I finally attended the Birth of Impressionism show at the De Young, part of the traveling Masterpieces of the Musee D'Orsay collection. First of all, don't attend this show on a weekend! My friend and I thought going early on a Sunday morning might be a good way to avoid a crowd (there were several city events that should have attracted people too, like the SF Marathon and ...well, church). Boy were we wrong. At least we were able to get a member's ticket without reserving online for a same day show.
Not to say I didn't enjoy the show immensely, but walking around like a packed can of sardines is difficult. The standouts for me were Bouguereau's "Birth of Venus", Degas' "The Dancing Lesson", and Caillebotte's "The Floor Scrapers".
The most famous painting (for Americans anyway) on view may very well be Whistler's portrait of his mother, the horribly titled "Arrangement in Gray and Black No.1".
I was intrigued by the relationships between the young Impressionist painters, especially Frederic Bazille and Pierre Auguste Renoir. Both painted affectionate portraits of the other, and are on view together. I felt a bond to Bazille, as he was forced to study medicine, despite his first love of art. Sadly, he died at the age of 29 fighting in the Franco-Prussian War.
The show runs until 9/6/2010, after which the second D'orsay show Post Impressionist Masterpieces will begin it's run, from 9/25/2010-1/18/2011.
