Lisbon Art - Landscape in a Park

 

    The piece of art I have chosen to write this blog post on is “Landscape in a Park” by Eugène-Louis Lami. This beautiful painting is located in the Gulbenkian museum. One of the first things I noticed about this painting was how whimsical the trees look. I feel like I can see them moving as a cool breeze blows through them. Another thing that stood out to me was the colors the artist used. The colors almost feel muted and it gives the painting a memory-like quality. This definitely looks and feels like an impressionist painting to me. Something that adds to my suspicions of this is the outfits the ladies down by the water are wearing. I have seen hundreds of impressionist paintings on this trip and the clothing worn by women looks the same way it does in this painting. 

    The Gulbenkian museum is the home of Calouste Gulbenkian's personal art collection. My professors told me that Calouste was a very wealthy man that would buy the best of the best whenever the pieces would become available. Knowing this about his art taste means that this painting is really special. I think a painting or a sculpture or any other piece of art that was purchased by Calouste becomes culturally important. People know about his art collection and I think if I was a painting, I would be honored to be purchased by him. I don’t think this painting is really historically important but culturally important because of who bought it. 

    I don’t think that this painting in particular contributes to Lisbon's cultural capital. However, I think painting’s like it do contribute. When I looked at this painting it reminded me of my home in Tennessee. The trees and the river brought me back so many amazing memories that made me stop and stare at the painting for a long time. I think paintings that make people feel things or remember things are a great contribution to their cultural capital because it makes the people remember their “culture”. Every person on this earth has their own “culture” and what makes a city beautiful is when there is a mix and a share of all these cultures.



Comments

  1. Hannah BryanJune 9, 2024 at 3:04 PM

    Molly! This is a really cool painting and I'm glad that you chose it!

    In your post you mention that the painting has value for you because it reminds you of Tennessee. You make the excellent point that paintings that effectively remind us of places or feelings are really important and valuable. I agree that there are some places in Tennessee that really resemble this painting. The trees are different and everything, but out by Franklin or Lebanon there are a few places that look a lot like this scene. Thanks for reminding me!

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