taft museum

The Taft Museum of Art, a hidden treasure.

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As I mentioned last week, while I was in Cincinnati, I had planned to visit the Taft Museum of Art upon arrival, but since I landed late on Thursday, I had to skip the conference on Saturday to go to the museum (Shhh, don’t tell anyone). I particularly wanted to see Goya’s Queen Maria Luisa, but I was pleasantly surprised to see many other jewels: a Turner, a Fortuny, and many other pieces. Unfortunately, two portraits by Madrazo were out on loan.  On the other hand, they were hosting a phenomenal exhibit of Rembrandt’s prints. I was deeply moved by The Return of the Prodigal Son and by Abraham and Jacob. A nice exhibit included all the tools and elements used to make prints, which helped me to understand the process of printmaking.

The Goya did not disappoint. The queen is radiant in her jewels and outfit. There is something about her gaze, is it mischief? Is it arrogance? One wonders… Unfortunately, the piece is hanging at the end of a corridor, not the best placement for arguably the best piece in the collection; maybe that is where Taft put her, but that is still no excuse. Lesser paintings are better positioned within the museum.

The museum is housed in Taft’s beautiful ancestral mansion, which has lovely grounds, a courtyard, a nice little gift shop, and a coffee shop, where I enjoyed a perfect cup of coffee.

If you are in Cincinnati and need a brief escape, a respite from the city, this is your place. You are welcome.

Oh, and if you want to see the process of printmaking, here is a cinematic version from the great film, Goya’s Ghosts. Enjoy.

Cincinatti, an underrated city and a great university

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One of the blessings of being an academic (even a bad one like me) is being able to present at academic conferences. I have spent the last few months working on an academic project, and it was time to present it to the world, so I chose the oldest graduate student-run conference on Romance languages and literatures: the Cincinnati Conference on Romance and Arabic Language and Literature at the University of Cincinnati.

My first surprise? Hills! (South Florida is lacking in that department.) I walked and walked. After dropping off my bag at the hotel, across the street from campus, I arrived at the colorful and pretty Over the Rhine neighborhood. The first big group of immigrants to arrive in Cincinnati was German—the Ohio River reminded them of the Rhine…, so there is a distinct German feel to the city, including many breweries. I stopped at Rheingeist, which was amazing, after seeing Findlay Market, the squares, the Music Hall, and the Ohio River with its great bridges, especially the Roebling Bridge. I ended my evening at a dive bar, my favorite place to get a sense of a place. Everyone I met was super friendly—a characteristic of medium and smaller cities, especially in the Midwest

The conference was fantastic. My panel had the best turnout I have ever had! The campus is beautiful, and the building housing the Romance and Arabic Language Department is a great, unique place. I was really impressed with the level of the university, the department, and the presenters!

The keynote speakers were the cherry on top! Ana Davila Cardinal is a hilarious Hispanic novelist, and Kaouther Adimi is a brilliant Algerian author. The reception after, in a hip bar, was fun and social.

On Saturday, I played hooky and walked to the Taft Museum of Art, but that’s for a separate blog post.