African Museums

IFAN Museum of African Arts in Dakar, Senegal

2011-12-29T16:20:00.001-08:00

IFAN Museum of African Arts

The Musée de l'Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire or IFAN Museum of African Arts in Dakar, Senegal is one of the oldest art museums in West Africa. It was promoted by Léopold Senghor, the country's first President.

In December 2007, its official title was changed to The Théodore Monod African Art Museum ("Musée Théodore Monod d'Art africain"), after the French naturalist Théodore André Monod, former director of IFAN.[1] Previously its official name had been "Le Musée d'Art africain de l'Institut fondamental d'Afrique noire Cheikh Anta Diop IFAN/CAD".

IFAN Museum of African Arts

The museum is part of the Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire (IFAN) institute, founded 1936 under the Popular Front government in France. When IFAN was transferred to Cheikh Anta Diop University in 1960, the building at Place Soweto near the National Assembly of Senegal was converted into a museum.

It is today one of the most prestigious centers for the study of African culture and part of the Cheikh Anta Diop University. As the main cultural research center of the colonies of French West Africa, it contains important collections from across Francophone Africa.

The museum is one of the regular locations used in the Dakar Biennale exhibition, showing art by contemporary African and diaspora artists.

Contact information:

Place Soweto, Plateau

Dakar, Senegal

The charm of African Arts And Crafts

2011-12-23T19:19:00.000-08:00

Article by Herman Wheeler

Africa is well known for its art and craft works, most of these arts works are found in the form of sculptures, fabric work, decorative items, musical instruments like drums, and paintings. Most of the statues will be carved in the form of humans, which represents great leaders. They make their art work in such a way that each and every piece of art reveals their tradition and culture. Normally Africans DO NOT show affection to each other, they make their art work which resembles their culture.

The African people often include animal statues like horses, lion, etc with human sculptures to respect great people and to honor them. For example every one know that horse is a noble animal, if a human statue is included with this animal, then he is considered as an honorable and respected person. Most of these carvings are made out of wood and stones.

Evidences of African art could be found as early as 500 BC, with carved rocks in the Sahara and sculptures from Nigeria. The use of bronze, brass and other metalwork, as well as the incorporation of terracotta, ivory and other embellishments were attributed to go back as far as 10th century AD, and usually reserved for royalty. African art forms that were not statues or figurines were still meant to be three-dimensional pieces. Decorative fabrics are meant to be worn, with the wearer becoming part of the art piece, while wall paintings, usually carved from wood, though flat, become part of the residence that it is hung in.

A large part of African arts and crafts is traditional arts, which were deeply woven into the daily life and culture of the different African peoples, and now found on display in most museums. An example of these is the African mask. Africans use masks in ceremonial and ritual practices, usually in celebration, but also to prepare for war, to initiate a young warrior, and before a harvest.

They design the masks according to their county or tribe, each design has its own kind of pattern and style. For example the Dan people of Ivory Coast and Liberia carve their masks with features such as wide fore head, flattened nose, full lips, and the strands of rope attached at the top of masks to make it look like hairs. The people of Congo in Punu make their masks with wood and paint it in white color, which resembles rich women. And they use these masks to scare off evil spirits and witches.

Other African arts and crafts used in old African traditions are African baskets. The baskets of the Etsha and Gumare tribes in Botswana are particularly famous for their beauty. While baskets are usually carried over the head, the influence of foreign cultures has modified the way baskets are carried, allowing totes to be slung around one’s shoulders. The result is many gorgeous designs of African ladies’ handbags which are still quite unique and appealing, using indigenous materials such as mud cloth and suede, decorated with fringes and cowries shells. Contemporary, yet still reflective of a vast heritage of African arts and culture.

About the Author

Herman Wheeler had focused mostly on psychology and spirituality, but he had been a long time collector of African Art and Crafts. So he started the website www.theafricanartwheel.com to share his passion on African arts with other people. Visit Theafticanartwheel.com and decorate your home with the miracle and wonder of original hand-made African

How to Buy African Masks, African Art, African masks On the Market

2011-12-23T19:03:00.000-08:00

African masks come in many different styles. African art is becoming the fashion trends. African masks on the market are the new craze when it comes to decorating rooms with African motif.

