Total Eclipse : A pictorial review of the Tradewinds Transatlantic crossing 2015

Outside of the Pavilion Hall is the Council Staircase , room # 206 on our map . And now , we are in in Large Hermitage . In one direction is the Italian art and in the other direction , the Rembrandt room #254 , seen across the way .

While art is highly subjective , Rembrandt through his contrast of light and darkness , subject matter and technique , remains one of my favorites . The Hermitage has 20 of his paintings .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rembrandt

Like many artists , he used self , friends and family as models . The is his young wife , Saskia , as the Roman goddess of flowers and sex , Flora .

He also used her and self in The prodigal son in the Tavern painting - which is not found in the Hermitage .

"Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 139" by Rembrandt - http://www.mcah.columbia.edu*: Home*: [1]. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn_139.jpg#/media/File:Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn_139.jpg

There is a lot of glare in the gallery so I reduced the photo sizes of some of the pictures .

The old man in red

Portrait of an old Jew

Young woman trying on earings

Rembrandt's Abraham and Issac 1634 , from the Bible story .

Danae 1636

This is the painting that was attacked , by a man with a knife and acid in the account that follows from wikipedia :

On June 15, 1985 Rembrandt's painting was attacked by a man, a Soviet national later judged insane; he threw sulfuric acid on the canvas and cut it twice with his knife.[2] The entire central part of the composition was turned into a mixture of spots with a conglomerate of splashes and areas of dripping paint. The worst damage was to the face and hair of Danaë, her right arm, and legs.[2]

The process of restoring the painting began the same day. Following consultations with chemists, art restorers began washing the surface of the painting with water; they kept the painting in the vertical position, and sprayed water at the painting to prevent further degradation of the painting.

The restoration of the painting was accomplished between 1985 and 1997 by staff of the State Hermitage's Laboratory of Expert Restoration of Easel Paintings: Ye. N. Gerasimov (group leader), A. G. Rakhman, and G. A. Shirokov, with the participation of T. P. Alioshina in matters of scientific methodology.

And finally , Rembrandt's last great painting The return of the Prodigal Son 1669

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Return_of_the_Prodigal_Son_(Rembrandt)

It is a renowned work described by art historian Kenneth Clark as "a picture which those who have seen the original in Leningrad may be forgiven for claiming as the greatest picture ever painted".[2]

The quote above and the following photo are from wikipedia :

Fantastic work.:D

Fantastic work.:D

It's incredible that these paintings are almost 400 years old , true masters !

It truly is amazing that some of these galleries have so much of the one (and nearly every) artist on display. Phenomenal.:D

We also saw renovations of paintings in a church in Tallinn. They had recently been passed back by the Germans to Russia, but the renovation experts were in Tallinn.

It truly is amazing that some of these galleries have so much of the one (and nearly every) artist on display. Phenomenal.:D

It really is a great museum .

We also saw renovations of paintings in a church in Tallinn. They had recently been passed back by the Germans to Russia, but the renovation experts were in Tallinn.

It seems to us that all of Europe is blessed with so many talented artists . There seems to be a greater emphasis and appreciation for art and the arts there . :) :D

After leaving the rather stark Rembrandt gallery , we entered the more elaborate Italian art rooms .

The Proto - Renaissance

Looking down the hall

Room 208

Next we encountered 2 stunning tables .

Preparing to enter room 214 - The Leonardo da Vinci Hall

You picked right by having a quiet day at the hermitage (no cruise ships), when I was there it was very busy.

You picked right by having a quiet day at the hermitage (no cruise ships), when I was there it was very busy.

We love cruising , but it's nice to stay before and after ! :) :D

We love cruising , but it's nice to stay before and after ! :) :D

This is why we nearly always top and tail our cruises with a stay somewhere or even a land tour.:D

This is why we nearly always top and tail our cruises with a stay somewhere or even a land tour.:D

It took us awhile to figure that one out , but we're glad that we did ! :) :D

It's hard to capture the full grandeur of room 214 without using overlapping photos . While it causes distortion , it reveals more of the room .

Another overlapping stitch .

The room features 2 paintings from the true renaissance genius , Leonardo da Vinci .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci

The first is the Benois Madonna - 1478 .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benois_Madonna

As you can see , I took some liberty with reframing the closeup .

The next is the Madonna Litta - 1490 .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_Litta

It was nice to hear it's story from a passing guide .

The Madonna Litta with a modern frame .

We hope that everyone has a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving .

Pat and Joe :D :)

We hope that everyone has a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving .

 

 

 

 

Pat and Joe :D :)

And hopefully Pat is well enough to celebrate.

And hopefully Pat is well enough to celebrate.

Thank you Jackie , yes she is and most of the family turned up for the holiday also . Pat is walking mostly unaided and with a cane sometimes . Her wound is filling in quite nicely and she has been reducing her pain medicine incrementally . So we really do have a lot to be thankful for ! :) :D

The doors in the Leonardo room are works of art themselves .

