Seeing Art from 19th Century France in NYC

-


 

New York City is full of small museums and galleries. This means that there are always small, interesting exhibits to view. I had the opportunity to see two of them recently.

Viollet-le-Duc: Drawing Worlds (through May 24, 2026)


Chartres Cathedral West Portal

 

The Bard Graduate Center offers advanced degrees in the study of the social history of our material world. It also has a four-floor gallery that provides exhibitions exploring the connection between art, design and our physical world.

The current show is an exhibit of some of the most intricate and beautiful drawings created by Eugéne-Emanuel Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879).
Viollet-le-Duc was an architect and a designer who specialized in updating and recreating the gothic world for 19th century France. He is best known for the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral in 1857.

 

Assorted Gargoyles

North Façade of Notre Dame

Windows and Niches of the Chior


South Transept Gable

Spire of Notre Dame


By the time Eugéne was in his early 20’s, he was a highly accomplished artist. His drawings are detailed and beautiful. They encompass wide and complex landscape scenes, church interiors, and ancient Roman theaters, and are rended with great care.


Temple of Neptune, Paestrum

Piazza della Signoria

 


Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore - Florence, italy


In addition to Notre Dame, Viollet-le-duc worked on restoration projects at Mont Saint Michel, Sainte-Chappelle and the medieval cities of Carcassone and the Chateau de Roquetallade.


Chateau de Perrefonds

 


Chateau de Perrefonds

 


Fortified walls of the City of Carcassonne


The Bard Graduate center has put together over 200 drawings and artifacts, and also two special virtual reality offerings. One provides a tour of the home Viollet-le-Duc in the mid 1800’s. The other is a tour of 19th century Notre Dame, including interior halls, and creating the views of Paris that one would have had from platforms at the top of the cathedral.  



Rodín’s Egypt (through March 15, 2026)



 

The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW) is a doctoral program of New York University. Its goal is to train scholars in the multitude connections among civilizations of that time, and also to today. The ISAW is currently offering an exhibit highlighting the influence of ancient Egypt on the work of August Rodín (1840-1917).


Dutchess of Choiseul

Balzac - Last Study for Head


Rodín lived during a period in France where Egypt was an artistic fascination among the population. Napoleon occupied Egypt from 1798-1801 and helped create the large-scale looting of statues and artwork from the area. For much of Rodín’s life he collected small statues and fragments from the area. This show, created in conjunction with the Musée Rodín in Paris brings together his art with Egyptian pieces from his collection that are visually connected. It is a small show, just 2 galleries, but it offers a lot to think about.

Funerary Mask


 

Hanako Mask, Type E

 

Balzac: Final Study and Striding Priest

 
Seated statue of Ankhkonsu

Despair

 

I love being in New York City because there are so many ways to spend time, even when I am just looking to plug a 2 hour hole in the middle of my day.

Nuts and Bolts


  • Bard Graduate Center - 18 W 86th Street, NYC. Open Wed - Sun 11:00AM-5:00PM. Entrance fee is $15 adults/ $12 seniors/ $6 students.
  • Institute for the Study of the Ancient World - 15 E 84th Street, NYC. Open Wed - Sun 11:00AM-6:00PM. Entrance is free at all times. 
Location: 18 W 86th St, New York, NY 10024, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Locks of the Erie Canal

-
Image
There is something about setting a series of tasks for yourself, especially if there is a time limit to complete them. It sets in your mind. After an initial burst of energy it becomes zen, a focus that blocks out other things. In this case I gave myself 33 tasks and 72 hours. Some were longer than others. Some were more interesting. I set out to photographs every lock on the Erie Canal. This year is the bicentennial of the beginning of construction on the original Erie Canal. Finished in 1825, the Erie Canal opened the west to the direct transport of goods. Prior to that everything had to be taken by cart over land. The canal spurred the settlement of western New York and Pennsylvania by taking a trip of up to 45 days and shortening it to about 9. It provided a faster and cheaper way for farmers to send grain to the cities along the coast and for industries in those cities to send manufactured goods to new settlers. It also allowed industry to develop along the rivers ...
Read more

Callicoon NY is a beautiful place to visit

-
Image
Delaware River near Narrowsburg NY   When I take a road trip, I love to travel on small roads, avoiding the major highways. It helps that I am retired, and rarely on a tight schedule. One of the things I look forward to is discovering the small towns that the interstate passes by. I am often surprised by what I find. A recent trip through the Catskill Mountains of New York brought me just such a find.  In the northwest corner of Sullivan county, where the Delaware river serves as the border between New York and Pennsylvania, is the town of Callicoon . The town sits in a valley along the river. It was founded in 1842, when the Erie Railroad came through this part of the state. This part of the Catskills was already a center of the timber industry. In 1849 a tannery was built, taking advantage of the local hemlock trees, whose bark played a key role in preparing leather for boots and industrial belts. The railroad allowed for an influx of farmers, offering them a reliable way to...
Read more

The Real NYC #28 - City College of New York

-
Image
 As I wrote in my last post, I am a graduate of the City College of New York. And despite wondering what I missed by not going away to a large university, CCNY will always feel like home. I grew up in New York and have lived here my whole life, and City College really represents the New York I love. It is truly a cross section of the city. I started college in 1979 at The Cooper Union, a small, elite engineering/art/architecture college in Greenwich Village but I never really felt comfortable there. I quickly learned that while I loved studying chemistry, I really hated engineering courses. I also really didn’t fit in. The students were almost all white, suburban kids who viewed their studies as a fast path to a big paycheck. Even worse, Cooper Union is the first place that I had to deal with the casual racism that exists. . I grew up in the very integrated Upper West Side of Manhattan and in a family that celebrated diversity and actively fought against racism. I rem...
Read more