Art As Travel

Touring museums can be exhausting and at the end of the day you can come away with sore feet and a blur of images. We recommend being selective about what you want to see. You can’t experience the entire Louvre in just a day. Each time we visited, we picked a wing and dedicated our time only to that onelocation. We also made a point of visiting the Musee de l’Orangerie in the Tuileries Gardens, right near the Louvre. There you will find monumental installations of Monet’s Water Lilies, featuring eight individual compositions encircling two oval rooms in the manner for which they were designed.

We spent a few hours there just taking it all in and watching our fellow viewers. One woman we noticed walked up to the painting and stood there with tears streaming down her face. Taking time to really absorb and experience art can create lasting memories that have a greater impact than running from painting to painting in an effort to see everything. Remember, it’s okay to skip over artworks. Always go with the mindset that you will eventually come back to view what you may have missed.

We traveled all the way to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid just to see Picasso’s masterpiece Guernica. We had no idea how massive it was or how impactful it would prove to be. It shook us to the core. We stood transfixed thinking about the experience and the utter terror and destruction that rained down on that village and its people.

Art can have a major impact on your world view. Give it a chance to seep in. Focus on one period, one artist, or one style and you will be rewarded with the experience of a lifetime, and you will revel in the ability to travel to a different time and place through art.