I made it to the de Young's Post-Impressionist exhibit!

I went to the de Young's exhibit "Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne and Beyond" over the weekend. it was absolutely stunning. beautifully edited, wonderfully displayed, and very informative, if a little crowded.

the first painting a visitor passes as they make their way around the first room is an unassuming little painting by Pissarro of the Pont Boieldieu. as you get closer you realize what a beautiful painting it is.

Pissarro, one of the original Impressionists, and an extremely under appreciated one in my opinion, tended to paint the working class, in contrast with the middle-class subjects of most Impressionists. he was later influenced by Signac, a Pointalist, and his use of color theory, but this painting is wholly Impressionist.

if you happen to be in San Francisco before January 18th, you MUST go see this exhibit. and while you're there, try to head over to the Legion of Honor's "Japanesque" exhibit, about the influence of Japanese wood block prints on Impressionist art. that exhibit ends on January 8th, and I'm desperately trying to make time in my schedule to see it.

<3a

Claude Monet

growing up in Boston, I spent countless weekends perusing the galleries at the Museum of Fine Art. my favorites were always the Impressionists and the Egyptian exhibit.

the painting above is found in the impressionist exhibit there, it is of Rouen Cathedral by Claude Monet. Monet did a whole series on the cathedral, or rather on the ways light illuminated the cathedral. he painted the building throughout several seasons and at different times of day in order to capture the different effects of sunlight, or lack thereof.

<3a