Tag: house museum

Postcard from Valencia, Spain: Philips lightbulb only hint of ‘secret’ garden of tiles beyond

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An over-the-top flashy exterior of a former home now the National Museum of Ceramics and Decorative Arts commands the attention of most visitors in the historic center of Valencia. Almost the only thing attracting one’s attention to a smaller house museum on a busy street above the Turia Park is this old tile advertisement. But this, the House Museum José Benlliure, we enjoyed so much more.

The first floor of the former home provides insight to period furnishings, with the upper floors featuring paintings by José Benlliure y Gil (1858-1937) and his son. While the art is worthwhile on its own, the more intriguing spaces are found out the back door.

Benlliure designed the garden upon his return from Rome in 1912. The intimate retreat is filled with tile murals he collected and a colorful series he commissioned depicting regional costumes and agricultural products – mainly oranges and grapes.

At the rear of the garden is the artist’s former art studio and office, wonderfully cluttered and personal. A pure pleasure to explore.

Having the house mostly to ourselves, we felt as though we stumbled into a secret garden of Spanish tilework.

Postcard from Guanajuato, Mexico: Aqueduct leads to house museum of artistic couple

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Following the path of an ancient aqueduct through the city led us to Museo de Arte Olga Costa-Jose Chavez Morado. Tree-shaded grounds surround the former home of the artists, married in Mexico City in 1935.

Olga Kostakowsky Falvisant (1913-1993) was born in Germany to Russians who had fled there to avoid persecution prior to World War I. Her family of Jewish origin sought safety in Mexico by 1925. Olga attended an arts school for three months in 1933 before withdrawing to help support the family. But the exposure to instruction from Carlos Merida and meaningful encounters with a fellow student, Jose Chavez Morado (1909-2002), altered the course of her life.

Morado, on the younger end of the generation of great Mexican muralists, taught art and among his murals are those found in Alhondiga de Granaditas in Guanajuato. Both painting, the couple was swept up in the movement of the Mexican Communist party and were regarded as important contributors to and patrons of the arts throughout their lives.

Lalo del Valle
Lalo del Valle
Jose Chavez Morado
Lalo del Valle
Lalo del Valle
Jose Chavez Morado
Lalo del Valle
In a separate gallery on the grounds, an exhibition of paintings and sculpture, “Inconscientemente Inocente,” focuses on contemporary work by an artist born in Mexico City, Lalo del Valle. The artist’s sculptures include a weighty drop of ink splashing off a quill, chickens constructed from egg cartons pecking at their unnatural vitamin supplements and chihuahuas worshipping at the feet of their leader.