The Art of Slowing Down

"The Sargent Gallery"
(c) Lesley Powell 2013
(SOLD)

If you have been to a major museum lately, you have probably suffered the same fate that I have--a sense of being completely overwhelmed by everything there is to see. So many masterpieces, so little time! We are all prone to rush through the galleries, taking in as much as we can, as quickly as we can. One study says that the median time people spend looking at a painting is only 17 seconds! The Louvre says that people look at the Mona Lisa for an average of 15 seconds. No wonder that at the end of a museum visit
we feel exhausted and confused.

So what's a gal to do? Someone recently sent me an interesting article from the New York Times, about how to slow down in a museum. The article points out that if you can simply focus on one or two pieces of art that really speak to you personally, and spend some time sitting with them, you might actually emerge from the museum "refreshed and inspired, rather than depleted." Sounds like a plan to me. 

"The Wonder of the Waterlillies"
24 x 20, Oil on Canvas
(c) Lesley Powell 2013

For those interested in slowing down to spend time with a particular painting, I can also suggest "How to Look at a Painting" by Francoise Barbe-Gall. One reviewer said that the book will teach you how "to commune with a painting". Well put. (And if you like that one, there's a sequel, "How to Look at Impressionism").

If you don't want to invest in a book, "How to Read a Painting" is a good, light essay on how to look at a painting and think about it. It has some thought-provoking questions and approaches that will help you slow down to take in a painting.

If you want to slow WAY down, try sketching from some of the works on display. I have written about my experiences with this here. It's all a way to enjoy those museum visits more and more!