Yesterday was the first in a series of days were I managed to get into places that I am really not supposed to be. The included the print room at the Ashmolean Museum, Bodlien Law Library, a post-graduate college for lunch and the main law lecture theatre. So far so good.
I told a very long story at the Ashmolean Museum about what I wanted to see: classical sketches of mechanical things where the image implied movement and especially if the sketch also showed human interaction with the machine. I was particularly interested in Italian drawings and like it best when they had something to do with architecture. The reason I wanted to see this was because I was interested in fabric printing and was looking for some ideas. I had to present this explanation four times to get in. (The only way to get in is to describe exactly what you want to see and why.)
When I did there were only three people in the room viewing the sacred stuff and three people working there. The attendant got out a huge felt mat, put on cotton gloves told me where to sit, got a special viewing frame, then went and got the print I had described. It turned out to be a Leonardo de Vinci study for a bigger painting. It was of course the original (this is of course Oxford). It was really beautiful. She then told me that I was now allowed to get out my sketch book and begin. I got out my diary and started pretending and then she gave me a folio of all the things written about this sketch.
Anyway for about 5 minutes I had my very own da Vinci. It was very special. I took some photos without the flash off course and will upload the images as soon as I work out how.
I told a very long story at the Ashmolean Museum about what I wanted to see: classical sketches of mechanical things where the image implied movement and especially if the sketch also showed human interaction with the machine. I was particularly interested in Italian drawings and like it best when they had something to do with architecture. The reason I wanted to see this was because I was interested in fabric printing and was looking for some ideas. I had to present this explanation four times to get in. (The only way to get in is to describe exactly what you want to see and why.)
When I did there were only three people in the room viewing the sacred stuff and three people working there. The attendant got out a huge felt mat, put on cotton gloves told me where to sit, got a special viewing frame, then went and got the print I had described. It turned out to be a Leonardo de Vinci study for a bigger painting. It was of course the original (this is of course Oxford). It was really beautiful. She then told me that I was now allowed to get out my sketch book and begin. I got out my diary and started pretending and then she gave me a folio of all the things written about this sketch.
Anyway for about 5 minutes I had my very own da Vinci. It was very special. I took some photos without the flash off course and will upload the images as soon as I work out how.
1 comment:
Hi Greta
Enjoying your postings. I've just worked out my former logon etc, I hope, so will try to respond more often. will send this now to see if it works, before I write too much.
Debbie
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