MFAH

That's short for Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. And that is where we spent our evening.

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte
Georges Seurat

They have a temporary exhibit of the masterpieces of French painting. Great stuff like Monet (my favorite), Van Gogh (a close second), Manet, Degas (cute ballerinas), Pissarro, Seurat, and others. We went tonite since on Thursday visitors to the main MFAH do not have to pay an entrance fee. We were the ultimate nerds and listened to the audio sets they provided to us. But it was interesting and fun, and it's a great date, as one of the proctors said!

I love to stare at my typical favorites, but found one tonite that I liked that is very different from my norm. I can't imagine hanging it in my home, but I like the story behind Jean-Leon Gerome's "Pygmalion and Galeta".

The painting depicts Pygmalion, who, according to Greek mythology, sculpted an ivory statue with whom he fell in love. He prayed to Venus and was granted his wish that the ivory woman come to life. In the painting, you can see her transforming, as her top half is flesh, yet her legs and feet are clearly still frozen. It's hard to see on a blog, I know, but it really is neat.

Here is the painting that Brett liked most this evening. It's much more home-worthy than mine!

The Boulevard Montmartre on a Winter Morning
Camille Pissarro

Don't you feel cultured now?