On Sunday my dear ol' dad and I ventured out to the de Young to catch The Girl With the Pearl Earring exhibition in its final weeks, which features Dutch paintings from the Mauritshuits. I love this museum and most of the exhibitions they host; my favorite is probably from last summer, The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk, which I also first saw with my dad, and I cannot wait to see the Art of Bulgari exhibit coming up soon. But I have to say, I was not thoroughly impressed with my exhibition experience on Sunday. Perhaps it is due to fact that I visited the museum a. on a weekend, which is always a chaotic mess, and/or b. because the exhibit is wrapping up and for those with tight schedules, now is the time to fit it in. I think it's a combination of both since groups of families, tourists, and wheelchairs surrounded each painting hoping to soak up as much as they possibly could. The actual exhibition was short, a tad confusing at first since you have an option of starting to the right by entering Rembrandt's prints, or to your left (the actual exhibit). Once you've made it past a few works, you're on your way to seeing what everyone has been talking about and is crowded around (think Mona Lisa under bulletproof glass at the Louvre)
Johannes Vermeer's Girl With a Pearl Earring, an unknown woman painted in 1665. The painting is stunning in person, so despite my personal opinions, I think it is worth seeing and fighting the crowds for. Vermeer's use of the element of light is exquisite and really comes to life when viewed in person. I am not aiming to bash the exhibit or the museum, rather, it is to simply state my thoughts on the exhibition and to see if all the hype was really worth it. I'd love to know what you thought if you have seen the exhibit!
This visit was also a reminder to myself to take advantage of the de Young more since they have a great permanent collection that I sometimes forget is in walking distance from my house.
thick imposto
We ended with a very cool, small textile exhibition, From the Exotic to the Mystical, that featured some textiles from the permanent collection, not always on display. It was broken up in four areas, exoticism, mythology, religious symbolism, and the fantasized animal world (of course my eye was drawn to the lace).
What is your favorite museum in San Francisco?
xx
