout college. This picture has always spoken to me, and I know that because of it’s popularity, it has spoken to many others as well.
When Jake and I were in Chicago visiting his family, we toured the Art Institute of Chicago. While there, we were given the privilege of viewing the original woodblock print by Katsushika Hokusai. This piece only comes out once every decade, so that it can stay properly preserved. You see, Japanese woodblock prints are particularly affected by prolonged exposure to light (such as gallery lighting) that will fade their colors and damage the paper they are printed on. It was so beautiful to see The Great Wave in person in Chicago, and seeing this smaller rendering in the Portland Art Museum was really special. Dove even was captivated by it too!
Next was levels 2 and 3 with Contemporary Art!
These pieces contained many bright and bold pieces. The colors were very captivating for Dove. She was especially drawn to the acrylic piece below, No. One by American artist Kenneth Noland.
After touring these levels, we could tell our little one was starting to get tired so we decided to skip Level 4 and head back towards the main building so that we could make sure to see some of the exhibits there.
On Level 1 in the main building we saw the They Come From Fire exhibit by Jeffery Gibson. This exhibit was multidimensional and featured an astounding number of different shapes and colors. This dynamic work was created to celebrate Portland’s Indigenous history.
Then we moved on to Level 2. We peeked in the This is the Future exhibit by Hito Steyerl. However, this exhibit featured many flashing lights, loud music, arresting videos and moving holographic images. It was not a place where I wanted Dove to be, so ultimately we decided to skip it. Which ended up working out just fine, because there was quite the line to actually enter the exhibit area.
On the same level we then moved on to my favorite section, European Art!
Ahh, just walking into the room was a breathe of fresh air. I have a love affair with all things Europe. If I could move overseas, I would in a heartbeat. Alas, for now, I will just dream of one day owning an Italian villa in Lake Como.
A true treat was also being featured in this area. Madonna of the Magnificat by Sandro Botticelli. This round painting (a tondo) is a depiction of the Madonna and Child with angels is considered a masterpiece of both composition and symbolism. Botticelli (1445-1510) was one of the leading artists of the Renaissance, a period of tremendous creativity where intellectuals drew inspiration from both the classical past while simultaneously adopting a more humanistic approach.
“Madonna of the Magnificat (ca. 1483) exhibits a series of harmonious curvilinear forms. The Madonna gracefully bends forward over Christ, embracing him with her arms and torso, while at the left, a standing angel dressed in rich carmine leans lovingly over two kneeling angels, enclosing them with his right arm. The dome of heaven, flecked with gold stars, ensconces the holy scene in a perfect circle. The rose motif of the Madonna’s throne, the fruit in her left hand, and the window behind her further the symphony of round shapes.”
This rarely seen work is a variant of the artist’s celebrated original painting which is featured in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. This piece of genius is highly regarded as one of the finest Madonna and Child paintings of the Renaissance, and was also a high point of Botticelli’s artistic career.
Reading up on the history of the piece that was on display, on loan from Italy, was truly amazing. It really painted a captivating backstory that enabled the viewer to fully immerse themselves within.
We felt like we were back in Italy!
As well, there was this one oil painting in the European room that brought tears to my eyes. Nature’s Fan - Girl with a Child by French artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
To me, it was a depiction of a mother playing with her young child in the grass. They were in a forest of some kind, with the sun shining down on them illuminating the ethereal moment. It was so realistic, from the texture of the bouncy curls on the baby to the creases in the folds of the woman’s bare feet. This painting reminded me of many quiet moments that Dove and I have spent together, enjoying the simple presence of just being with one another. Viewing this piece of art was very moving for me.
Alas, it was finally time to go home and put the little one down for her nap. We had such a great time at the Portland Art Museum. If you are a fan of art, I would highly recommend checking it out. And even if you aren’t the biggest fan of art, this museum would still pleasantly surprise you!
Haha and yes again, Dove does have mismatched socks covering her hands. I mean for real, baby socks are the hardest things in the world to keep track of. I swear, the amount of them that have vanished into thin air is unbelievable! I call it Dove’s special magic trick LOL.
But life is just too short to worry about matching socks, ya feel?!
Anyways, thanks for reading along about our fun art museum outing. I hope you enjoyed!
