Night at the Museum

I love being able to hop on the train and go to the Art Institute. It was in my top reasons for moving to this city. Plus, Thursdays from 5-8 pm are free and so it only costs the price of the El ticket. Now, the reason for going tonight (besides the price) is that on the 24th of this month they are returning the loan of Caravaggio's painting, The Supper at Emmaus, to the National Gallery of London. This was quite possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity to see this painting in person, unless I hop on a plane to London, because there are really very few Caravaggio works in American museums. Being a huge fan of his (how could you not be?) I had to see this painting before it was gone. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio painted The Supper at Emmaus in 1601 and it is truly a masterpiece. Really folks, a picture of this does not do it justice. The detail, the movement and the contrast of light and dark, all of which he is famous for, are amazing in this painting. In the gallery... surrounding this piece were the Art Institutes's collection of "Caravaggesque" paintings, or works influenced in some way by him. Jesse (my boyfriend) loved the second painting above, Penitent Saint Peter, by Jusepe de Ribera from 1628. One can easily see Caravaggio's influence coming through in this piece. The detail in Saint Peter's face and hands were incredible. After seeing this exhibit we went and wandered through the museum's new Modern Wing. What a beautiful space. It is so open and spacious with 3-story walls of windows looking out to Millennium Park and the city. The museum really has some great modern and contemporary pieces and they fit perfectly within the new space. I didn't realize just how many Picasso's they had. I'm excited to see their upcoming exhibit Modern in America: Works on Paper, 1900-1950's which debuts January 30th. Click here to view the Caravaggio exhibit details and click here to view the upcoming Works on Paper exhibit details.