January 26, 2013 - June 2,2013
Chrysanthemum Peruvianum (The Greater and Lesser Sunflower)
Still Life with Skull,Pocket Watch, and Roses, 1640-1650
Gentleman with the beret
Mauricio (my photographer)
@mauribucar
Jazelle: Sunglasses: Urban Oufitters Chambray: Forever 21, Tanks: American Apparel,
Camera: Canon SX500 Snapshot
Mauricio: Shirt: Urban Outfitters, Denim burmuda's:Levi, Flannel: American Apparel
Camera: Rebel Canon TX4
Dear Viewers,
It
was a beautiful day in San Francisco, and my friend Mauricio and I decided
to go to Golden Gate Park. Our plan was to visit the De Young Museum, and
then have a picnic on the lawn. Mauricio had never been to the De Young
before, so I was anticipating his reaction to the grand museum. The Girl with
the Pearl Earring exhibit was showing, so we decided to get nostalgic, and pay for
a $20 ticket to view the showing.
The Royal Picture Gallery
Mauritshuis, The Hague house, is on an American Tour. Its first stop to debut
their collection of paintings, was attributed to the De Young Museum. Now when I mean nostalgic, I mean 17th century
nostalgic. The exhibit had over 30 etches and engravings done by Dutch Artist,
during the Dutch Golden Age era. Even
though the names of the artist were excruciatingly difficult to pronounce, the
etches were miraculous. For the longest time Mauri and I were trying to figure
out what etching meant. We came to find out that, Etching -in the simplest terms-
is a method using acid to engrave a design impression on a metal plate. This
is what the beginning half of the exhibit consisted of. As much as I appreciated and acknowledged the
perpetual art work, it became mundane. Most of the museum was hard for me to
follow, because I hadn’t researched in depth, on all the artist of the Dutch
Golden age. Things started to get lively when we were reaching the end of the
exhibit. They had a room full of still life paintings, filled with bright
colors and remarkable composition.
Mind you, I don’t think
the De Young staff appreciated photography, so I had to beguile my way through the
crowd to get a snippet of the portraits. One, out of my many favorites was the Chrysanthemum
Peruvianum (The Greater and Lesser Sunflower). Being that it is my favorite flower,
was beautifully shaded in black and white. The minimalistic simplicity was
perfect! I couldn’t necessarily see the portrait up close, because it was high up.
As we made our way to the last show room, we are halted by a small light,
haloing over-from a distance-what appeared to look like, the Girl with the Pearl
Earring. From which is to be considered the Dutch Mona Lisa, painted by
Johannes Vermeer, done on a ½ x 15 3/8 in. oil canvas. Indeed it was she, who
was centuries old, and still intact. It is amazing to me how archival pieces are
preserved to where they look to be in excellent condition. The painting was
beautiful, and even more breath taking in person.
The synopsis on the
Mauricio’s experience was a positive one, in that he enjoyed adventuring something
new, and sharing it with an American friend. Oh, I almost forgot, Mauricio is
an international student from Mexico City. We both are studying the same major
and have one class with each other. So far he loves San Francisco, and any
chance he gets he is out and about venturing the city. We made a pact that if
he take my pictures, that I would take him on every blog feature to experience
the town as an American San Franciscan! With his affirmation, we were both
excited to head to the park to eat some lunch, and take some pictures.
Meanwhile, I have been fascinated
with the French language, and learning it has been a goal I have set for myself.
Walking to find a good picnic spot, I sporadically asked Mauri if he knew a little
bit of French, and to my astonishment he said, of course, I am fluent! It just
so happens that it is his third language, and it was taught to him in middle school.
After finding this out, we scouted a spot near an open lawn area that was flourished
with daisy patches. We sat down to eat our sushi, simultaneously, while we were having a mini French lesson. Amid finishing up our lunch, Mauri started taking pictures
of me. It is always fulfilling when I can meet someone who loves photography,
just as much as I do. As you can see we had a fun time taking photos of each
other, when what we were really supposed to be doing, was studying for homework.The day was ending with
cool breeze, and pink sunset. After saying bonjour, I drove home to edit the
pictures we had taken, and continue with the rest of my homework.
My mum always told me that I should appreciate the time, and the things that I can do now to my advantage. Even if you are a student and your life is jam-packed with an agenda on your schedule, be smart about your time and utilize the resources, as in friends, that you have to accomplish a productive day.
My mum always told me that I should appreciate the time, and the things that I can do now to my advantage. Even if you are a student and your life is jam-packed with an agenda on your schedule, be smart about your time and utilize the resources, as in friends, that you have to accomplish a productive day.
Ciao, Ciao!