Art Institute of Chicago

- Allerton Bldg, Modern Wing, America after the fall, Monet, Chagall's America Windows, El Greco, van Gogh, Thorne Minatures

The Art Institute of Chicago is the foremost art museum in Chicago, one of the largest in America. The museum has been voted "the world's best museum" and is both a school and a museum. It is situated in Grant Park in downtown Chicago, just next to South Michigan Avenue. The main entrance at the avenue is the classic Allerton Building from 1887, where two lion sculptures greet the visitors. In 2009, a large Modern Wing, designed by Renzo Piano (the man behind Centre Pompidou in Paris) opened. A modern glass section connects the old Allerton Bldg with the Modern Wing. The museum is really huge, almost as large as the Louvre, so you need at least half a day to explore the most important artworks. It spans over three huge floors, plus the basement. The Art Institute was founded in 1882, after the Chicago Academy went bankrupt after the great Chicago fire.

In the museum you will find works by Monet (many of his most famous works actually including the Water Lily collection), Picasso (his famous "the old guitarist") Manet, El Greco ("Assumption of the Virgin" and others), van Gogh ("Bedroom"), Chagall, Picasso, Pollock, Matisse, Magritte, Gaugin, Cezanne, Gris, Kandinsky, Andy Warhol and many more.

There is an Arms and Armor exhibit (spanning 4 centuries), European decorative arts, a popular photography collection, the Asian exhibits (featuring artworks from China, Korea, Japan, India, southwest Asia, and the Near and Middle East, spanning through 5000 years!), Roman, Greek, Etruscan and Egyptian (with sphinxes and Pharaos) galleries, a permanent Architecture and Design exhibtion (including windows by Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright), as well as fine collection of African Art and an African American exhibition. In the basement you find the Thorne Miniature Rooms, with 68 miniatures of interiors of different styles, with an incredible sense for details. The miniature rooms were built between 1932 and 1940. All over the museum you find sculptures, many of the ancient, and there are several exhibitions with old furniture. The Alsdorf Galleries is filled with ancient Asian sculptures, including Buddhas and hinduistic sculptures. There are two marble atriums filled with sculptures (Roger McCormick Memorial Court and the Grand hall), and an outdoor court, McKinlock Court. Burnham Architecture Library is also part of the museum.

There was a temporary exhibition about the depression, called America after the Fall, where "American Gothic" by Grant Wood, painted in 1930 and one of the most famous paintings of the museum, was placed. Chagalls' America Windows is significant large set of blue stained glass windows on display. It was installed in 1977. The old bourse house had to be torn down to make way for the museum, but a part of it has been restored and can be visited today. Breton's "Song of the Larc" by Jules Adolphe Breton, from 1884 is said to have saved the actor Bill Murray's life.

We visited the Art Instritute the second day in Chicago, since the weather was mediocre after the heavy thunderstorm the day before. The museum is really interesting and has great world famous works, but it is massive in size and the planning is bad. We asked at least four guards about how to get to the restaurant, and they all told different directions, making us walk long ways in this massive complex, in vein! We couldn't find any access to the upper floors anywhere, so we ended up in the café instead.

