Visiting Egypt (and more) at The St. Louis Art Museum

Over the Easter Weekend, Aaron and I had big plans to leave town and head to Arkansas to camp and hike, but unfortunately the weather forecast wasn’t cooperating so we decided to stay in town.  I didn’t want to completely waste my extended weekend, so I decided to look for something indoors and closer to home. When working on weekly recommendations, I had noticed an event at the Art Museum a week before.  It was the opening event weekend, so I didn’t want to brave the crowds and rush on that weekend. But I decided that the suddenly-free Friday of my weekend was an excellent time to check it out.

And what I wanted to see was the Sunken Cities Egypt’s Lost Worlds at the St. Louis Art Museum.  I have “Travel to Egypt” on my bucket list, but yet have enough realistic views to know that in all likelihood that I probably won’t ever make it there.  (Unless my dad wins the lottery!) I decided that this exhibit may be as close as I ever come to experiencing Egypt, so I was going to make it a priority to go.  I should be ashamed to admit this, but I have never been to the St. Louis Art Museum and I’m not sure exactly why. It’s free for goodness sakes!  I never really had anyone willing to go with me, but I’m still not sure why I just didn’t pick up and go by myself.

So we set out a little after noon on our adult date day. This also just happened to be the weekend after my birthday, so Aaron wanted to pick a nice place out for a late lunch.  He decided on Guido’s On The Hill which offers both Italian and Spanish entrees.  We were there for a late afternoon lunch. It was a quiet and pleasant atmosphere.  I enjoyed the cannelloni and Aaron the lasagna. We both enjoyed dessert which Aaron had arranged without my knowledge. It was probably the best tiramisu that I have ever had.  It was a nice lunch and we were ready to head to the Art Museum.

It was one of the first beautiful days in early Spring and a holiday, so Forest Park was packed.  The zoo was swarming and parking was hard to find, so we settled on paying for parking at the Art Museum. Since this is a special exhibition tickets are required and preferably purchased before hand to guarantee entry.  I had done this, so we arrived about 30 minutes before our scheduled entry time.

Sunken Cities: Egypt’s Lost Worlds

In 2018, the Saint Louis Art Museum will be the first North American art museum to tell the epic story of one of the greatest finds in the history of underwater archaeology, a story that revealed two lost cities of ancient Egypt submerged under the Mediterranean Sea for over a thousand years. World-renowned underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio and his team discovered these submerged worlds and uncovered stunning ancient religious, ceremonial, and commercial artifacts, which has led to a greater understanding of life during the age of pharaohs.

The exhibit offers an audio option or you can just read the information located near each area. It was very crowded and not sure how taking the time to do the audio would work with the crowd flow, so I opted to read. (Plus I can read faster than I can listen.) Near the beginning of the exhibit is a seating section where you can sit down and watch a short video on how the majority of the artifacts were recovered. It was worth taking the time to watch.

We continued on our way wandering independently among the artifacts while stopping to discuss the more interesting ones together. I have to say I was amazed, overwhelmed, and baffled at how detailed and beautiful some of them were and how they had held up. The smoothness on some of them made them looked polished.  And the intricate details of the carvings was unbelievable. Each artifact had a nice description where Aaron was surprised to see a pink granite tub.

We probably spent an hour wandering through the exhibit.  I wasn’t able to devote as much time at each artifact just because of the size of the crowd.  It was sort of a “take it in but don’t slow down the line” experience. I may never make it to Egypt but at least now I can appreciate some of the culture that was left behind.

After leaving the Sunken Cities exhibit, I wanted to explore the rest of the Museum a little more.I wanted to check out some of the “major” names but also just explore and see what moved me.  I was pleasantly surprised to walk into one room and find one of Monet’s Water Lilies. I expected to see a Monet but not a Water Lily which just happens to be on my bucket list!  I took a little longer here and actually sat down and took it all in. I went for Egypt, but Monet made my day.

We moved throughout different floors and collections spending about three or four hours and still wasn’t able to see it all, so I will need to go back and explore some more. Fridays offer late hours and free entry to special exhibits, so it’s a nice option.  If you haven’t ever been to the St. Louis Art Museum, don’t be like me and keep putting it off. Take the time to go and expand your horizons and your mind. And there is still time to check out the Sunken Cities exhibit.

P.S. And I still have  “sled Art Hill” on my bucket list.