A quick trip to Chicago was in order this weekend. We’ve barely made a dent in our itinerary as there’s so much to discover in the way of restaurants, shops and museums. I had forgotten there are parks everywhere you turn when exploring neighborhoods. The city has a unique vibe that makes it exciting to experience, especially as the sun sets…. wow… what fun!!!
Last, January while in Paris we had an extremely tight schedule visiting museums and galleries over a three-and half-day period. The city was unusually crowded due to the protesting of with thousands of public transportation drivers, teachers, and public sector workers marching throughout the city. Unions disrupted metro and overground services which upped our walking mileage on average to 8-12 miles per day.
On our last day we had timed tickets to see the El Greco exhibit at the Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées. Unfortunately, the protestors were in such an uproar due to a response from Emmanuel Macron that we couldn’t get close to the museum. That night at dinner each of us reviewed our notes and saw the El Greco exhibit was on its way to the Art Institute of Chicago. Then the virus rolled around, and in March we were all social-distancing.
Well, last week several of our team had meetings in Chicago and were able to fit the El Greco: Ambition and Defiance exhibit into their schedules…. I was thrilled.
Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata, 1567-70
The Entombment of Christ, about 1572
View of Toledo, 1599-1600
The Feast in the House of Simon, 1608-14
Regarded as one of the most foremost painters of the Spanish Renaissance, El Greco’s works are renowned for their spiritual intensity and elongated figures, along with an unnatural flesh tone. He trained in Crete as a Byzantine icon painter then moved to Italy in 1567 to study with Venetian Renaissance painters Titan and Tintoretto.
Our crew also had the opportunity to view the Monet and Chicago exhibit while at the Art Institute so, more on that later.