|
mercredi 12 mars 2003 |
improvisation iii by kandinsky, his only major work in the pompidou, and, with the large format abstract by richter, one of the two best works in what was otherwise a rather unremarkable collection.
[ 31 ]
there were only two reasons to pause while within the pompidou museum. the first was this stunning piece by kandinsky. i'd love to see an exhibit of fifty pieces by him. the second reason to pause was a large canvas by richter, which was very nice, although by comparison sfmoma has four or five truly incredible canvases by richter.
the remaining installations and other works were yawners. a couple of architectural displays were above average but they did not redeem the bland weakness of the overall collection. there was a special exhibit on the top floor above the art museum. we walked up there but were too late as they were already turning people away. we lingered by the windows at the head of the escalator looking at the near rooftops of central paris and at far landmarks like the sacre coeur and the tour montparnasse.
we walked west in the chilly late afternoon breeze away from the pompidou through thick crowds. we crossed boulevard de sebastapol and descended into the huge chatelet metro station, bustling with fast walking parisians and talented musicians. we rode line five to the cardinal lemore station in the latin quarter. we climbed up narrow sidewalks three blocks to the pantheon, arriving only half an hour before closing.