A week and a half ago, Philadelphia Museum Of Art opened its arms nice and wide when my wife Sandy and I entered the building. Then, with feeling, it embraced us. “Yeah,” I thought to myself, “this is going to be a good visit.” And it was. How could it not have been? I mean, over the years I’d roamed through PMA’s galleries more than 100 times, coming away invigorated each trip. The museum rocks.
Arriving with no advance plans as to what to see, we took a look at the museum’s website after showing our PMA-membership cards at the admissions counter. Any number of special exhibits listed on the site, ranging from small to large, piqued our interest. An hour and 45 minutes later, we’d toured them all, plus other gallery spaces. Whew! Had we covered too much ground a bit too quickly? Probably, but little matter. In any event, the museum was readying to close at that point, so off we went to retrieve our car in the museum’s parking garage. The visit, though, didn’t fade from my mind.
Faces! I’m still thinking about some of the face-centric artworks I saw at the museum, more so than the landscapes, seascapes, town scenes and city scenes, and abstractions. Maybe that’s because Sandy and I began our trek at a mini exhibit whose centerpiece was a privately owned, seldom-shown-in-public sketch by my favorite artist, Vincent van Gogh. The drawing, from 1885, is a rendition of The Potato Eaters, an oil painting Van Gogh was working on at the time in the Netherlands, the country of his birth. That painting is now generally considered to be one of his most important pieces.
The five folks in the sketch are Dutch farmers, a hard-working family that never had, and undoubtedly never would have, more than the minimum necessities needed to get by. Van Gogh didn’t try to portray them in exacting detail. He wasn’t a precisionist. His intent was to get to the heart and soul of these people. Hell, getting to the heart and soul was his intent in every one of his works, no matter what the subject matter. And he almost always pulled it off. His enormous popularity developed largely for this reason, I think. Posthumously, needless to say, as the general public was unaware of Van Gogh during his lifetime. (Van Gogh moved from the Netherlands to France in 1886, and died there, by his own hand, in 1890.)
On the opposite side of the museum’s ground floor, hundreds of feet away from the Van Gogh sketch, Sandy and I admired a portrait of James Baldwin, the American writer, social activist and deep thinker. Painted by Beauford Delaney, a devoted artist whom success mostly eluded, the work, painted in 1945, depicts Baldwin in his early twenties. It captures him brilliantly, with bold strokes and an expert disregard for photographic-like realism. As a result, Baldwin comes alive on the canvas. Van Gogh would have approved.
Many other faces greeted us from PMA’s gallery walls that day. I’ll comment on only two of them. They are the visages, as some of you will recognize, of myself and my better half. Man, there was no way I was going to let pass the opportunity to snap a photo when I noticed our reflections in a mirror designed by Stephen Burks. The mirror was part of a dazzling exhibit of Burks’ modern interior-design items.
Somewhat amazingly, it is the only picture I took in the museum that day (the other two pix in this story are from the PMA website). That’s because, while at PMA, I had no intention of writing about Sandy’s and my visit and illustrating the story with photos captured by my phone’s camera. I just wasn’t in a reporter-on-the-scene mood. And yet, this essay emerged anyway. Well, all I can say is, “You never frigging know.” Ain’t that the truth!
Yeah, Another Blogger 
Amazing
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Thanks.
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No, you don’t know, and I’m pleased you shared it. I find it fascinating how individual artists depict the human face. Some, I wonder what they were thinking or feeling. Kudos to the gallery for making you both feel so welcome.
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Hi Suzanne. I’ve lived in or near Philadelphia for nearly all of my adult life. And I’ve always been glad that the city has a strong arts scene. The Philadelphia Museum Of Art is a big part of that scene.
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I had better clarify my “you don’t know” was echoing your comment about you weren’t going to write up about your visit. Looks like a fabulous Museum of Arts.
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Yeah, I like Van Gogh’s style. The muddiness of it is what’s appealing to me. Love the Potato Eaters.
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He probably worked on the Potato Eaters painting for any number of days, or even weeks or months. But as for the sketch I saw at the museum — he likely drew it in no more than an hour or two.
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That Burks mirror with your reflections in it looks like a portrait. So cool!
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Hi Audrey. I’m glad we wandered into the gallery where the mirror was!
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just think: there are 8.1billion people in the world, all — with the exception of identical twins — with different faces; that’s a lot of faces still to be sketched, painted, or photographed ; the Van Goghs of the world are never going to run out of material —
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When you and I were young, there were 3 billion people in the world. The human race has exploded in numbers since then.
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It is life lifting.
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Hi Cindy, and thanks.
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That’s the advantage if museum membership, you can pop in when you want, as many times as you want and pick what you want to see.
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Right. And when a museum (PMA, for example) is very large, there a whole lot of art to pick from.
