Day 19 – 6/8/2019 – Providence

Today was our “Providence Day.” Since we only had one full day in town we decided to split up and follow our individual interests.

Cheryl and Kim took J and S and headed for the zoo. Providence has a wonderful zoo with interesting animals and (most important on a hot sunny day) a chance to get wet.

Getting up close and personal with an Armadillo

Not really sure why Nana and Mommy aren’t playing in the water too

They had a great time. They must have, S was asleep before we got home and he slept for 3 hours.

While they enjoyed the zoo Randy and Chris took in the museum at the Rhode Island School of Design. It has a broadly varied collection from the ancient near east to contemporary America. The collection includes all kinds of media from paintings and sculpture to textiles and furniture to film and toasters. I was most interested in European art of the 15th-early 20th centuries. Chris had other interests so we split up and browsed. Here are a few of the most interesting things I found.

I started off in a special exhibit of Gorham silver. This is a tureen for serving, well, turtle soup.

Another interesting piece from the collection was this mid-century coffee service.

Hangin out at the top of a staircase is this section of wall from the Ishtar Gate in ancient Babylon.

The Hand of God by Auguste Rodin (French, 1910)

Esther and Mordecai by Aert de Gelder (Dutch, ca 1685)

Supper at Emmaus by Jan Cossiers (Flemish, ca. 1650)
While the painter is Flemish, Jesus sure shows the influence of el Greco.

View of Auvers-sur-Oise by Vincent Van Gogh (Dutch, 1890)

The Seine at Giverny by Claude Monet (French, 1885)

On the Banks of a River by Paul Cezanne (French, ca 1904-05)

The Diners (Les Soupeurs) by Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1901)

Seated Woman with a Book by Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1910)

Nemesis by Albrecht Dürer (German, 1501-02)

Old Bearded Man in a High Fur Cap by Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, ca. 1635)

Standing Goddess (Mycenaean, ca. 1400-1000 BCE)

Chandelier by Dale Chihuly (1968 MFA from RISD)

Scene One, Living Room from the series Open House by Andrew Raferty (RISD Faculty, 2008) I selected this one specifically for Cheryl. His amazing use of line to create shading and texture is something she really appreciated.

America by Agnes Martin (USA, 1958-59) This is a noted and important work for a number of reasons, not the least of which – it’s still relevant today.

Following our various adventures we regrouped and napped – S for 3 hours, the rest of us alternating between napping and reading. Eventually S awoke and it was time to think about dinner. Once again we split our interests. Chris brought pizza in for him, J and S. Cheryl, Kim and I walked around the corner to the Chinese Hot Pot restaurant.

From there we wandered up the street to the bakery to pick up pastries for dessert and breakfast.

All told, a full and rewarding day. Tomorrow we say good by to Providence and make our way to Boston and the end of our trip.

Till then, Nite all, R