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Earlier this month, we were traveling in the colorful Bavarian countryside for a conference and took the opportunity to visit Munich as it would typically be several hours distance from where we live in West Germany. Visiting museums housing collections of Old Master paintings is the top of my list of 'must-see while traveling'! I was disappointed that Neue Pinakothek was temporarily closed during our visit, but content with finding some of the collection temporarily housed within Alte Pinakothek.

With collections spanning the fourteenth through nineteenth centuries, I enjoyed viewing and studying paintings in one of the oldest and most important galleries in the world. Masterful works by Rubens, Rembrandt, Dürer, Fra Angelico, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Lorrain, Poussin, Fragonard, Van Gogh, El Greco, Velazquez, Ribera, Zurburan, Murillo and Goya were among the displayed works in vast rooms and galleries.

A large collection like this can be overwhelming. So many rare paintings to observe and learn from, one could spend months or a lifetime looking. How do you choose where to spend your time and what are you even looking for? I typically have a trusty scout familiar with the traditionally important names in art history. This helps ensure I don’t miss a jewel. However, when my scout prefers to read instead, I rely on my self-led path of study. There are particular characteristics of historic artist’s works that I admire, and have in mind to notice when I encounter a painting in person. A bit like a scavenger hunt, I already have questions that I’m looking to have answered from either my last viewing opportunity or research. How was this design problem solved? How is color temperature utilized? Can I discern the initial steps in this process? These are among the long list of questions I'm constantly rotating through.

Additionally, there are wonderful surprises that happen when you meet a painting you’ve only read about and have seen in print or digital form. Even the best high-quality image cannot reproduce what you see and perceive in person. These are the highlights of my museum visits. These exciting discoveries are unique to each viewer, according to their awareness, development and preferences. These surprises help steer and direct my pursuits, style, and interest.

This visit I was particularly taken with Manet’s Luncheon in the Studio. Having read about this painting before and seen it in printed form, I was enlightened with its realities in person. Viewing it, I recognized his design mastery in leading the eye with focal points enhanced by value separation, contrast and exaggeration. I was also thrilled to noticed what appeared to be cobalt pigment peeking through flesh tones and other areas of interest.

Similarly, in a Constable landscape, which is rendered with such a high level of realism and truth to nature, he gives the eye a break from monotonous green, and keeps interest by including spots of red that are inauthentic to the scene he’s painting.

Monet parts with tradition in describing waterlilies by painting highly pigmented hues on top of white. These surprises, details and concepts often grant me permission in my own work to explore methods thoughtfully and most importantly, permission to be the painter you are, not simply the painter you are learning from or aspiring to.

Other highlights include discovering artists I’ve never seen or heard of before which are unique to my self-led education. This visit, I had heard of German impressionist Max Liebermann, but was struck with the painterly abstraction of his mark making and description of subjects, next to a painting executed academically, but lacking the excitement and intrigue of the first.

I also enjoyed meeting another German impressionist painting by Max Slevogt. This was a figurative painting from an unusual point of view, which I found most interesting along with the color harmony and brushwork.

Works shown by Van Gogh, Klimt, and Schiele.

This visit reinforced what’s possible in creating, along with new insights for me to sit with after my recent study of the figure. It was a wonderful experience to visit this treasure of a museum, which I hope to repeat again and hope to see the Nue Pinotecka in its entirety.

What are you looking for when you visit a museum or study works from life?

Who are your favorites to visit/study and why? Any museum recommendations for me?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!