The Exhibit

Can I tell you just how nice it is to have a daughter who can babysit? Now that Mary Kate is able to watch the boys, Mike and I can go out on dates from time to time. Mostly our evenings out consist of nothing too exciting, just happiness at being alone together, but this last Friday was a little extra special. We went with our dear friends Stan and Belinda to the Carl Bloch (pronounced ‘Block’) exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art. What a treat it was.

The church has spent 9 long years working to get this exhibit to BYU. Many of you might not recognize the name of Carl Bloch, but you would most certainly recognize his work. Many of his depictions from the life of Christ are much beloved by members of the LDS church. Mike and I had an extra reason for wanting to view this exhibit. Carl Bloch is a well-known Danish artist and Mike served his mission in Denmark. Mike has seen at least one of Carl Bloch’s masterpieces in a beautiful Lutheran Church during his mission.

The exhibit was wonderful. It opened with a lovely multi-media presentation about the life of Carl Bloch and then you can view his art work in a unique way. For $3 you can rent an I-pad and earphones. As you walk around viewing the different paintings you can have a bit of an interactive experience reading and listening to commentary about the larger altarpieces and other significant paintings using the I-pad. Very educational in an all new way.

I loved all the paintings but I did have a favorite…

Christ at Gethsemane is an altarpiece from the Sankt Hans Kirke (Saint Hans Church) in Odense, Denmark. I was particularly touched by this piece. Here Bloch intended to portray the human side of Christ as he suffered in the Garden.

Luke 22:43 “And there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him.” 

I sat wondering about that angel and who he or she could have been, feeling so grateful that she was there with the Savior. Absolutely beautiful!

My other favorite…

Here the artist portrays the story of Christ raising the daughter of Jairus from the dead, a scene from the life of Christ that has been painted many times. But this particular depiction is different. Usually we see paintings of Christ actually raising the girl, but Bloch chose to show and help us feel the deep sorrow of the mother upon losing her child. Then, in the background, we  see Christ arriving at the door. We know that He is about to enter and perform an amazing miracle that will turn this sorrow into joy.

We saw many other Bloch paintings (religious and non-religious) and several etchings as well. Carl Bloch was a studier of people. He was known for his ability to observe little glimpses of humanity and capture them in unique ways. He was a kind-hearted and religious man with a loving wife and a large family. The type of life he led was most certainly reflected in his work.

A favorite etching…

For any of you who are here in Utah or will be before May 7th, I would highly recommend taking the time to come to Provo and see this exhibit. It’s free (unless you choose to rent an I-pad) and very worth you time! Stand-by is available, but it is recommended that you get an online ticket that you can print at home. Go here for tickets.

After the exhibit we went to dinner at a place befitting of the evening…Chef’s Table, a fine dining restaurant in Provo. I love to eat at the Chef’s Table, but it’s a big splurge so it’s a good thing Mike stayed up for 24 solid hours fixing a broken server at work so he could earn a gift certificate there.

I had the most delicious meal. Here’s how it was described in the menu: Fresh Alaskan Halibut Macadamia nut crusted, with fresh Orange Supremes, and a classic Beurre Blanc. I assure you, it tasted as good as it sounds.

It was a lovely evening, so many good things to enjoy, but mostly I loved being with Mike, Stan and Belinda. Great company is what counts!

And, as if that wasn’t enough, to cap off the evening we came home to a spotlessly clean house! Mary Kate, the boys, and two of the Larson girls had worked hard to clean the house from top to bottom. The kids were so excited to see our reaction when we walked in the door. I assure you I was most ecstatic, and loved the notes the kids wrote to accompany the clean house. I couldn’t even say no to their request for a sleep-over.

It was a wonderful night. One that will keep my bucket full for a long, long time.