The doors are decorated in the Boulle fashion , and made of tortise shell and gilded brass .

In the next room was another , ahem ! , interesting painting

Skipping around to room # 230 is the Cabinet room .

In this room is the work Crouching Boy . It's the only work by the amazing Renaissance artist - Michelangelo .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo

There is a very long hall in the New Hermitage , room # 226 , also called the Raphael Loggias .

"It was commissioned by Empress Catherine II ( the Great ) in the late 1780s, the Raphael Loggias are the exact copy of the Gallery in the Papal Palace in Vatican City. The frescoes of the open loggias of the Papal Palace were painted after Raphael’s sketches. Their copies made in Italy by a group of artists under the supervision of Christopher Unterberger, took their place in the gallery of a separate building erected by Giacomo Quarenghi. The Loggias vaults are decorated with scenes from biblical stories, the walls are covered with paintings with ornamentation motifs, known as “grotesques” " .

quote from the Hermitage web page

It has also been called " Rapheal's Bible " for the biblical paintings incorporated on the ceiling .

And check out the floors , amazing !

Thank you Jackie , yes she is and most of the family turned up for the holiday also . Pat is walking mostly unaided and with a cane sometimes . Her wound is filling in quite nicely and she has been reducing her pain medicine incrementally . So we really do have a lot to be thankful for ! :) :D

Great news, I am glad that Pat is on the mend and you all had a lovely day.:D

It truly is an amazing place, such wonderful pics.:D

We hope that everyone has a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving .

 

 

 

 

Pat and Joe :D :)

Thank you. We had a wonderful day. Glad you and Pat were able to spend your day surrounded by family, and that Pat was feeling well enough to enjoy the day. Truly a lot to be thankful for.

Thank you. We had a wonderful day. Glad you and Pat were able to spend your day surrounded by family, and that Pat was feeling well enough to enjoy the day. Truly a lot to be thankful for.

I think I certainly do have a blessed life and have a lot to be thankful for.

Thank you. We had a wonderful day. Glad you and Pat were able to spend your day surrounded by family, and that Pat was feeling well enough to enjoy the day. Truly a lot to be thankful for.

Amen Nancy !

I think I certainly do have a blessed life and have a lot to be thankful for.

Pat and I agree as well Mic and Rosie . We were disappointed that we couldn't meet you and Rosie in person , on our cruise . But after almost losing Patty , it gives a new reference point of what's really important . Thus , we are really thankful for Pat's healing and some of the small things that we all take for granted which she had lost during that process . Simple things like a drink of water , certain foods and the ability to walk and use the toilet properly are things which she lost ( hopefully temporarily ) . So , we are really thankful for the return of some of these and look forward to the restoration of the others , at a future date , and a return to cruising . :) :D

Welcome back and how was your cruise ? We heard that there are 15 restaurants on the Aria , WOW !!

Pat and I agree as well Mic and Rosie . We were disappointed that we couldn't meet you and Rosie in person , on our cruise . But after almost losing Patty , it gives a new reference point of what's really important . Thus , we are really thankful for Pat's healing and some of the small things that we all take for granted which she had lost during that process . Simple things like a drink of water , certain foods and the ability to walk and use the toilet properly are things which she lost ( hopefully temporarily ) . So , we are really thankful for the return of some of these and look forward to the restoration of the others , at a future date , and a return to cruising . :) :D

 

 

Welcome back and how was your cruise ? We heard that there are 15 restaurants on the Aria , WOW !!

Yes, Rosie has had some issues as well which always make you think and be grateful for what you have.

The cruise was great, albeit just a very short one. The harbour party, which was the main reason for doing this cruise was awesome with all five P&O Australia Ships there at once. The Aria only has the MDR and three specialty restaurants (Asian, Italian and a fancy upmarket one called Salt Grill - Luke Mangen who is a celebrity chef https://www.lukemangan.com/) as well as the Pantry (Buffet but always served to the passengers)http://www.heraldsun.com.au/travel/holiday-ideas/cruises/first-look-pampos-new-ships-pacific-aria-and-pacific-eden-spell-the-end-of-the-traditional-cruise-ship-buffet/news-story/cd7cd22d7efaccdd90553212a554b974.

Being the inaugural cruise there were some teething problems, due to new staff etc., but overall it was fantastic to get away and do a short cruise.:D

Mic, your Aria cruise sounds like it was a lot of fun! I would have loved to see the 5 P&O ships all together. A getaway cruise is always a good idea in my book!

Pat, hang in there with your rehab. It WILL get better. From what I've been reading here, it sounds like you have come a long way already!

I will probably be disappearing for a bit this week because I will be getting both knees replaced on Wednesday. After a whole lot of years of just getting by on them, I am relieved to be finally getting them done, but the process is still a bit scary. Hopefully, the surgery will go well and I will be home and starting on rehab soon after. I will be looking forward to seeing more of Russia when I get back.