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True!
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No, you definitely never know but it’s great that posted this piece. I love art museums, and fantastic that you saw some of Van Gogh’s work. I’m reminded of this quote: The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart. ~ St. Jerome
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Hi. To be honest, I don’t fully agree with that quote. It’s sometimes true. But — you can’t always judge a book by its cover.
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There’s a great pleasure in wandering through a gallery and simply allowing yourself to have your attention and inagination caught by the work presented to you.
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Looking at art can be an adventure!
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Art inspires us towards the unexpected.
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Even in an artwork that we might not like, there’s always a detail or full image that gets us thinking.
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exactly
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I like how this post took a while, needed time to simmer. Wonderful pieces by Van Gogh and Delany, but for some reason the mirror, with the two reflections, really caught my attention. Striking!
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That mirror had been waiting patiently for me and Sandy to stroll by.
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Interesting blog but fantastic photo of you and Sandy!!!! Amazing!
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Thanks, Joyce. I’m glad I took that picture.
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Great post. I liked your idea of being in the moment and not being a reporter. The one photo you did take was perfect! An art piece.
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That mirror is cool. I wouldn’t mind owning it.
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Great observations. I love how interested in the world you and Sandy are!
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Thanks very much. Who is this, by the way? — your comments were posted as being from Anonymous.
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You know you had a good experience when you end up wanting to tell the world.
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Hi. Yeah, the story idea must have been buried in the very back of my mind. When it eventually surfaced, I ran with it!
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I’m “facing” the fact that I’ve been living in Florida for over 47 years still missing the treasure of the PMA. Thanks for sharing. Sherri
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Howdy, Sherri. It’s great to hear from you. About five years ago, much of the museum’s interior was redesigned/reconfigured (the exterior wasn’t altered). So, it’s taken a while to get used to the new layout and look.
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Great faces. Did I ever tell you that I love the name of your blog? I feel the same way about mine.
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Your blog’s name is better than mine!
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Aww, thanks.
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Nicely done. A real potato-eater of a sketch. Rather tasty, in a sense, and nourishing.
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Where would we be without potatoes?!
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You remind me how long it has been since I’ve gone to a museum. Those were wonderful times.
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Speaking of museums: Years ago, the author James Michener gave a lot of money to help create an art museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The museum is named after him. It’s really good, and is not all that far from where my wife and I live. We go there a few times each year.
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Didn’t know that. He was one of my favorite authors, until he stopped publishing. That happens when you pass on. Darn…
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Art museums are always one of those places that can leave you feeling so much better after you’ve visited. And I commend you on being able to go in and enjoy something without ‘reporting’ on it—I’m trying to do that more often. Enjoy the time and not need to share about it later…unless like you it still bubbles up!
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Hey there, Misti. Have you heard of the Barnes museum? It’s in Philadelphia, and has an absolutely amazing collection of works, many of them from the Impressionist era. The Barnes is a few blocks away from the Philadelphia Museum Of Art.
https://collection.barnesfoundation.org/
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It’s good to see that sketch for The Potato Eaters, having seen the painting in Amsterdam (not on our most recent visit). And i do like the self-portrait of you and sandy!
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I heard about a Van Gogh exhibit that’ closed recently, It contained many of the 74 paintings he produced in the last couple of months of his life, when he was living in a town not too far from Paris.
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/10/06/experience-van-goghs-final-weeksthrough-a-blockbuster-exhibition-in-paris
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That was an interesting article! I particularly liked seeing the same painting in different frames (I agree the simple one is better) and reading that tree roots he painted are still there.
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Thank you, Neil, for an excellent essay! Living close to London, I go as often
as I can. I love too the painting potato-eaters and everything Van Gogh created.
Joanna
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Hi. Van Gogh might be the most popular artist. His great fame started to develop after he passed, as we all know. He was known in certain artist circles during his life, but the “average” person never heard of him back then.
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Thank you, Neil.
I have a big book with the copies of all his painting.
Sad that his life was not a happy one.
Joanna
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I’m a face person too. Every now and then a landscape or abstract will catch my attention but I am always drawn to faces. Sounds like you and your wife had a marvelous time!
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Hi Jan. It’s a fabulous museum, with artworks from around the world. You can’t go wrong there.
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Sometimes I find it’s better not to take pictures and just let yourself absorb the experience. I do love that James Baldwin portrait. Maggie
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Hi Maggie. To my eye, it looks like Delaney (the artist who painted the Baldwin picture) was influenced by Van Gogh.
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It’s wonderful to go somewhere anticipating one thing and come out with something unexpected! Nice pics and article.
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Hey Eden. I was in Toronto once. I remember going to a beautiful modern art museum there. I think one of the exhibits was sculptures by the British sculptor Henry Moore.
