74. Time Travel in a Museum

Day 74
Location 16: London
Jan. 13, 2023

Then National Gallery in Britain houses some of the world's most celebrated works from history's greatest artists. Below, I'll select a few pieces that made a lasting impression on me and offer some commentary. Hopefully, after reading through this section, you'll be left feeling as though you were walking beside me through the gallery this morning.
Art
Info

The Drunkard, Zarauz
(Joaquín Sorolla, 1910)

The drunk guy seems so content and vaguely friendly that I felt happy for him. It's like the painting fell upon my eyes and magically made it's way back behind my sockets into my head, down my throat, into my stomach, eventually seeping its alcoholic richness into my bloodstream. From looking at the painting, I felt like I was a few beers deep. Yet when I looked away, I was immediately sober.  

Portrait of Frederick Sluysken
(Ferdinand Bol,1652)

There's no way around it: this kid is swagged out. He's got on his best knickers, a bad-ass cape, and to top it all off, he's sporting the rare Nike Air Force 0. 

I'm convinced the artist, also the boy's father, determined to make his son look like the fucking man in this portrait designed, constructed, and used a time machine to travel into the future for the Nike swoosh. Now that's a good dad.

The Annunciation, with Saint Emidius
(Carlo Crivelli, 1486)

This painting unsurprisingly contains three common symbols of any famous religious work: 
Mary
The Holy Spirit
Jes--wait is that a pickle?! 

An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump
(Joseph Wright of Derby, 1768)

This painting is a rebel. Unlike other mainstream works of its time, the foreground of this piece depicts a moment of children studying science–often seen as an antithesis of the Church–with a reverence reserved only for religious imagery.

Coincidentally, in the foreground of my photo stand three students on a school trip as they study the painting meant to emphasize the importance of learning.

Portrait of a Woman of the Hofer Family
(Swabian, 1470)

In the October 7, 2020 vice presidential debate, Kamala Harris debated Mike Pence, an anti-gay, plank of wood come to life. During the debate, a fly landed on Pence's head. For 2+ minutes, the fly sat on his stringy white, lego man-like hair. The incident was all over the news for the next few days.

This artist's depiction got the details of Pence's face, hair, and clothing wrong. But they got the fly just right.

​The Fighting Temeraire
(J. M. W. Turner, 1839)

A once mighty British warship is tugged to shore one last time in anticipation of being scrapped for parts. In Skyfall (2012), James Bond meets Q at the painting which is used as a metaphor for his age and resulting steadily declining usefulness in the field, much like the Temeraire.

After waiting too long for an old lady to finally get out of the way, my friend Galit and I recreated the film's moment.

​Portrait of a Man
(Unknown)

They don't know who painted this or who the subject is, so the placard next to the painting was essentially blank.
But I thought this dude looked like Macaulay Culkin. Did you know he dated Mila Kunis for 7 years? They should've put that on the placard.

Cognoscenti in a Room hung with Pictures
(Unknown, 1620)

I'll cut to the chase: this photo is freaky. It's paintings inside a painting inside a museum with a ton of paintings. It's the kind of thing that if you were high would cause you to have an epiphany or a mental breakdown. Out of fear of the latter, let's move on.

​Gold Digger
(Kanye West, 2005)

Outside the National Gallery, a busker sang along to a karaoke track of Kanye West's Gold Digger, which I'd never seen before. Probably because it sounded like shit. I almost dropped some money in the hopes that she'd stop.

Some bonus photos:

Art	Info
	The Drunkard, Zarauz (Joaquín Sorolla, 1910) The drunk guy seems so content and vaguely friendly that I felt happy for him. It's like the painting fell upon my eyes and magically made it's way back behind my sockets into my head, down my throat, into my stomach, eventually seeping its alcoholic richness into my bloodstream. From looking at the painting, I felt like I was a few beers deep. Yet when I looked away, I was immediately sober.
	Portrait of Frederick Sluysken (Ferdinand Bol,1652) There's no way around it: this kid is swagged out. He's got on his best knickers, a bad-ass cape, and to top it all off, he's sporting the rare Nike Air Force 0. I'm convinced the artist, also the boy's father, determined to make his son look like the fucking man in this portrait designed, constructed, and used a time machine to travel into the future for the Nike swoosh. Now that's a good dad.
	The Annunciation, with Saint Emidius (Carlo Crivelli, 1486) This painting unsurprisingly contains three common symbols of any famous religious work: Mary The Holy Spirit Jes--wait is that a pickle?!
	An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (Joseph Wright of Derby, 1768) This painting is a rebel. Unlike other mainstream works of its time, the foreground of this piece depicts a moment of children studying science–often seen as an antithesis of the Church–with a reverence reserved only for religious imagery. Coincidentally, in the foreground of my photo stand three students on a school trip as they study the painting meant to emphasize the importance of learning.
	Portrait of a Woman of the Hofer Family (Swabian, 1470) In the October 7, 2020 vice presidential debate, Kamala Harris debated Mike Pence, an anti-gay, plank of wood come to life. During the debate, a fly landed on Pence's head. For 2+ minutes, the fly sat on his stringy white, lego man-like hair. The incident was all over the news for the next few days. This artist's depiction got the details of Pence's face, hair, and clothing wrong. But they got the fly just right.
	The Fighting Temeraire (J. M. W. Turner, 1839) A once mighty British warship is tugged to shore one last time in anticipation of being scrapped for parts. In Skyfall (2012), James Bond meets Q at the painting which is used as a metaphor for his age and resulting steadily declining usefulness in the field, much like the Temeraire. After waiting too long for an old lady to finally get out of the way, my friend Galit and I recreated the film's moment.
	Portrait of a Man (Unknown) They don't know who painted this or who the subject is, so the placard next to the painting was essentially blank. But I thought this dude looked like Macaulay Culkin. Did you know he dated Mila Kunis for 7 years? They should've put that on the placard.
	Cognoscenti in a Room hung with Pictures (Unknown, 1620) I'll cut to the chase: this photo is freaky. It's paintings inside a painting inside a museum with a ton of paintings. It's the kind of thing that if you were high would cause you to have an epiphany or a mental breakdown. Out of fear of the latter, let's move on.
	Gold Digger (Kanye West, 2005) Outside the National Gallery, a busker sang along to a karaoke track of Kanye West's Gold Digger, which I'd never seen before. Probably because it sounded like shit. I almost dropped some money in the hopes that she'd stop.