Four hours in the Victoria and Albert Museum was not nearly enough. I cannot count the number of times I got lost and wound up on several side-quests while finding my way back, yet I still did not see everything! My favorite exhibits were the Theatre and Performance collection (obviously), the painting collection, and all the sculptures and figurines scattered throughout multiple exhibits. In the painting exhibit, I found my chosen artifact that connects to one of the shows we have seen so far on this trip (pictured below).
This piece, painted by Georg Emil Libert in 1848, hangs high among the array of paintings on the walls of the painting gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum. It is one of many landscape paintings, but this one stood out to me in particular because, for one thing, I am always drawn to center framing (or near-center framing). I was also drawn to the gleaming sun that breaks through the dark clouds and seems to stare at you as if from a heavenly eye. The light protruding from the sun-eye streams down the calm waves of the salty ocean like a teardrop and greets you at the dark edge of the gold canvas. It is an inviting piece that reminds me of the devastating catharsis I felt leaving Benjamin Button. The accompanying description is as follows:
“This painting, showing a frail boat adrift on the immense sea, emphasises the power of nature over humanity. This was a typical theme of the Romantic movement. As a student, Libert came under the influence of the Norwegian painter Johann Christian Dahl, a pupil of the great Romantic artist Caspar David Fridrich.
Oil on canvas”
I chose this artwork because it reminded me of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Throughout the musical, the moon and the sea are a metaphor for Benjamin and Elowin. The inconstant moon changes cyclically like Benjamin, while Elowin follows the current and grows how most people do. They describe to each other how the moon flirts with the sea and the sea flirts back to create the beauty we see looking out on the ocean at night. When I imagined the scene they described, it was almost identical to Georg’s painting. Although his piece has no moon, it maintains the beauty of a bright celestial light shining on and through the waves of an unsettled sea.
The boat was also a key connection between this artwork and the musical since it is set in a Cornish fishing village and Benjamin spends a lot of time in and around boats. My first thought was that the boat represented Benjamin’s friend, Jack, simply because they bonded by working a boat together. However, I thought a little bit longer and found another interpretation I quite like. If Benjamin is the sun or moon and Elowin is the sea, then their children are the boat, supported and moved by the tide of Elowin’s back and using Benjamin to light their adventure.
I love this painting and I LOVED the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. If you ever get the chance to see it, TAKE THAT CHANCE! The actors and musicians clearly have a profound passion for what they do. That is becoming more and more rare, so we must enjoy it where we can find it. There is no better place than at the Ambassador’s Theatre in London, UK.
– Hadley ❤
Theatre in London U of A 