El Greco To Velazquez

This past Wednesday, my mother and I went to a wonderful exhibit at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts - El Greco to Velazquez. See this exhibit if you can. It doesn't end until Sunday, July 27th, so you still have time to get there.

If you're a member, you get at least two tickets for free. I have the individual membership and my mother and I attend several exhibits a year for free. The membership really ends up paying for itself. Plus there is a discount at the MFA stores and restaurants.

The art that you will see is from the Reign of Philip III. Seeing this exhibit is like reading a good book. I'd like to guide you through the exhibit and describe it in detail, but part of the joy of it is experiencing the surprises yourself.

The curator for this exhibit did an outstandingly superb job. He or she seemed to take extraordinary care in selecting each piece, the lighting and making everything flow in a way to have the maximum visual and emotional impact. This is one of the best exhibits I've ever visited.

*Updated 7/23/08* I finally got around to reading my PREVIEW MFA BOSTON magazine and saw that Ronni Baer and Sarah Schroth are the curators for this wonderful exhibit.

There is a holiness to the exhibit. I felt like I was in church at certain points and found myself saying little prayers and feeling spiritually overwhelmed. Part of it is that there is a great deal of religious art. If you remember this post, you'll know why I feel a special connection with Saint Theresa. Sometimes it really is about the little things in life that make a big impact.

Also, I'm not even Christian, so my feelings really surprised me. But being in the presence of what brings you close to the divine surpasses our human labels about belief. Holiness just is. I wish I could express this in a better way, but I guess my spiritual vocabulary is lacking.

After the exhibit, we went to the museum shop and found some really nice things. I found some pretty napkins and a trivet that you'll be seeing in some food pictures and this cookbook called Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain, by Penelope Casas. I cannot wait to try some recipes! Also, there was some really nice stationary and paper.

Part of the reason I may have been feeling overwhelmed too is that my mom is having more surgery tomorrow. If any of you could say some prayers, they would be very much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

*Updated* Thank you for your prayers! The surgery went well.

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