There many place online to buy African masks, but be careful of all the cheap replicas that are circulating on the web. To buy African masks or genuine African masks, http://www.africanstreetmarket.com will help you with the best tips to buy African masks and other advice to buy African arts online.

African arts and African motifs are becoming very popular. These products come in a wide range of shapes and sizes. The cost of these items can vary greatly. If you are looking for nice African arts or African masks to decorate your walls, you will find a great deal of available items to choose from. However, if you are looking to collect rare antiques African masks or African art, then you may have to find a reputable art dealer to make your purchases. Each African masks tells a different story. In Africa, there many different tribes and each of these tribes will have their own mask. Each of these masks carving will be different to represent the tribes. You will need to do some homework and familiar yourself with some of the tribes in order to understand what you are buying and be able to differentiate between the tribes.

Some of the African masks can be scary looking. These masks come in a wide variety of colors. Because of the wide range of colors the African mask comes in, keep in mind you can use them to decorate your home in a color coordinate with your taste.

Because of the internet, there is no need to travel to Africa to find African arts and African Masks. You can locate them easily online as there are a number of sources that have a wide variety for you to select from and to purchase African masks.

Smithsonian National Museum of African Art -Washington DC

2011-12-23T11:32:00.000-08:00

Smithsonian National Museum of African Art -Washington DC

The National Museum of African Art is a museum that is part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.. Located on the National Mall, the museum specializes in African art and culture. It was established as a private museum in 1964, and officially became a part of the Smithsonian Institution in August 1979.

The museum's main entrance is situated off the gardens in front of the Smithsonian Castle on Independence Avenue Southwest. The National Museum of African Art is an underground museum with subterranean connections with the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art.

Artwork in the museum comes from all parts of Africa, but most of it is from the region south of the Sahara. Represented countries include Mali, Cameroon,Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Ghana, and Morocco, among others. Most of the items in the collection are sculptures, masks, furniture, and musical instruments made from wood.

The roots of the museum date back to a chance purchase of a $15 carving of the Yoruba people by Warren M. Robbins in Hamburg,Germany in the early 1960s. Robbins purchased another 32 pieces of African art a year later, and brought his collection with him when he returned to the United States, putting them on display at his home in Washington, D.C. After a newspaper article was published about his collection, visitors started appearing at the door and were welcomed in to view the works.

In 1963, Robbins purchased half of a home at 316-18 A Street Northeast that had been the residence of abolitionist Frederick Douglassfrom 1871 to 1877. When it opened in May 1964, it was the first museum in the United States dedicated to African art exclusively. In succeeding years, Robbins raised money to acquire the remaining half of the Douglass house, naming it the Museum of African Art. As the collection grew, he purchased adjoining residences, with his museum ultimately including nine townhouses, 16 garages and two carriage houses.^[

In 1979, Congress agreed to have the Smithsonian Institution assume management of the collection. Robbins served as the museum's first director, remaining in the position until 1983 when he was named founding director emeritus and a Smithsonian senior scholar, and replaced as director by Sylvia H. Williams. The museum relocated from its Capitol Hill townhouse to the National Mall on September 1987, and was renamed the National Museum of African Art.

Current Exhibitions

Hours and admission
10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily except December 25; admission is free

Contacting us
National Museum of African Art Smithsonian Institution
P.O. Box 37012 MRC 708
Washington, DC 20013-7012
202.633.4600
202.357.4879 (fax)
nmafaweb@si.edu

Afro-Brazilian Museum - Salvador Brazil

2011-12-23T11:02:00.000-08:00

Afro-Brazilian Museum - Salvador Brazil

Created in the 70s, from a cultural cooperation program between Brazil and African countriesand the development of thematic studies on the african-Brazilian, Afro-Brazilian Museum was inaugurated on January 7, 1982, in historic building, the old center of Salvador, built on the sitewhere he ran the Royal College of Jesuits of the sixteenth to the eighteenth century and later, in 1808, the first Medical School in Brazil.

