Trip to SF to see Monet Show

MONET: THE EARLY YEARS. 1858-1872

PALACE OF THE LEGION OF HONOR, SAN FRANCISCO

Feb. 25 through May 29, 2017

Luncheon on the Grass   about 97" x 85"

Yesterday 60 art lovers and I climbed a bus in Modesto, CA which took us to the Legion of Honor in San Francisco.  I had not been to San Francisco in a very long time and I was very excited to see the city again.  Our bus driver was an excellent driver and managed the tight streets beautifully.  

Street below new
Skyscrapers

   

SF Skyline from new
Bay Bridge

    We crossed the new Bay Bridge all    painted white and it was the first time I  had seen it.  We had a nice view of the  city from the bridge and saw some of the  new, very tall skyscrapers being built.    They were so tall they disappeared into    the low clouds.  It was amazing. When we  reached the museum it was drizzling and  my glasses were all wet when I got to the  front door.  






The show exhibited some of Monet's early work (1858 - 1872), which I like very much.  There were even some paintings created when he was just a teenager!  Some paintings have not been seen in public in many years. 

We went down the stairs to the exhibit and the first thing we saw was these two huge paintings! (see above) "Luncheon on the Grass"  One was very long and tall and the other square and tacked to the right side of the first one. This seemed very odd to us, but I later read that Monet was working on this very large painting for the Salon, but he was behind in his rent.  So he gave it to his landlord to keep until he could buy it back.  By the time he had the painting returned to him, it was dirty and moldy.  So he cut it into two pieces.  Thus this is what is on exhibit.  To show how big they are I caught a visitor in my photo standing next to them.

HERE ARE SOME OF MY FAVORITE PAINTINGS FROM THE SHOW
Note: the frames are fabulous!  

CLOSEUP OF THE WATER IN THE ABOVE PAINTING

"The Magpie"   1869   about 35" x 51"

"Still Life with Melon"  

I loved this still life!
the melon is yummy and the blue plate is beautiful... the peaches are so fuzzy looking!

I did not catch the name of this painting, but it really caught my attention since I had just spent time painting my own almond orchard in bloom painting near Modesto a few weeks ago.

To learn more about this amazing show, click on the link at the top of this page.