A week abroad
On Tuesday I visited the Rembrandt-Caravaggio exhibition in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The Netherlands is celebrating the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt’s birth throughout all of 2006 and this exhibition is a major part of the celebration.
I don’t usually like to browse with an audio guide, but since it was free of charge I wisely decided differently. The guide pointed to some interesting features and actually increased my appreciation of Rembrandt. I generally like Caravaggio a bit better, but in many comparisons I had to admit that Rembrandt’s grander compositions (especially in Abraham’s Sacrifice) were maybe more powerful than Caravaggio’s close-ups.
Caravaggio’s The Betrayal of Christ was my favorite work in the exhibition. Previously unknown to me, the depiction of Judas betraying Christ with a kiss is extremely emotional. The light on the two faces highlights the pain of Christ who knows he is being betrayed and the worry of Judas who knows he is betraying.
Later that night I saw a performance of the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest with Jonathan Biss (replacing Ivan Moravec) in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and Schubert’s Great Symphony. I was seated behind the orchestra on the podium, which was an interesting experience. The hall was much smaller than I expected and it seemed that there weren’t really any “bad” seats. It was a wonderful performance in a sold-out house.
On Saturday I flew to Dublin for a short two-night stopover. I had never visited Dublin before and the stay was very exciting. I stayed in Ballsbridge in south Dublin, the Georgian and very fashionable district and a short walk from the city center. Sunday was the only full day in Dublin and a full day it was! In the morning I enjoyed a short guided walking tour through Dublin, focusing on Ireland’s history. I believe to understand the feud between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland a bit better now. After a meal in one of the Temple Bar pubs (of course), I went to the Trinity College library with its famous Book of Kells, which was quite amazing. Later I browsed the National Gallery, the original home of Caravaggio’s The Betrayal of Christ and other very distinguished masters.
Now I’m back in Chicago, smack in the middle of Daniel Barenboim’s farewell to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Leave a Reply