The Museum is the result of an agreement between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education and Culture, the State Government of Bahia, the City of Salvador and the Federal University of Bahia, an organ which is found on through the Center for African Studies East (CEAO). The latter was the executor of the program that gave rise to the Museum and is stillresponsible for its maintenance. Its creation corresponded to the wishes of the existence of an area of collection, preservation and dissemination of collections relating to African cultures andafrican-Brazilian, with the aim of strengthening relations with Africa and understand the importance of this continent in promoting Brazilian culture, for Furthermore, contacts with the local community.

The original design of 1974, designed by anthropologist and photographer Pierre Verger, was developed by architect Oswald and Jacyra etnolinguista Yeda Pessoa de Castro, among other teachers and researchers at the Federal University of Bahia and external consultants. Between the years 1997 and 1999 MAFRA went through a process of renovation of its exposure.

In addition to its educational program, the Museum is also continuously required for official visitsof Heads of State and / or their representatives, as well as intellectuals and researchers relatedto African cultures and african-Brazilian. Through its collection, supports publications and alsothe production of television programs and movies.

Click Here for Exhibits

MAFRO Hours:

Mon-Fri 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Weekends and holidays 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Address & Contact Information:

Address: Terreiro de Jesus / Former School of Medicine complex
Historic Downtown Salvador (Centro Histórico)
Salvador - BA
Phone: 55-71-3321-2013
Fax: 55-71-3321-2013
www.mafro.ceao.ufba.br

Admission :

Admission valid to MAFRO (ground floor) and the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology (downstairs)
Adults: R$5
Kids 6-12: R$2,50
Students (with ID card): R$2,50

National Museum Accra Ghana

2011-12-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

National Museum Accra Ghana

Objects of archeology, ethnography as well as fine art find place in the National Museum building.

Objects at the archeology section range from the stone age period to the recent historical past. Those on permanent exhibition at the ethnography gallery include chief’s regalia, indigenous Ghanian musical instruments, gold-weights, beads, traditional textiles, stools and pottery.

There are also objects from other African countries acquired through exchange. Examples are Senfu masks from La Cote D’ Ivoire, Zulu wooden figures and bead-ware from Southern Africa.

In addition there are also ancient Ife bronze heads from Nigeria and Bushongo carvings from the Congo. Exhibits at the small but impressive art gallery consist mainly of contemporary Ghanian paintings executed in oil, pasted, acrylic, watercolour and collages.

Apart from these there are sculpture pieces in different media

Temporary exhibitions are held not only by the National Museum but also by individuals and foreign embassies.

Guided tours are provided and films on some aspects of Ghanian culture are shown

by the staff of the Education Section.

It is more than our wish that every guest, while enjoying his or her visit to the National Museum, adds some more knowledge to what he or she might have already about Ghana’s material cultural heritage.

Telephone:	00233-021-221633
	00233-021-221635
E-mail:	gmmb-acc@africaonline.com.gh

Address:

National Museum Accra

Barnes Road

P.O. box GP 3343

Accra, Ghana

Visiting hours:
Daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Christmas day

Fee:
6 Ghana Cedis

Buffalo Soldiers National Museum - Houston Texas

2011-12-23T09:46:00.001-08:00

Buffalo Soldiers National Museum -Houston Texas

Exhibit Hours:
Monday – Friday
10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Saturday
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

General Admission:
$5.00 per adult
$3.00 per student

Museum Bookings Allow the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum to assist you with planning your next meeting, social outing, or business networking event. For more information call
(713) 942-8920 or send us an e-mail at info@buffalosoldiermuseum.com

Brief History

The Beginning

African Americans have served proudly in every great American war. In 1866, through an act of Congress, legislation was adopted to create six all African American Army units. The units were identified as the 9th and 10th cavalry and the 38th, 39th, 40th, and 41st infantry regiments. The four infantry regiments were later reorganized to form the 24th and 25th infantry regiments.
These fighting men represented the first Black professional soldiers in a peacetime army. The recruits came from varied backgrounds including former slaves and veterans from service in the Civil War.

The Nickname

The nickname buffalo soldiers began with the Cheyenne warriors in 1867. The actual Cheyenne translation was Wild Buffalo. The nickname was given out of respect and the fierce fighting ability of the 10th cavalry. Overtime, Buffalo Soldiers became a generic term for all African American soldiers.

