From July 8 to September 26, the
Norton Simon Museum will be exhibiting
Vermeer's Woman with a Lute. This painting is on loan from the Metropolitan Museum and is making its first showing on the West Coast. It is one of Vermeer's "Pearl Pictures" catching a moment frozen in time, luminescent and dream-like.
Vermeer is probably my favorite painter. When the
National Gallery of Art in Washington DC had their amazingly comprehensive exhibit back in late '95, I actually took some vacation time and flew out to attend the opening week. It was so very worth the effort and expense. I know that I write this a lot in these posts, but no reproduction can do these painting justice. The layers of glaze and diluted saturated pigments that Vermeer uses captures the light within the paintings. It is as if they have an inner glow.
Of course, I had to attend the opening display of this painting on Thursday night. Yeah, I braved the crowd of over 500 fellow art enthusiasts and rush hour traffic on the Pasadena Freeway to do so, but I would have spent the night in regrets if I didn't. ;-)
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| Reception in the Garden |
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| Reception in the Entry Hall |
I can write all day about the glories of Vermeer's paintings. Over the next few months, I'll be visiting the Norton Simon to view this painting many times. Perhaps I'll write a series of posts on Vermeer and why I so adore his works. Perhaps. . .
