John Soane and then Some

Sir John Soane's Museum is a little jewel of a museum located on Lincoln's Inn Field. It is the former home to the British, neo-classic architect Sir John Soane (1753-1837).  Comprised of three homes that Soane joined together over the course of his career, it contains Soane's library (6,000 volumes), endless architectural drawings (30,000 in number) and sketchbooks, plaster casts, 252 architectural models, paintings, sculptures, antiquities and even an Egyptian sarcophagus. Through narrow passageways that sometimes seems like the Barnes Collection meets the Winchester Mystery House, the museum is devoid of one inch of unadorned space. The museum was established during Soane's lifetime by a private act of parliament in 1833 which took effect on Soane's death in 1837.  It was not meant for the 600 visitors it gets each day and consequently, took us three attempts to get in. Visiting the Soane's Museum was definitely a unique experience and offered a window into the collecting habits of one of England's most accomplished architects.

Full disclosure, there are no photos allowed inside the museum.  These images are scanned from the museum's souvenir book. To learn more about Sir John Soane's Museum visit their website:
http://www.soane.org/


And then there was this.  Anyone who studied Art History has seen an illustration of the Arnolfini Wedding Portrait painted in 1434 by Jan Van Eyck.  For our non art historian friends, here is just a little snippet of why this painting is so important:

" The illusionism of the painting was remarkable for its time, in part for the rendering of detail, but particularly for the use of light to evoke space in an interior, for its utterly convincing depiction of a room, as well of the people who inhabit it.  Whatever meaning is given to the scene and its details and there has been much debate on this, according to Craig Harbison the painting is the only fifteenth century Northern panel to survive in which the artist's contemporaries are shown engaged in some sort of action in a contemporary interior.  It is indeed tempting to call this the first genre painting - a painting of everyday life - of modern times."       --Wikipedia

And then there is all the symbolism, the little dog, that amazing mirror, and who is Arnolfini anyway? There is so much to talk about looking at this little, beautiful painting. Seeing this art historical icon in person at the National Gallery was, as they say, priceless.