This painting, this fête galante, full of lovers in a garden, is a celebration of flirtation and love. While the young lovers are the focal point of the painting, a full half of the painting is dedicated to the landscape, to the architecture, to the physicality of the scene. As I looked at this painting by Nicolas Lancret, newly [...]
Read MoreThis is part of Museum User Guides, a series with ideas for how to “use” museums. The activities suggested here propose a fresh way to understand and experience a particular collection. Sometimes you just need to stop what you're doing and have a cuppa. This is especially true after a visiting an exhibition. Museum fatigue is [ ... ]
Read MoreThe current exhibition at the Musée du Luxembourg focuses on a 19th century art dealer (Paul Durand-Ruel) who played a major role in supporting Impressionist artists. I was not expecting this to be such a colorful and diverse exhibition, and I was pleasantly surprised. The exhibition, which features some unbelievable [ ... ]
Read MoreThe lack of light in November is driving me a little bit kooky this year. It’s dark out when I go to work and it’s dark out when I come home. I feel like the sun only comes out on the weekends. Darker moods are knocking at the door. And then I was talking to a friend on the phone on my way home from work this week, complaining [ ... ]
Read MoreI've always been intrigued by the series of statues of French queens and saints that surround the basin of the Luxembourg Garden. These women are look strong and purposeful, each unique in her pose and attitude. The statues make up the Reines de France et Femmes illustres, a series of twenty notable women from French [ ... ]
Read MoreShould you find yourself looking for a delightful way to pass a spring afternoon, might I suggest visiting Joséphine at the Musée du Luxembourg. The exhibition is short and sweet, giving you a glimpse of the life and influence of the first wife of Napoléon, via Empire-waisted gowns and bee-encrusted [ ... ]
Read MoreI recently came down with tracheitis, a nasty bacterial inflammation of my trachea. While the majority of my time was spent in bed with a fever and death cough, I accidentally managed to have a lovely sick day. My doctor's appointment wasn't until the late afternoon, and it wasn't long before I was bored. I decided to [ ... ]
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This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer.
IMAGINIBUS is a blog about playing in museums, with a focus on imagination and creativity.
This blog is a place to be inspired to use your imagination around artworks—and to see the art of your daily life.
When we engage creatively with art, museums can become playgrounds and laboratories to experiment with attention, mindfulness, and imagination. Interesting things happen when we use that museum gaze to look at our daily lives like a work of art.
Find more inspiration for playing with new ways of paying attention to your daily life here.
Hello! I'm Marina Gross-Hoy, a writer, Museum Studies PhD candidate, and mother currently living in Quebec. I take playing in museums very seriously.
Read more about the blog here.
Check out my newsletter on Substack to be inspired to see the art in your daily life.