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Yes, that’s the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario)… big Henry Moore collection. It’s one of the best galleries in the city.
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And don’t you love it when a story just falls into place? I like your photos and understand your process, such as it is.
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I wish that more of my stories fell into place fairly easily!
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Nice Read. More and more, I find myself leaving my iPhone in my pocket in an effort to be more present (in the moment). Fun fact: My daughter went to Drexel. She completed her co-op degree requirements in Graphic Design at the Philadelphia Museum of Art some 16 years ago. She loved her time there.
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Hi. Is your daughter working in the graphic design industry?
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Yes…She basically began as a graphic designer straight out of Drexel working for a small product research company in Chicago. She quickly worked her way up to director of design in that company and after 15 years there, she is now in a new position as VP of media and entertainment at a larger company also in the consumer product innovation and research industry.
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When I worked in London I used to hop into the National Portrait Gallery when I had spare time…I liked to study the people who had formed the nation over the centuries. Have you noticed that Van Gogh portrays those people as ugly….I just wonder if that was his way of reflecting their lives as he saw it while trying to become a pastor in his youth.
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I like your analysis. He probably was trying to show that they led hard lives.
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As you say, Neil, one never knows what story is worth telling. It’s interesting that, of all the art on display in the museum, the faces stayed with you. I’m intrigued by the mirror designed by Stephen Burks. It appears to be shaped like a face. In dissecting its surface, he creates fractured reflections or images.
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Hello, Rosaliene. Different things connect with me the most from visit to visit at PMA. It might be Cubist paintings on one visit, Dutch landscapes from the 1600s on another visit, etc.
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I often avoid art museums because I feel that I’m too much of a philistine to be able to adequately appreciate art. So I really liked your line about “expert disregard for photographic-like realism.” I think that will help me just relax and enjoy what I’m looking at.
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“I think that will help me just relax and enjoy what I’m looking at.” — Hi. I hope it works!
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Love van Gogh and love faces so am very glad the muse struck! Thanks 😊
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I wish my muse would show up more often!
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I love James Baldwin. One of my biggest regrets is that I never got to see him in person. He came to St. Louis when I was young, but I was too busy to get a ticket to hear him talk. And that was my last chance….. You can bet that I never let myself be too busy to encounter a truly brilliant person’s presentation again!
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Do you have favorites among his books? I read Giovanni’s Room a few years ago, and thought it was excellent.
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If Beale Street Could Talk is my favorite, but honestly, anything he wrote is good. He had a gift……
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wow, this is a rich sharing! I was in Philly last year and didn’t get a chance to visit PMA. I especially loved the portrait you shared. The use of colour is just magically captivating!
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Hello Annabel. I agree with you about that portrait. It has a lot of power.
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I’d never seen the sketch of “The Potato Eaters.” One of my favorite Van Gogh pieces is his pen and ink sketch of “Starry Night.” As for all those faces, they brought to mind the exquisite little (two-line) poem by Ezra Pound, titled “In A Station of the Metro”:
“The apparition of these faces in the crowd:
Petals on a wet, black bough.”
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That’s a great drawing. And not only was VvG a wonderful artist, he was a wonderful writer too, as his letters prove.
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Funny thing about art museums—sometimes you just can’t shake the thoughts and feels. I’m with you on Van Gogh. Once I stood in front of his self portrait at The Art Institute of Chicago and cried. As for the James Baldwin portrait, agreed, Van Gogh would’ve approved.
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Hi. Van Gogh really had the touch and the eye. He captured the essence of just about everything he painted or drew.
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Love your mirror portraits. A great record of your visit.
Van Gogh is also a favourite artist of mine. Years ago our Art Gallery exhibited his painting, Blue Irises and it was a huge event. Some years later it was reported that what we had seen was a copy because the painting was too valuable to transport overseas! No-one could tell the difference at the time, but it was not a good look for the Gallery because authenticity is everything in the art world. Glad you could view a real Van Gogh.
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Hi. Thanks for stopping by. The sketch is on loan to the museum, I think. However, the museum owns 5 or 6 of his oils, including one of his Sunflowers pictures. I’d guess that the Sunflowers oil is the most popular work in the entire museum.
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The Sunflowers light up any space. I have a postcard of one version on my pinboard 🙂
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You’re right, sometimes the inspiration for what to right is surprising.
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Writing is a mysterious process. By the way, I don’t know who this is — your comment was posted as being from Anonymous.
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The potato eaters are a very good sample of Van Gogh’s early work (heavily displayed in Amsterdam). The simple life of the people in a dark, grey-sky country. (I lived there, I know). He must have been hit in the face when he “saw the light” in France, and in the South in particular…
Cheers
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You’re right — he blossomed in France.
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He did. For the joy of our eyes…
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What a wonderful day you and Sandy had.