Houston Museum of African American Culture

2011-12-23T09:17:00.001-08:00

Houston Museum of African American Culture

4807 Caroline Street Houston, TX 77004-5607

Phone: 713.526.1015

Current Exhibits click here

The mission of HMAAC is to collect, conserve, explore, interpret, and exhibit the material and intellectual culture of Africans and African Americans in Houston, the state of Texas, the southwest and the African Diaspora for current and future generations. In fulfilling its mission, HMAAC seeks to invite and engage visitors of every race and background and to inspire children of all ages through discovery-driven learning.

HMAAC is to be a museum for all people. While our focus is the African American experience, our story in Texas informs and includes not only people of color, but people of all colors. As a result, the stories and exhibitions that HMAAC will bring to Texas are about the indisputable fact that while our experience is a unique one, it has been impacted by numerous races, genders and ethnicities.

HMAAC’s new home at 4807 Caroline is targeted to be renovated and opened to the public in 2012

THE DUSABLE MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY - Chicago IL

2011-12-22T23:17:00.000-08:00

THE DUSABLE MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN history

MuSEUM HOURS

Holiday Schedule:
Closing at 1:00 pm on December 24 & 31
December 26 & January 2 (Closed)

Tuesday—Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Sunday, Noon–5:00 p.m. (Closed Mondays)
Closed Christmas & New Years Day
Admission Information

MUS EUM LOCATION

740 East 56th Place

Chicago, Illinois 60637

Current Exhibits

History:

The DuSable Museum of African American History located in the historic Hyde Park area of Chicago at 740 East 56th Place (57th Street and South Cottage Grove Avenue) in Washington Park unites art, history and culture.

Founded in 1961 by teacher and art historian Dr. Margaret Burroughs and other leading Chicago citizens, the DuSable Museum is one of the few independent institutions of its kind in the United States. Developed to preserve and interpret the experiences and achievements of people of African descent, it is dedicated to the collection, documentation, preservation and study of the history and culture of Africans and African Americans. The DuSable Museum is proud of its diverse holdings that number more than 15,000 pieces and include paintings, sculpture, print works and historical memorabilia. Special exhibitions, workshops and lectures are featured to highlight works by specific artists, historic events or collections on loan from individuals or institutions.

Chicago is a city rich in African-American History and the Museum is named for Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, a Haitian of African and French descent, who in 1779 established the trading post and permanent settlement which would become known as… Chicago.

Permanent exhibits at the DuSable Museum include: “A Slow Walk to Greatness: The Harold Washington Story,“ “Paintings / Drawings / Sculptures: Masterpieces from the DuSable Museum Collection,“ “Red, White, Blue & Black: A History of Blacks in the Armed Forces“ and “Africa Speaks.” Programming for families and children includes musical performances, film festivals, arts and crafts workshops, lectures, book signings, and special events.

The DuSable Museum remains a community institution dedicated to serving the cultural and educational needs of our members. Our research, curatorial and educational divisions are committed to listening and responding to these needs, as well as the ever-increasing demands of art and cultural historians, and patrons nationwide.

The John G. Riley Center/Museum of African American History and Culture - Tallahassee Florida

2011-12-22T23:00:00.000-08:00

The John G. Riley Center/Museum of African American History and Culture -Tallahassee Florida

419 East Jefferson Street • Tallahassee, Florida 32301 • (850) 681-7881
HOURS OF OPERATION:
Monday thru Friday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Current Exhibits

The Riley House - A Community Museum and Educational Center

The Riley House is a historical and cultural gem that sits at the bottom of a hill in downtown Tallahassee, at the corner of Meridian and Jefferson Streets.

