Following my last post, here are more paintings I saw and photographed at the Hermitage. I'll say it again: viewing them on the Hermitage Museum website is better, and going to see them in person is even better than that. You won't find any high-level art critiques or profound interpretations of paintings on my blog.
Gerrit van Honthorst, 'Childhood of Christ'. I'm not sure if I'm writing his name right in Korean, but in English it's 'Gerrit van Honthorst'. He's an artist I personally really like. I heard that Dutch works (including Rembrandt's) placed a strong emphasis on light, which might be why the paintings feel so detailed and deep. It was my first time hearing of this artist, but I really loved the painting.Gerrit van Honthorst, 'Christ in the garden of Gethsemane'Gerrit van Honthorst, 'Lute player'. When you look at the painting in person, you get the feeling of a very cute and bright young lady or woman.Hendrick ter Brugghen, 'The concert'. I think the audio guide narrated by Son Sook (Korean actress) explained that he is one of the representative artists of the Netherlands.Matthias Stom, apparently called 'Stom' for short. Esau and Jacob. This is the biblical scene where Jacob gives Esau red bean stew in exchange for his birthright. The moment the greatest scammer in (biblical) history pulls off a historic (biblical) scam.Pieter Lastman, 'Abraham on the road to the land Canaan'. Most of the works are mainly related to the Bible.The corridors between the rooms are also incredibly ornate. Plaster statues are usually displayed in the hallways.Bartholomeus van der Helst. A painting with the long title 'Family portrait : possibly Willem Visch and Eva Bisschop, their daughter Laurentia and her spouse Adriaen Prins and their son Willem'. The explanation said this was a very wealthy family based on their clothes, the falcon, and the dogs in the painting, but even without that explanation, you'd guess they were rich to leave behind a portrait like this.Thomas de Keyser, 'Portrait of a man'. Seeing his plump belly, he looks quite benevolent.Nicolaes Berchem. 'The rape of europe'. This is the famous scene from Greek mythology where Zeus transforms into a white bull and abducts Europa. I always find it strange that Greek mythology isn't rated R.Joachim..., 'Lot and his daughters'. The artist is Joachim Wtewael, but I have absolutely no idea how to pronounce his name. This is the scene where Lot's daughters get him drunk, considered one of the most provocative stories even in the Old Testament.Jacob Isaacksz van Ruisdael. 'Waterfall in Norway'. Again, I don't know how to pronounce this. The Netherlands isn't just full of people with easy-to-pronounce names like Hiddink. According to the description, this artist's works are landscapes but also beautifully depict human psychology. Don't ask me what that means.Willem Kalf, 'Dessert'. Willem Kalf is said to be a representative painter of still lifes.Jacob Isaacksz van Ruisdael, 'The marsh'. This artist with the difficult name paints landscapes so well that I actually want to own his paintings (which is ridiculous, of course).Jacob Isaacksz van Ruisdael, 'Peasant Cottage in a landscape'Juriaen van Streeck. Still lifeGabriel Metsu, 'Breakfast'. It's not just a simple breakfast; it's a scene where a man is using breakfast to seduce a woman.Jan Davidsz, 'Flowers in a vase'Paulus Potter, 'The wolfhound'. It feels like a real dog is glaring at something right next to you.Paulus Potter, 'Punishment of a hunter'. It's a very unique painting where the animals are punishing the hunter.Jacob Jordaens, 'The bean king(The king drinks!)'. This shows the 'bean king' drinking after winning the bean game, which was a drinking game people enjoyed back in the day. The king's main duty was to dictate everything at the gathering and keep the party lively.Ah... there are seriously so many paintings.I think it would take about a week to appreciate them one by one. I'm finally getting a sense of how big one of the world's top museums has to be.Maarten van Heemskerck, 'Calvary'. It was made to be carried around and used during worship, but the painting inside is truly gruesome. I haven't lived in that era, so I have no idea why they painted things so brutally.
Just posting paintings is getting boring. It's probably boring for the readers too. In the next post, I'll just throw up some famous works by Michelangelo and Da Vinci and wrap this up.
Expenses
Morning hamburger and beer combo 430RUB
Hermitage admission 500RUB, audio guide 500RUB
Book 450RUB
Total Expenses 1880RUB
Total Trip Expenses 525,936 KRW + 38,555RUB + $152.26
