Task 51: Visit 5 museums I’ve never been to before

I’ve always enjoyed visiting museums, especially quirky ones.  When I was at university I worked unpaid one morning a week at the Bristol City Archives and considered doing a postgraduate degree in Museum Studies, in the hope of having a career in that area.  Luckily the fact that I couldn’t afford it meant it didn’t happen, as I think I’d have found it too specialised.  Much better to keep it as a hobby than devote my whole working life to it.

When Peter and I were staying with friends in Girton between Christmas and the New Year, we had a spare half-day and decided to go into Cambridge and wander around.  It’s years since I was last there and I was keen to see it again.  As it was bitterly cold, we quickly abandoned the idea of strolling outside and headed instead to the Fitzwilliam Museum.  Neither of us had ever visited it before and had heard glowing reports of it – and of its café. The entrance certainly lived up to expectations:

Curiously it didn’t feel much warmer inside than out, but the atmosphere was welcoming and the Christmas tree gave it a festive appeal:

We made a beeline for the Impressionist paintings and enjoyed browsing the collection, including a Renoir we hadn’t seen before:

Other highlights in the same section included some Tiffany glass in gorgeous colours and a Van Gogh landscape that is remarkably unlike his other work and is unsigned, prompting dark suspicions – though it’s hardly likely the Fitzwilliam would have made a mistake.  Still, it's intriguing.

In another room we spent some time admiring a painting by Pieter Brueghel the Younger – Winter Landscape with Bird Trap – which felt bleakly seasonal:

Meandering along various corridors we accidentally found ourselves in a superb exhibition of mediaeval manuscripts, including fascinating information on the colours available and how the paints were made.  I like to read every single label, to learn as much as possible.  It’s probably rather pointless as I retain little of it and it can be very irritating for companions who prefer to move more briskly and concentrate on the overall impression, but it’s a habit I find hard to kick.  Not surprisingly I was only about a fifth of the way through, when Peter reappeared having gone round the whole exhibition and champing at the bit for lunch.  Reluctantly I sped up and we made it into the café in time for a late lunch and a much-needed hot drink.

If you haven’t been to the Fitzwilliam, I’d thoroughly recommend it.  We plan to go back some time as we saw only about half of it.  If we do, I hope my ability to hold the camera steady and keep it in focus will have improved, but at least the photos gave some idea of the wonderful art and glass on display.