Looking deeply

I don't dig beneath the surface for things that don't appear before my own eyes.

~ John Singer Sergent

Sometimes I like to stand before a painting and get lost in it.
I attended the Boston Museum of Fine Art School, a long time ago.
At the Museum students associated with their school could get in free. I took advantage of this as often as possible. One of the paintings I stood in front of and sometimes even sat on the floor in front of was John Signer Sergent‘s Mrs. Fisk Warren and her daughter. ( pictured above.)
I am not sure if it was his style that drew me to this painting or the looks in the eyes of Mrs. Fisk Warren and her daughter. I think it had something to do with how he caught the relationship of the mother and daughter leaning on each other. I found it comforting especially as I was learning to live on my own at the time (without Mom or Dad!). I was also thinking of my future and wondering if I would have children, maybe a daughter and if I would have that same connection. Years later, I now look back at this picture and I still am drawn in. It is the style, the faces, the comfort that I see in the relationship caught on canvas. I now have four daughters of my own and realize that the peace on their faces captivates me. :)
This past Friday my husband and I took our girls to the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts in Manhattan. We stood together in front of Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir and even a few John Singer Sergent paintings. His style reminded me of those days in Boston.
Running through the museum with my four girls was fun. Through the Egyptian exhibit, past the Tiffany stain glass windows, through the statue hallway and even through the modern art rooms. We passed through centuries together and some paintings caused us to stop and stare…they pulled us in.