Nestled among beautiful shade trees, the John G. Riley historic home represents the thriving black neighborhood that once existed in what is just east of downtown Tallahassee. The Riley House is especially significant when compared to other such historical sites in that it is the last vestige we have of the accomplishments of an entire group of people, the black middle class, which emerged in the latter part of the nineteenth century.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the area just east of downtown Tallahassee and west of Myers Park Drive was an African American community called Smokey Hollow. According to the Tallahassee City Directory, published in 1904, there were five houses on Riley's block on Jefferson Street, all owned by black men. In 1919, there were six homeowners and they too were black. Several other homes, owned or rented by blacks, surrounded the Riley property, extending up College and Gadsden Streets. This situation changed in the 1950's, when plans for the Department of Transportation Building and the expansion of Apalachee Parkway encroached into the boundaries of the Smokey Hollow community. By 1978, only two houses remained, that of John Riley and John Hicks, a black tailor who lived across the street from Riley. Hicks died in the early 1970's and his home was purchased by Colmar Corporation for speculative purposes.

In 1978, through the efforts of local preservationists, the Riley House became the second house in Florida owned by a black person to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, the first being the Mary McLeod Bethune house in Volusia County.

In 1995, a group of Tallahassee citizens established a museum at the Riley House dedicated to African-American history and culture. This facility draws more visitors and tourist into the area while providing a historically diverse attraction.

WHO WAS JOHN GILMORE RILEY?

John Gilmore Riley was born in 1857, when slavery was a way of life and educational pursuits for blacks were illegal. With the help of his Aunt Henrietta, Riley defied the law of the land and learned to read and write. Riley began his first teaching job in 1877 at a school in Wakulla County.
In 1881 he began teaching at Lincoln Academy, one of three freedmen schools built during the Reconstruction era in Florida to provide secondary instruction to blacks. In 1892 Riley became principal of the school until his retirement in 1926. In addition to his career as an educator, he also distinguished himself as a leader in business and was Grand High Priest of the Royal Arch Masons of Florida. John G. Riley died in 1954. The house that he built for his family in 1890 stands today as a testament to the rich, cultural heritage of African-Americans.

FOUNDERS
Many persons are to be thanked for playing a significant part in saving the Riley House. Among the notables are: Nancy Dobson, past executive director of the Tallahassee Historic Preservation Board, who documented the significance of the house and had it placed in the National Register of Historic Places; Attorney Robert Travis and Dean M.S. Thomas, who labored as Chairmen of the John G. Riley Foundation Board through restoration; other chairmen Leon Russell, Arthur Teele, Jr. and T.H. Poole; Attorney Jesse McCrary, who served as Secretary of State, and was a strong advocate for restoration of the house; and Dr. A.E. Teele, Sr., who developed the history of the Riley House and Professor Riley.

California African American Museum - Los Angeles

2011-12-22T22:22:00.001-08:00

California African American Museum
600 State Drive- Exposition Park-Los Angeles California 90037
213-744-7432 Hours: Closed Monday Tue- Fri 10am-5pm, Sun. 11am to 5pm

Click Here for Current Exhibits

History

The museum opened in 1981, in temporary quarters at the California Museum of Science and Industry (now the California Science Center). The current facility was built with State and private funds of around $5 million. The museum was designed by the African–American architects Jack Haywood and (the late) Vince Proby. The new museum building opened to the public during the Los Angeles Olympic Games in July 1984. A major renovation occurred between 2001 and 2003.

]Description

The museum occupies a 44,000 square feet (4,100 m²) building. It includes three exhibition galleries, a theater gallery, a 14,000-square-foot (1,300 m²) sculpture court, a conference center special events room, an archive and research library. Behind the scenes there are administration offices, exhibit design and artifact storage areas.

The California African American Museum (CAAM) exists to research, collect, preserve and interpret for public enrichment, the history, art and culture of African Americans. The museum conserves more than 3,500 objects of art, historical artifacts and memorabilia, and maintains a research library with more than 20,000 books and other reference materials available for limited public use.

The permanent collection includes paintings, photographs, sculpture and artifacts representing the diverse contributions of African Americans. The collection ranges from African art to 19th-century landscape. Along with its permanent collection, CAAM hosts specially mounted exhibitions curated out of its own collection, as well as traveling exhibitions from other museums.

In addition, CAAM hosts independent and collaborative educational programs both on and off site of lectures, workshops, innovative programs, and hands-on activities that serve public and private school students, as well as museum patrons and community visitors of all ages.