The Art Institute of Chicago 001 The Art Institute of Chicago 002 - Allerton Bldg, entrance at Michigan Ave The Art Institute of Chicago 002b - Modern wing by Renzo Piano The Art Institute of Chicago 004 - Thorne Minature Rooms The Art Institute of Chicago 005 - Thorne Minature Rooms The Art Institute of Chicago 006 - Thorne Minature Rooms The Art Institute of Chicago 007 - Thorne Minature Rooms The Art Institute of Chicago 008 - Thorne Minature Rooms The Art Institute of Chicago 009 - Thorne Minature Rooms The Art Institute of Chicago 010 - Thorne Minature Rooms The Art Institute of Chicago 011 - Thorne Minature Rooms The Art Institute of Chicago 012 - Thorne Minature Rooms The Art Institute of Chicago 013 - Thorne Minature Rooms The Art Institute of Chicago 014 - Thorne Minature Rooms The Art Institute of Chicago 015 - Thorne Minature Rooms The Art Institute of Chicago 016 - Thorne Minature Rooms The Art Institute of Chicago 017 - Thorne Minature Rooms The Art Institute of Chicago 018 - Thorne Minature Rooms The Art Institute of Chicago 019 - Thorne Minature Rooms The Art Institute of Chicago 020 -Burnham Library of Architecture The Art Institute of Chicago 021 The Art Institute of Chicago 022 - Alsdorf Galleries, Asian sculptures The Art Institute of Chicago 023 - Alsdorf Galleries, Asian sculptures The Art Institute of Chicago 024 - Alsdorf Galleries, Asian sculptures The Art Institute of Chicago 025 - Alsdorf Galleries, Asian sculptures The Art Institute of Chicago 026 - Alsdorf Galleries, Asian sculptures The Art Institute of Chicago 027 - Alsdorf Galleries, Asian sculptures The Art Institute of Chicago 028 - Alsdorf Galleries The Art Institute of Chicago 029 - Alsdorf Galleries The Art Institute of Chicago 030 - Alsdorf Galleries The Art Institute of Chicago 031 - Alsdorf Galleries The Art Institute of Chicago 032 - Alsdorf Galleries The Art Institute of Chicago 033 The Art Institute of Chicago 034 - Byzantine art The Art Institute of Chicago 035 - McKinlock Court. The Art Institute of Chicago 036 The Art Institute of Chicago 037 The Art Institute of Chicago 038 - Roger McCormick Memorial Court The Art Institute of Chicago 039 - the Field-McCormick Galleries of American Art The Art Institute of Chicago 040 - Lincoln statue The Art Institute of Chicago 041 The Art Institute of Chicago 042 The Art Institute of Chicago 043 The Art Institute of Chicago 044 The Art Institute of Chicago 045 The Art Institute of Chicago 046 The Art Institute of Chicago 047 The Art Institute of Chicago 048 The Art Institute of Chicago 049 The Art Institute of Chicago 050 - Roger McCormick Memorial Court The Art Institute of Chicago 051 The Art Institute of Chicago 052 The Art Institute of Chicago 053 - Chagall America Windows The Art Institute of Chicago 054 - Chagalls America Windows The Art Institute of Chicago 055 - Chagall America Windows The Art Institute of Chicago 056 The Art Institute of Chicago 057 - Old Stock Exchange The Art Institute of Chicago 058 - Old Stock Exchange The Art Institute of Chicago 059 - Old Stock Exchange The Art Institute of Chicago 060 - Old Stock Exchange The Art Institute of Chicago 061- Dubuffet The Art Institute of Chicago 062 - - Roger McCormick Memorial Court The Art Institute of Chicago 063 The Art Institute of Chicago 064 The Art Institute of Chicago 065 - Modern wing The Art Institute of Chicago 066 The Art Institute of Chicago 067 - America after the fall The Art Institute of Chicago 068 - American Gothic The Art Institute of Chicago 069 - Early Sunday Morning The Art Institute of Chicago 070 - American Gothic The Art Institute of Chicago 071 The Art Institute of Chicago 072 - New York Paris, Stuart Davis The Art Institute of Chicago 073 - Pat Weelen by Alice Neel The Art Institute of Chicago 074 The Art Institute of Chicago 075 - Classic landscape The Art Institute of Chicago 076 The Art Institute of Chicago 077 The Art Institute of Chicago 078 The Art Institute of Chicago 079 The Art Institute of Chicago 080 The Art Institute of Chicago 081 The Art Institute of Chicago 082 The Art Institute of Chicago 083 The Art Institute of Chicago 084 The Art Institute of Chicago 085 The Art Institute of Chicago 086 The Art Institute of Chicago 087 The Art Institute of Chicago 088 The Art Institute of Chicago 089 The Art Institute of Chicago 090 The Art Institute of Chicago 091 The Art Institute of Chicago 092 The Art Institute of Chicago 093 The Art Institute of Chicago 094 The Art Institute of Chicago 095 The Art Institute of Chicago 096 - Nighthawks by Edward Hopper The Art Institute of Chicago 097 - - Nighthawks, most important The Art Institute of Chicago 098 The Art Institute of Chicago 099 The Art Institute of Chicago 100 The Art Institute of Chicago 101 The Art Institute of Chicago 102 - Modern wing The Art Institute of Chicago 103 - cafe The Art Institute of Chicago 104 The Art Institute of Chicago 105 - Views towards Sears Tower The Art Institute of Chicago 106 - McKinlock Court The Art Institute of Chicago 107 - Modern wing The Art Institute of Chicago 108 - Architecture and design The Art Institute of Chicago 109 The Art Institute of Chicago 110 The Art Institute of Chicago 111 The Art Institute of Chicago 112 The Art Institute of Chicago 113 The Art Institute of Chicago 114 The Art Institute of Chicago 115 - Monet The Art Institute of Chicago 116 - Water Lily Pond by Monet The Art Institute of Chicago 117 The Art Institute of Chicago 118 - Claude Monet's Stack of Wheat The Art Institute of Chicago 119 - Monet's Water Lilies The Art Institute of Chicago 120 - Monet The Art Institute of Chicago 121 - Monet The Art Institute of Chicago 122 - Monet The Art Institute of Chicago 123 - Monet's Houses of the Parliament The Art Institute of Chicago 124 - Monet's Waterloo Bridge The Art Institute of Chicago 125 - Monet The Art Institute of Chicago 126 - Monet The Art Institute of Chicago 127 - Monet The Art Institute of Chicago 128 - Monet The Art Institute of Chicago 129 - van Gogh The Art Institute of Chicago 130 The Art Institute of Chicago 131 - van Gogh The Art Institute of Chicago 132 - Claude Monet The Art Institute of Chicago 133 The Art Institute of Chicago 134 The Art Institute of Chicago 135 The Art Institute of Chicago 136 The Art Institute of Chicago 137 The Art Institute of Chicago 138 The Art Institute of Chicago 139 The Art Institute of Chicago 140 - El Greco The Art Institute of Chicago 141 The Art Institute of Chicago 142 - El Greco The Art Institute of Chicago 143 - El Greco The Art Institute of Chicago 144 The Art Institute of Chicago 145 The Art Institute of Chicago 146 The Art Institute of Chicago 147 The Art Institute of Chicago 148 The Art Institute of Chicago 149 - Breton. The Song of the Lark, 1884 The Art Institute of Chicago 150 The Art Institute of Chicago 151 The Art Institute of Chicago 152 The Art Institute of Chicago 153 - Grand Hall The Art Institute of Chicago 154 - The Pritzker Galleries The Art Institute of Chicago 155 - Architecture exhibition The Art Institute of Chicago 156 - Architecture exhibition The Art Institute of Chicago 157 - Architecture exhibition The Art Institute of Chicago 158 - Frank Lloyd Wright