closeup of the carnegie museum of art -new and old wings with the Cathedral of Learning in the background.This past weekend I was in Pittsburgh and visited one of my favorite places: the Carnegie Museum of Art. I used to work there so it holds a special place in my heart - plus the building is BEAUTIFUL. You might recognize it as the 'ballet school' in flashdance.
Probably my favorite space is the Main Stair. It's a truly awe inspiring space as you can see here.
At the base of the stairs. This used to be the front entrance to the museum, now it is lost in the shuffle of the building. Imagine the first impression this made when first walking into the building!
Then up to the 2nd floor, truly the main floor with the art exhbitions -the Piano Nobile.
Looking up the third floor where the anthropology collection is (not my cup of tea, did not visit this time). This space has the most amazing natural light thanks to the light colored marble that encloses it as well as a ceiling full of skylights. Most of the space in the museum started out as being lit by natural light (nothing beats it!) Now, only the main halls retain this feature.
Probably my favorite space is the Main Stair. It's a truly awe inspiring space as you can see here.At the base of the stairs. This used to be the front entrance to the museum, now it is lost in the shuffle of the building. Imagine the first impression this made when first walking into the building!Then up to the 2nd floor, truly the main floor with the art exhbitions -the Piano Nobile.Looking up the third floor where the anthropology collection is (not my cup of tea, did not visit this time). This space has the most amazing natural light thanks to the light colored marble that encloses it as well as a ceiling full of skylights. Most of the space in the museum started out as being lit by natural light (nothing beats it!) Now, only the main halls retain this feature.The museum has some even more astonishingly beautiful spaces, but this will have to suffice for now; you've probably already seen them in flashdance! I will blog later this week about the Carnegie International exhibition, the reason I visited the museum.
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9 comments:
Well hello 'Mr Barnes Vanze!'(Stephan) I am honoured to have you visit my humble little blog. I love the firm that you work for and have practically every image from your firms website saved in my house inspiration folder. We are currently trying to source stone similar to that in a photo(of the most stunning conservatory)on your website. Your firm is a great inspiration to me despite living in a rather bland architectural wasteland such as Brisbane, down here in the southern hemisphere. I am attempting a New England Style build which will be seen as so unusual in my part of town. I am marrying elements of our traditional wooden queenslander homes with it, so that the locals won't get too much of a shock and the city council will be happy that we have kept in with the 'Character Code'! By the way, your hemisphere certainly knows how to do museums! A-M xx
Thanks AM! I passed along your blog posts to my bosses - I'm sure they'll be as thrilled as I am to see you talking about us!! I started working here after seeing examples of BVA projects in different magazines and feel so lucky to work here!! Keep checking out our website, I think the plan is to update it pretty regularly now with new projects we've completed.
Wow, this is gorgeous. It makes me want to watch "Flashdance" again! My brother just moved to Pittsburgh, so I'll have to make time to visit the art museum when I'm there. Thanks! -Julia
Definitely check it out, Julia! The collections are great and the building is just fabulous - both the modern wing and the old wing. You have to see the hall of architecture and the hall of music especially in this museum-i wish I had photographed them as well!
Such a beautiful, beautiful building, and your photographs are great -- looking forward to hearing about the exhibition.
Oh, HOORAY!!! HOORAY for you posting these pictures!! I'm SO HAPPY! Yes, Pittsburgh is gorgeous and wonderful and has bee-yoo-tee-ful architecture and all manner of other stuff. I can't wait to hear about and see more of your trip!
with love from Pittsburgh...
I grew up in Pittsburgh. I haven't been to the Carnegie recently, and your post made me homesick!
Another pittsburgher, CL? Great! You must check out L's blog (the comment above yours) at
http://withlovefrompittsburgh.blogspot.com/
she actually lives there unlike my little visits!
Thank you for your beautiful blog!
Yes, the Carnegie complex is just incredible. The building must surely be unique in the world. And next door you have some of the most unbelievable Gothic architecture anywhere...
P.S. What is the status of the monumental Salvador Dali piece which has long been in storage at the Carnegie. Will it be mounted soon?
Warm wishes from Colorado!
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