CAAM is free and open to the public Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5pm, and Sunday 11am-5pm. Photography is not permitted inside the museum.]

New York City Museum for African Art

2011-12-22T22:07:00.000-08:00

Opened to the public in 1984, the Museum for African Art is dedicated to the arts and cultures of Africa and the African Diaspora. Since that time, it has become internationally recognized as a preeminent organizer of exhibitions and publications related to historical and contemporary African art, with programs that are as diverse as the continent itself.

The Museum was located in a rented townhouse on New York City's Upper East Side from 1984 until 1992, when it moved to rented space in the City's SoHo district. In 2002, the Museum moved to temporary quarters in Long Island City, Queens, and in late 2005 it closed its gallery space there in order to focus on developing plans for a new, larger facility that it would own. In September 2007, ground was broken for a new building that will enable the long-needed expansion of the Museum's exhibitions, public programs, and educational
initiatives.

Designed by the celebrated Robert A.M. Stern Architects, LLP, the new Museum for African Art will open to the public in the second half of 2012. It will be located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 110th Street, in New York City, where it will join Manhattan's "Museum Mile."

The Museum for African Art will own and occupy about 90,000 square feet in a mixed-use joint-development project. With its expansive exhibition and programming spaces, the new facility will enable the institution to dramatically expand the audiences it serves, providing a powerful link between the diverse cultural communities of New York City and those beyond.

While it prepares for the public opening of its new quarters, the Museum continues to develop important exhibitions that travel to major venues internationally and are accompanied by scholarly publications. It also presents a wide range of public programs for adults, families, and school children, held at locations throughout New York City.

Current Exhibitions

Dnasty and Divinity: Ife Art in Ancient Nigeria

Dynasty and Divinity: Ife Art in Ancient Nigeria is a landmark exhibition devoted to the art of Ife, the ancient city-state of the Yoruba people of West Africa (in present-day southwestern Nigeria). The exhibition highlights the artistic accomplishments of this unique 12th- to 15th-century civilization and examines how factors of dynastic power and divine authority shaped their exceptional arts. Featuring more than 100 extraordinary bronze, terra-cotta, and stone sculptures ranging in date from the 9th to the 15th centuries, Dynasty and Divinity presents many works that have never before been on display outside of Nigeria.

El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa

El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa brings together the full range of El Anatsui’s work, from wood trays made in Ghana referencing traditional Akan symbols, early ceramics from the Broken Pots series, through chainsaw-carved wood, to his most recent luminous metal sculptures and wall hangings. Anatsui has gained international acclaim for his dazzling metallic hangings made from liquor bottle caps. In these sculptures, as in wood and ceramics, Anatsui pieces together monumental visual statements that refer to global, local, and personal histories.

Grass Roots: African Origins of an American Art

Grass Roots: African Origins of an American Art presents the remarkable beauty of coiled basketry and demonstrates how the utilitarian rice fanner and market basket can be viewed simultaneously as objects of use, containers of memory, and works of art. The exhibition features 225 objects including baskets from the Lowcountry of South Carolina and Georgia and from diverse regions of Africa, as well as African sculpture from the rice-growing societies which, through the agency of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, exported their cultures to America.

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Paris the Louvre ...Lunch with Nellie

2011-12-22T12:41:00.001-08:00

The Louvre

When you think museums in Paris or (musee' as the french say) The first place that comes to mind is the Louvre home of Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo among many other famous works of art. You need days to really see everything. On my first visit I was exhausted my senses overloaded. I was trying to see every thing not knowing if I would ever be back. Disappointed- I had just fought the crowds to get a glimpse of the Mona Lisa.... the painting was so small and you couldn't even get very close for the people and ropes,plus it was behind bullet proof glass. I wandered away up some stairs totally lost ..turned a corner and there she was my black Mona Lisa. The portrait d'une negresse she seem to be looking straight at me just hanging there on the wall unprotected...I could of reach out and touched her( don't worry they have guards posted every few yards ..so no sane person would dare)

I am having a hard time trying to write why I really liked this painting. I guess with art you just know what you like. The expression on her face ..I really can't make up my mind..Is she bored, sad, happy, mad, content. It seems to change.. maybe with my mood. I went to the Louvre bookstore and bought a print. Across for the bookstore is a post office right in the museum. I bought a mailing tube and had the print shipped home. Nelli as I call her is now framed and hangs in my living room. I did research but except for the fact that some think she might have been a slave from the island of Martinique ..no one really know anything about her life.

