Chimei Museum launches new permanent exhibition

2015/12/09

A new exhibition opened Dec. 1 at Chimei Museum in Tainan City, enriching the facility’s permanent collections and offering more appreciable artworks for visitors.

Featuring 55 pastel, print, sketch and watercolor pieces, the display is complemented by an assortment of basic pigments and tools for print-making. It aims to heighten public awareness of sketching and the value of the genre as a stand-alone form of expression.

“Drawing is the foundation of many creative endeavors and should never be discounted,” a museum staffer said, adding that the unique skills and talents of these artists serve as an effective medium for conveying distinctive characteristics and ideologies.

One highlight is the pencil sketch “Poem Necklace” by Pablo Picasso from 1951. The work is a portrait of the Spanish master’s secret lover Genevieve Laporte, replete with his signature on her neck.

Another eye-catching piece is “The Evening,” an undated charcoal sketch by Jean-Francois Millet of “The Gleaners” fame. Comprising a farmer dressed in a coat at the end of a day’s toil, the work employs simple lines to capture vivid movement and background depth.

Equally praiseworthy is the pencil draft of the watercolor painting “The Message” by Thomas Gotch from 1903. It delivers an original outlook on the composition and flowing lines of the masterpiece, allowing greater insight into the mysterious interaction between an angel and a woman.

The watercolor version is also on display in the same hall for museumgoers to compare and contrast the two pieces.

Given the threat of dengue fever is on the wane, the museum staffer said visitor reservations for the holidays in January 2016 are now at a maximum of 5,000 per day.

“This is an exciting time for the facility and we look forward to playing our part through such initiatives in spicing up the creative lives of art lovers from home and abroad.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=239943&ctNode=2194&mp=9)