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Definitely. And we topped it off with dinner at a restaurant we hadn’t been to in decades.
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Faces are a window into people’s souls, no doubt! I loved your second sentence, which set up the tone and tenor of the rest of the piece.
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Hi. This museum is top-notch. It’s a big part of Philadelphia’s cultural landscape.
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I admire your appreciation of art, color, and soulfulness!
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Hi Lisa. I thank you.
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Glad you had such a nice time. You are a true art lover!
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Morning, Betsy. I think I started getting into art when I was about 12. Take care. Have a good upcoming week.
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Thanks. You too. 🙂
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We took a quick stroll through the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam when we were there several years ago. I wish I was armed with your “heart and soul” comment when I saw his paintings. Makes me want to take another stroll, with more educated eyes.
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Hi there. Van Gogh painted the vast majority of his famous paintings in France. But I think it’s right that the museum is in Amsterdam, since he was a Dutchman by birth.
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Nice to see – a little bit of – what you look like. Enjoyed this concentration on faces in a art exhibit. Although I’ve noticed some from time to time, it’s an interesting theme. And of course, I know that drawing of Van Gogh’s, having been an art student, but have never seen it in real life.
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The info plaque next to the drawing said that the drawing is privately owned. I wonder who owns it.
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Who knows. Usually if a gallery or museum doesn’t list the name or organization, they don’t want to be known. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it reproduced somewhere, or perhaps a painting based on the drawing.
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Looks and sounds like a wonderful experience, Neil!
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Philadelphia Museum Of Art has so many objects on display, you never can go wrong there. One of my favorite rooms in the museum contains nothing but sculptures by Brancusi.
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I’m glad you mentioned that artist! I just found and watched a video about him and about that room in the museum:)
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Van Gogh would be proud of your post – well done. He’s one of my favs too. My youngest went to SAIC in Chicago and spent many days admiring art at the museum. I was like you, never grabbing my camera. It was fascinating just to see all the different forms of art. Glad you and Sandy had a wonderful time!
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Morning. It’s a great thing that there are so many museums all over the world. Big ones, small ones. And there’s always something of interest in all of them.
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Morning to you too. Yes, it is, and you’re right!!
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Vincent van Gogh is my favourite artist. I visited the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and it moved me to tears. I wish he had known his impact. But I suppose that’s what makes him so special; each painting came from his love of art, not expectation or fame, and expressed his pain and suffering and immense love for those around him in the truest form. I think it would be fascinating to speak with him, to know what he was feeling. There was so much more to him, I think, than what has been portrayed. And what a beautiful portrait of James Baldwin. Man, his words and wisdom will transcend generations. Very cool, Neil. This post made me smile.
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Hi. Have you read any of Van Gogh’s letters? Most of them were to his brother Theo. He wrote beautifully, and revealed a lot about himself.
https://vangoghletters.org/vg/
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Yes, I’ve read some of them but would love to read more. Thank you for the link – I’m going to dive in.
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Art begets more art as your photo of the mirror piece proves.
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I’m glad the mirror was there!
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“Hell, getting to the heart and soul was [Van Gogh’s] intent in every one of his works, no matter what the subject matter.”
YES, and “The Potato Eaters”, as you noted, is one of his most poignant pieces. Not, perhaps, as dazzling as “Cafe Terrace at Night” nor as emotionally intense as “The Starry Night,” but earthy and HUMAN and fully empathic.
Also, fascinated by the EXCELLENT portrait of James Baldwin, who in the weird way of the universe, the post I just finished for March is…based on something Baldwin said. Will wonders never cease?
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I’m looking forward to your next story, Amy. Have you read Giovanni’s Room, by the way? I read it about five years ago, I guess. I loved it. It’s powerful, and I think about it now and then.
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OMG, “Giovanni’s Room.” It was the first thing that came to mind when I came across the Baldwin quote that prompted my upcoming blog post. It is a wonderful book. I read it somewhere in the mid-1970s. I’ll have to sift through my boxes of books–the overflow frommy bookshelves LOL. It would be great to re-read that one. Also, your comment just gave me the idea for my April post. Thank you. Thank you!
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I’m looking forward to your April post too!
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Neil, wow! What a fantastic day for you both and great to meet another fan of Van Gogh! The potato eaters always pulls me and it has incredible power. I’ve been a couple of times to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and each visit is like an epiphany. How true that ‘His intent was to get to the heart and soul of these people. Hell, getting to the heart and soul was his intent in every one of his works, no matter what the subject matter’. Well said. I’m smiling at the photo of you both, lovely and James Baldwin portrait I find haunting. A great post unexpectedly inspired by your visit.
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Hi. The Van Gogh museum is great. I was there eight years ago. Amsterdam in general is great, too. A fascinating city.
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