On Sunday I went with my husband and one of my sons to visit the Albertina. I enjoy art and quiet afternoons that I can leisurely look at paintings. I am always amazed at the detail and precision that I so often find in the realistic paintings–the individual strands of hair on an animal, the emotion in a face that is so minute in the over-all painting but still significant enough for the artist to paint it in detail, the folds of fabric in a garment and velvet that looks so soft you want to touch it. I love colors and simplicity in some of the more abstract paintings. I appreciate that there are pieces of art that are so simple that I can hear the surprise and confidence of my son as he looks at a single colored square painted on a solid colored canvas and declares that he could paint something like that. And, to be honest, there are some pieces I don’t properly understand or appreciate.

This trip I discovered a new benefit of (and excuse for) spending a few hours wandering around an art museum here in Vienna. It is an excellent place for practicing the declension of adjectives and learning new vocabulary. For example, one of my favorites this trip was Der Blaue Kuh. Then there are others like Die verwunschene Gegend, Innerer Bund, and Mann in suprematistischer Landschaft. The whole museum is like a giant vocabulary list. So when you are tired of pouring over your course books, take a stroll through an art gallery and pick out a few favorite pieces to get to know. You can expand your art knowledge and practice your German at the the same time.

If you feel really inspired, then you can come home and paint your own art. Be sure to give it a nice descriptive name so you can decline the adjectives!