THEN IF YOU 'CLICK' ON THE PICTURE, YOU'LL BE TAKEN TO A FULL SIZED IMAGE. Then just hit the "back" button to return to the Blog.
COOL !
The day after the Wedding, we had a wonderful "family only" Breakfast at the Mansion, then went to the National Gallery of Art. I wasn't at all sure this was a great idea - come on, a 9 yr old, a 6 yr old and a 21 month old walking around looking at paintings and sculptures?????
But Casey insisted that her teacher had told her about a portrait of a woman by Leonardo da Vinci that she just HAD to see.
Well, I KNEW there weren't any original oils by da Vinci in the US.
Let alone a portrait.
Of a woman.
I didn't just think these thoughts. I said them out loud.
Several times.
And for the first hour or so, my comments seemed justified. Renoir, Degas, Cassatt, even Van Gogh. Including a self-portrait.
The girls loved all the young ballerinas. Especially the original of "The Dancer" by Renoir. A poster of it hangs in their dance studio back in State College.
And, then, in a gallery devoted to it, there was "Ginevra de' Benci".
One of just THREE female portraits known to have been painted by da Vinci. AND the ONLY original da Vinci oil in the US.
AH, the pleasure of listening to a 9 yr old say, "See Grandpa. I TOLD you so."
It was worth it, though. The kids were great. I got tired first. At least once I said, "This is a nice gallery. I'll sit here for awhile. Come back and get me." And they kept walking and looking.
We had a great time.
Tomorrow we go to the National Zoo. I KNOW they'll outwalk me there. But it's a family tradition. Tom dragged Mary Ann and me up and down those hills until we were close to exhaustion (us, not him) 36 years or so ago.
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