Within The Gallery

Another stop on Canada Day was at the National Gallery of Canada, where a visitor first comes up the long ramp to the glass tower that gives views of Major's Hill Park, the Chateau Laurier, and Parliament Hill.

This view from the second level, late in my visit, showed a downpour outside.

This painting is from the permanent exhibits; it's a Picasso, titled The Small Table, dating back to 1919. I make note of this here because there was also a special exhibit going on that I stopped in to see. 'Picasso: Man And Beast' is a collection called the Vollard Suite, a series of etchings and drawings the artist did over several years, drawn out of Greek mythology. You can get a taste of the exhibit here. There are few complete sets of the Vollard Suite- many of the sets were broken down into smaller segments for collectors- but major galleries like this one do have them. This exhibition is the first time since the Gallery acquired them that they've been on display. Some of the prints have more of a conventional look, while others definitely look like Pablo's style. Obviously photography in the exhibit hall was out of the question.

There was another exhibit going on that I have to go back to see. Elizabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun was an 18th century portrait artist in the court at Versailles, a favourite of Marie-Antoinette and this exhibit features her life's work. Have a peek at the exhibit website.