Our Editorial
Director, Julia Hecomovich, travels the globe in search of the perfect art,
quotes, and images for Galison products.
Her latest adventure brought her all the way to Mother Russia.
Early
winter is not the cheeriest time of year to visit St.
Petersburg, Russia’s
Venice of the
North. The city endures the flip side of June's glorious White Nights in what
might be termed the Dark Days. It is endlessly overcast, grey, dismal, and
drizzly. Fortunately, there are options for escape. After sipping hot cider
with an acquaintance in the cozy Idiot café--named after Dostoevsky's
brilliant novel and located only a few steps from the magnificent mansion where
Rasputin was murdered--it seemed as dreary a time as any to take refuge in the Winter Palace.
Even if
there was no artwork here to admire, this complex, officially known as the State Hermitage
Museum, would be worth
visiting because of its architectural splendor. This is where the autocratic
Tsars resided and presided over lavish banquets, opulent balls, and affairs of
state. But fortunately, they also collected art and their collection is among
one of the most impressive in the world. Invaluable da Vincis, intimate
Raphaels, numerous Titians, and scads of Rembrandts are hung in rooms of
palatial splendor. One could easily spend hours discovering treasures at every
turn, but I was on a specific quest: to find the Gauguin painting that we are
using in an upcoming Galison
portfolio notecard set.
The
Hermitage has one of the best Impressionist collections outside of France,
and it took a while to wrench myself away from the exhilarating Monets and the
breathtaking Van Goghs, but finally I entered the room with fourteen Gauguins,
all radiating the stunning colors of his Tahitian dream. Outside it was cold
and inhospitable. In this room, Gauguin's island mirage, captured in maroon,
jade, azure, and ocher, exuded an atmosphere of warm languor. And--there
she was, our Woman with a Mango, holding out her hand with the fruit as
if making an offering. Dark Days are a small price to pay for the chance to
bask in this brilliance.
Make
sure you check back to see this classic image on one of our Galison portfolio
notecards!
Julia also compiled a series of Gauguin quotes – which one is your favorite?
"Art is either plagiarism or
revolution."
"I shut my eyes in order to see."
"It is the eye of ignorance that assigns a fixed and unchangeable color
to every object; beware of this stumbling block."
"In art, all who have done something other than their predecessors have
merited the epithet of revolutionary; and it is they alone who are masters."