I have been back many times.... to have .....as I call it lunch with Nelli . The Louver has a wonderful mall with a food court. I go get something to eat ..visit shop called Fragonard Parfumeur (a French perfume company) I buy a candle and some soap. Then I go visit Nelli .... it has been a while since my last visit. Nelli I hope I will be able to drop by and visit on my way to Timbuktu for my 50th birthday.

If you plan on going to the Louvre here are some tips.

1.Don't try to see everything at once. Get a guide book decide what you really must see. Stop and enjoy each piece of art on your list.

Crowds @ Mona Lisa

2 . Do eat at the food court. Food can be very expensive in Paris , but you will find the food there reasonably priced.

3. Wear a comfortable pair of shoes. Even though you can wear sweats and tennis shoes..why not dress it up a little..try and look chic. After all you are in Paris. Remember you are seeing history and making memory's..don't you want to look good in your pictures. You don't want to look like the frumpy American tourist :-)

Venus de Milo

3. Spend the money and hire a personal guide. The museum or hotel concierge can recommend one. You can let the guide know what art you must see. They will work with you to make sure you see it and show you things that you didn't know you wanted to see. A good guide will actually save you time because don't waste time wandering around looking for an exhibit. Yes the museum will have group tours,but I would personally splurge on a private guide. They really are not that much more especially if you split the cost with friends.

Portrait d'une négresse (1800)

Hanging on one wall of the Musée du Louvre, in the company of the gargantuan machines by Jacques-Louis David, Eugène Delacroix, Théodore Géricault, and others, is an exquisitely crafted and modestly sized painting of a black woman. She is shown seated, half-draped, with her right breast bared to the viewer. She sports an intricately wrapped and crisply laundered headdress that appears similar in fabric to the garment she gathers closely against her body just below her breasts. She stares out at the viewer with an enigmatic expression. Although there are no background details that indicate precisely where the sitter is placed, certain details of her physical surroundings—namely, the ancien régime chair and luxurious cloth that drapes both it and her—suggest that she is in a well-to-do domestic space.

Portrait d'une négresse was painted in 1800 by Marie-Guilhelmine Benoist (born Marie-Guillemine Leroulx-Delaville) (1768-1826), a woman of aristocratic lineage who belonged to a small elite circle of professional women painters that included, among others, Anne Vallayer-Coster (1744-1818), Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun (1755-1842), Marguerite Gérard (1771-1837), Angélique Mongez (1775-1855), and Adélaide Labille-Guiard (1749-1803).1 As had been the case with most women artists working at the time, Benoist fit the middle and upper class ideal of "womanhood" in her conforming to the social expectations of women to marry, raise children, and forego a career.

Although we do not know whether or to what extent Benoist partook in the volatile debates on slavery and gender current during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in France, her painting may be seen as a voice of protest, however small, in the discourse over human bondage.-James Smalls

Here are some of the most famous paintings that are in the Louvre:

Leonardo da Vinci, The Mona Lisa (as noted above)

David, The Oath of the Horatii between the Hands of their Father

Delacroix, Dante and Virgil; Death of Sardanapalus

Gericault, Raft of the Medusa

Greuze, Betrothal in the Village

Gros, Bonaparte Visiting the Victims of the Plague

Ingres, Oedipus and the Sphinx; Valpincon Bather

Prud'hon, Empress Josephine

Quarton, Pieta de Villeneuve d'Avignon

Ribera, The Club-Footed Boy

Rigaud, Portrait of Louix XIV

Rubens, The Disembarkation of Maria de' Medici at the Port of Marseilles

School of Fountainebleau, Diana the Huntress

Titian, Pastoral Concert

Watteau, Embarkation for Cythera

Welcome to African Museums

2011-12-22T12:14:00.001-08:00

I started to blog as a way for people who are searching African American, African and Afrocentric museum displays around the world can find out more information and comment on their experiences.