PHILADELPHIA

Today, Friday, we rode the train to Philadelphia so we could visit the Barnes Collection and other art and historic sites.

The above busts of Ben Franklin are NOT from the Barnes.  They are in the lobby of our hotel.



Saturday morning we headed off to see the Barnes Collection.  Access to the Barnes is tightly controlled.  The reason is because the new Museum recreates the rooms, spaces, art works, and the "ensembles" in which they were previously arranged by Dr. Barnes.  The previous housing for the works was a large residence.  Therefore, the copied, recreated rooms are not full museum size that are seen in most art museums.

At this point I must mention that there's a really interesting story about how the Barnes Collection came to be, how it was intended by Dr. Barnes to be used, and how it now is a public museum.  The story is too long to tell here but I suggest you visit the following websites.

Website for history of Barnes Collection...

The Barnes Foundation's official website...

The story is so fascinating that a documentary was made and it is quite enjoyable...

Visiting the Barnes was a total success.  Upon entering the first room the magnitude and quality of the paintings is breath taking.  Everywhere your look, paintings found in textbooks are on every wall.

The sheer number of Cezannes, Renoirs, Matisses, Picasos and other worthy painters becomes numbing and overwhelming.  Traveling to Philadelphia to visit the Barnes is a worthwhile trip.
We then went to the Rodin Museum.

The Rodin Museum's website...

The Rodin has the largest collection of Rodin's works outside of Paris.

Information about the Rodin Museum...

The Burghers of Calais and Bill

The Three Shades (Ghosts) from the Gates of Hell

The Gates of Hell.

The Kiss

Now, I want to show you something remarkable.

Look at the way the fingers engage with the flesh of the woman.  It is static, clumsy, and not realistic.

Several years ago we visited the Borghese Gallery in Rome.  The most stunning work I saw there was by Bernini.  At the age of 23 years, he did the most remarkable pieces of art I've ever seen.

Another point to consider... Rodin worked in clay and could change and redo all he desired.  Bernini worked in stone and when a piece of stone was removed, purposely or not, it remained removed!

Look at the following site and see a master's work.  Enlarge the picture and then run through the included photographs.

Bernini did this work showing flesh when he was 23 years of age!




Today, Sunday, we spent almost 5 hours at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  It was a pleasant surprise.

They have a good collection and items are displayed well.  In the European sections the pieces are placed into rooms of homes, estates, castles, churches, etc.  So, the paintings are displayed in a very natural setting.



Today, Monday, was our day for visiting some of the historic sites in Philadelphia; specially,  the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and the Delaware River.

The Liberty Bell showing the crack with light shining through it.

"The bell was originally cast in 1752 in London, England. It was commissioned as a bell for the Pennsylvania State House (now called Independence Hall).

The Crack: The bell first cracked during a test ringing. After cracking, the bell was recast twice in 1753 in Philadelphia by John Pass and John Stow (the old bell was broken up and melted down, more copper was added to the metal alloy to make it less brittle, and the bell was re-cast).

The restored bell was probably rung at the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia (on July 8, 1776). It rang to announce many important events in early American history, including Presidential elections and deaths.

The bell cracked again on July 8, 1835, while being rung at the funeral of John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The crack's dimensions are 24.5 inches long by 1/2 inch wide."

This is the site for Independence Hall from the National Park Service...

Following our tour of Independence Hall we found ourselves outside in a square behind Independence Hall.  We noticed another smaller building immediately adjacent to Independence Hall named Great Essentials.  We went in and found an extraordinary display of documents.

Immediately following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, they printed up multiple copies to taken throughout the colonies to be read to the citizens.  In Philadelphia a man named Nixon received his copy, walked out of Independence Hall, and read to the citizens of Philadelphia.  His personal copy that he read that day is on display!  And, contrary to the documents found in the Archives Buildings in Washington, DC, this copy is clear and easy to read.

They also had George Washington's personal copy of the new Constitution!  Washington had chaired the Congress to draw up the Constitution.   His personal document was on display and was also in wonderful, readable condition.

The site for the Great Essentials...

 "What are the "Great Essentials of Society and Government" that John Adams wrote that the Founders sought to identify? Just as they were innovations then, they have become familiar to us now. They are:

· Whatever power government possessed came from, and could be reclaimed by, those who are governed.

· Free and independent nations existed to secure the welfare of the people.

· Just government depended upon a written constitution, not the personal whims of human leaders.

· Power must be carefully separated, balanced and shared by national, state, and local governments.

The Founders searched among the greatest philosophers to identify these ideas. They distilled and refined them. And they offered them to the world in three documents totaling fewer than two dozen pages endorsed by the simple act of signing name to paper."