A Day at the Museum of Fine Arts - Boston

The main reason for this trip to the Museum of Fine Arts was the Luis Melendez exhibit. The above painting is Still Life with Watermelons and Apples. Luis Melendez is regarded as the leading Spanish still life painter of the 18th century. Despite his talent, Luis Meléndez lived in poverty for most of his life and died indigent.


Melendez was a master of highlights and shadows, his use of subtle texture give the fruit, vegetables, breads, sweets, fowl, meat and other kitchen items their realistic quality.

Below is a self-portrait, why he painted himself holding a drawing of a naked man, who knows? Maybe it's a self-portrait within a self-portrait.

The exhibit includes more than twenty still-lifes, many from the Prado in Madrid, several from private collections. Two of the paintings are from the personal collection of Theresa Hines (Mrs. John Kerry). Can you imagine gazing at a pair of Menedez' while you're having dinner, money can buy happiness, at least when it comes to art. Definitely worth seeing. The exhibit is showing through May 9, 2010

Other exhibits included Toulouse-Lautrec's Cafe and Cabaret painting and sketches, and Secrets of Tomb 10A. Neither of these really interested me. Egyptians apparently were the original hoarders. This tomb belonging to King and Queen Djehutynakhts was found in 1915 by a team of archeologists from Harvard University-Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The Egyptian government let the archeologists keep all that they found. Unfortunately the tomb had been picked clean of the "good" stuff by marauders but if you like rows and rows of 4000 year old wooden boats you might like this exhibit. The mummified head was kind of cool.