Comment by hibikir | Hacker News Reader

Comment by hibikir | Hacker News Reader

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The anecdote about the garden of earthly delights is going to be relatable even for art students. I've met art teachers that ended up "trapped" in Madrid by the Prado Museum: A green, American future Ph.D student that was heading to Greece to specialize in old greek art. But instead of flying straight there, they stopped at Madrid to see the Prado, and were never able to leave. Changed their direction immediately, and ended up teaching in Madrid, and retiring there, because one of the countless masterpieces in there stole their life plans away.

There's more famous museums, and it doesn't have the most popular paintings for non specialist, but it's just haymaker after haymaker, in every single room. And that's leaving the modern art to the Reina Sofia, a short walk away. (Although I guess keeping late Goya there is kind of cheating, as I'd argue he becomes a pioneer of modern art after the war starts)

Books might require quite a bit of work before you can tell they are eternal masterpieces. Seeing the depths of some forms of music might involve not-so-impressive efforts earlier, just to get to the good parts. The very best paintings in the world, in person, can stop people cold. Large format efforts that demand attention even when you don't consider every single small decision.

The Garden of Earthly Delights used to be stuck in a corner, at the edge of one of the wings of the Prado. As if "oh well, I guess it fits here, near all the medieval art". It counted as an ambush.

Totally. The right way to approach an art gallery is definitely just to walk round until something hits you.

Most astonishing time that happened to me was a wall-sized Rothko that just floored me, in a way I never would have expected a slab of color to.

Dali’s La Gare de Perpignan stopped me in my tracks too.

Rarely been as stunned by more famous works as when I got blindsided by something that leapt out and said ‘look’.

Possibly the best thing about Washington D.C. is that the National Gallery of Art (along with, I think, all the Smithsonian) is free. This means you just take a casual stroll through without any of the pressure of having spent a sizable sum like you might to visit a place like the Art Institute in Chicago. In Chicago a visit is an event, you need to see the Seurat, the Grant Wood, etc. You've spent money and you need make it count.

In D.C. you can literally walk in, go look at the big Joan Mitchell for 10 minutes and continue on your day. Or you can wander through a room you've never been interested in and find something and then go to lunch. Without the commitment to get everything done, you are suddenly free.

Good libraries (edit: even mediocre libraries) also have this quality.

For those of us on the other side of the ditch: all museums in London are free. and I would echo the sentiment that it makes exploration of them less of a completionist activity to "get your monies worth" and more of an enjoyable forey into a rich space.

Its literally a paradigm shift.

Also almost all commercial art galleries are like this, obvs for other reasons. The gallery district (google art galleries then wander those streets, chelsea is the most established) in NYC is an amazing place to spend a day wandering around seeing amazing art. my uncle who teaches art introduced me to it and i try to spread the word.

Free art for any reason is amazing.

Many museums have a membership. For one price you can visit the museum any time you want. I strongly recommend everyone do this for all their local museums. It changes the experience when you don't feel bad about wasting the admission because you only have an hour. Particularly small local museums where spending all day isn't worth it, but if you have to pay admission you feel compelled to spend all day to get your money's worth.

Some of them also include reduced price admission to others of the same time. My local zoo isn't very big, but the membership means half price admission to a very good zoo just a couple hours away. My local science museum got me free admission to many other science museums and children's museums. My local historic farm got me into a lot of interesting historical sites. Be sure to understand what you get and take advantage of it on vacations.

I strongly recommend you get the version that lets you bring two guests. When my parents or some other friend from out of town comes to visit we have something interesting to show them (and if they are not having fun we can leave early).

I lived in DC for a couple of years and I felt exactly the same. I try and carry that same mentality to all museums now, paid or unpaid. No research, no expectations, wander around and let yourself be surprised, leave when you’re bored. It’s a lot of fun.

Although it is hard to do when you’ve paid 50 bucks for a ticket and you know there is “just one more” ultra-famous piece on the other side of the museum and when will I really be back in (Amsterdam, Paris, etc)?

^^ this. I was never an art person and then one day I felt like I was just punched in the face when it hit me. It's not like "I like this, it's interesting", it's like "Oh. That."

the punched in the face expression is strange here. I get it but I also presume that you have never been punched in the face much like you never connected (that's the word you are looking for, also a boxing term) with art.

I presume you think having been punched in the face makes you special. I have too. It doesn't.

You should also go apologize to your English teacher.

Perhaps more teachers should punch students in the face.

I wish I could do this. In general, in museums I always feel compelled to go through all the exhibits my time allows, when clearly some of them capture my attention and others are just filler. But I would feel guilty "wasting" my time with the piece that caught my attention.

This is where a membership to the local museum comes in handy. Then there's no pressure to see all the exhibits because you could always come back next week.

I have the same feeling always, so for my upcoming trip to Amsterdam and a visit to the Rijksmuseum I vibed https://rijksmuseum.matze.lol to concentrate on something I _want_ to see.

The Rijksmuseum has a very nice shop too. It's a great place to wander and discover and you can browse it without paying museum admission.

https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/visit/practical-info/shop

But let’s not pretend that the plastic and painterly arts are so much more self-evidently “thick” than literature is. Despite their immediacy, these arts have their own conventions, motifs, and demands that must be understood to “find the treasure in the dark cave.”

I have tried to convince someone I know that an art museum merits more than a one-minute-per-painting, four minutes-max-per-room, pretty/not-pretty approach. She still does not understand why I linger over books or works of art, and I have not the wherewithal to lead her through the techniques, the conventions, or the history that makes this worthwhile for me.

I know almost nothing about music; can’t play a bit.

I can still distinctly remember the first time I heard Rachmaninoff performed in person — and the shock at the “brutal genius” of the art.

I think sometimes art just speaks to you.

I was in Prado and it felt overwhelming to me. Like trying to eat an entire cake. I think it must be taken in in measured doses.

Goya's museum in Zaragoza was the one I could take in during one visit.

I had the exact same experience as the author with The Garden of Earthly Delights. I went to Madrid on a whim and went to the Prado without really expecting much, tbh (I’m a philistine). But I stopped in front of this painting, which I don’t recall having heard of, and I couldn’t leave. I stood there for a long time.

Saturn Devouring His Son was similar. Haunting. I still think about that painting often, many years later.

> The very best paintings in the world, in person, can stop people cold.

I will always remember literally stopping mid stride to just stare at a Francis Bacon I'd seen in the corner of my eye in the Tate modern. Slightly later same day I am just staring at Monet lillies bewildered.

I gotta be honest, any time I go back I am disappointed because the same surprise and wonder have simple not been present. Idk

I had this incident with the Miraikan in Tokyo. I visited it in the summer of 2017 and just seeing the fascinating future I knew I had to be a part of it. The week after I got home I decided to apply late to University to finally take that step. A PhD and lots of research later and I'm finally getting papers accepted that are planning the future I want to see.

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