Author: postcardsfromsanantonio

Postcard from Oviedo, Spain: A few pieces from Museo de Bellas Artes

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Above: “Saint Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins,” Pieter Claeissens, 1560

Pieter Claeissens’s painting hanging in Museo de Bellas Artes de Asturias attracted my attention because of my unfamiliarity with Saint Ursula. According to legend, 11,000 handmaidens of Princess Ursula set sail with her from southern England on a journey to marry the pagan to whom her father had betrothed her. The ship was blown off course, so Ursula and her entourage decided on an extended pilgrimage to Italy first. Huns had taken over Cologne by the time they finally arrived there, and, for some reason, the Huns failed to appreciate having all those virgins in their midst and slaughtered them.

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Postcard from London, England: Fashion fusion

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Above left: 19th-century Indian fine muslin dress embroidered with silk, silver and gold thread, Victoria & Albert Museum South Kensington. Above right: Lampshade skirt, Mary Katrantzou, 2011, The Design Museum.

Visiting numerous museums in a row, it’s impossible for me not to compare what might seem as incongruous exhibits. A portion of “Rebel: Thirty Years of London Fashion” at The Design Museum struck me as almost consciously mimicking the Asian fashion display in the Victoria & Albert Museum combining robes and fabrics.

Thirty years represents an anniversary celebration of the British Fashion Council NEWGEN program offering young designers an opportunity to expose their creativity to a wide audience. With a fresh M.A. in Fashion degree, Lee Alexander McQueen (1969-2010) was in that first group of beneficiaries.

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Postcard from Palermo, Sicily: Marionettes and mummies

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Above: Museo Antonio Pasqualino Internazionale delle Marionette

Opera dei Pupi, a traditional form of Sicilian puppet theater originally focused on tales of the Crusades and French knights, was on the verge of disappearing when it attracted the interest of surgeon Antonio Pasqualino. He set about collecting everything he could related to the art and sparked the interest of others with the 1965 founding of the Association for the Conservation of Folk Traditions. A decade later, the association established the International Puppet Museum, naming it in memory of Pasqualino following his 1995 death.

The collection has become international in scope and is far from stagnant. The museum fosters cultural exchanges by hosting an international festival annually, nurturing contemporary artists and staging performances for all ages. We were surprised to witness a group of 11- and 12-year-olds howling at every punchline delivered in a dated traditional show.

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