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| Johannes Vermeer, "The Girl with a Pearl Earring" |
The Girl with a Pearl Earring
Also: The Columbarium—a quiet trip back in time
Originally published in the Santa Cruz Sentinel February 1, 2013
You know her. Tracy Chevalier wrote a captivating, best-selling novel
about her. Scarlett Johansson played her in the movie. She’s been compared to
her iconic rival, Mona Lisa, but she’s much more exotic, enigmatic, and
strikingly gorgeous. And yet, despite her extraordinary popularity, she was
never real. In fact (scholars believe), she’s a “tronie”— a painting exercise created
from the imaginings of the brilliant Dutch painter, Johannes Vermeer.
To see an original painting by Vermeer is also a rare treat. There are
only 35 (give or take) in existence, and their rarity makes them so highly
prized, that their owners (mostly museums) rarely let them out of their sight. Vermeer
initially painted biblical and mythological scenes, but around 1656 made the
fortuitous switch to more intimate scenes of contemporary life in Delft, where
he lived and worked all his life. For the next 20 years, he made unprecedented
paintings that galvanized viewers, even to this day.
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“Girl with a
Pearl Earring” is spotlighted in its own darkened room at the de Young exhibit.
The guards allowed
me to get close to most of the small painting in the exhibit, however “Girl” is protected by a railing. |
What makes Vermeer’s paintings so special—what “Girl with a Pearl
Earring” so aptly demonstrates—is his ability to elevate the common place. He
infused “modest images of ordinary middle-class experience with the imposing
gravity and monumental seriousness traditionally reserved for history painting,”
writes Los Angeles Times art critic Christopher Knight. “His pictures captivate
in part because they give value to the mundane—namely, you and me and the
utterly ordinary things we do—endowing it all with quiet grandeur.”
Besides Vermeer’s masterpiece, “Dutch Paintings from the Mauritshuis”
also features other exceptional works—35 paintings in all—from well known
painters such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Frans Hals and Jan Steen. The exhibition
highlights the artistic genius of the Dutch Golden Age—a fascinating time in
history with many parallels in our own century.
In the Netherlands 350 years ago, technology, foreign trade, banking
and the stock market ruled the day and led to an explosion of wealth. (Sound
familiar?) But this remarkable prosperity was not limited to the uppermost
strata of society. Peace and religious freedom allowed the rise of a healthy
middle class who, for the first time ever, had the opportunity to buy things
that were less practical and more pleasurable. They ate imported foods, collected
exotic plants and animals such as tulips and parrots, and purchased small,
original paintings that would fit into their compact urban homes.
The focus of artwork changed utterly in 17th century Europe,
from religious to secular. But maybe even more ground-breaking at the time,
Dutch painters embraced subject matter that was not only secular but also
mundane. The burgeoning middle class wanted art that mirrored their lives,
featuring their simple, domestic routines, and brilliant artists like
Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Hals gave them what they wanted.
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| Jan Steen, "As the Old Sing, So Twitter the Young" |
,+'Portrait+of+Rembrandt+with+a+Gorget'.jpg) |
| Studio copy, "Portrait of Rembrandt with a Gorget" |
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| Rachel Ruysch, "Vase of Flowers" |
I also loved the lush-but-passed-its-prime still life “Vase of Flowers”
by Rachel Ruysch (a gender phenomenon in her day) and “Portrait of Rembrandt
with a Gorget,” a studio copy of an early self-portrait of the famous artist,
with its flattering shallow depth of field, as if it had been painted from a modern
day fashion shoot. A companion exhibit,
“Rembrandt’s Century” with works on paper largely from the Fine Arts Museums of
San Francisco’s collection, sheds further light on the Dutch Golden Age and its
remarkable artistic achievements.
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| Carel Fabritius, "The Goldfinch" |
***
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| The Columbarium is tucked away at the end of a cul-de-sac near Geary Blvd., with free parking for visitors. |
While in San Francisco for the day, I also visited the Columbarium, a
hidden gem I’ve wanted to see ever since I heard about it. A repository for
human ashes, this impressive Neo-Classical building is not far from the east
end of Golden Gate Park. Built in 1895, the Columbarium was once part of the
Odd Fellows Cemetery which spanned 167 acres of prime Richmond District real
estate. When the city passed an ordinance in 1902 prohibiting the further sale
of cemetery plots, the Odd Fellows established Green Lawn Cemetery in Colma and
began the momentous task of transferring bodies beginning in 1929. The
Columbarium (now owned by the Neptune Society) is the only remaining structure
from the original cemetery, and I’m sure it was spared because of its enchanting,
anachronistic beauty.
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| Niches from floor to ceiling line the rotunda and the
circular hallways that follow the circumference of the building on three separate floors. |
The three story domed building contains 8,500 niches, of which a few
are still available. The niches are placed floor to ceiling in circular
hallways and small rooms. Beautiful stained glass windows grace the vaults and
dome, and the niches range in size to accommodate the great variety of urns and
chests containing ashes. Some niches are sealed, but those with glass windows
allow you to view not only the urns, but various other remembrances of the
dead, including photographs, personal belongings and other memorabilia. Many of
the niches were purchased and sealed 100 years ago, but others were more
recently acquired.
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| Lovely stained glass windows grace many of the vaults. |
At times, because of the circular, symmetrical nature of the building,
I lost track of where I was and how I entered—a metaphor for the never-ending fate
of the ashes themselves. Notable internments (or memorials) include Chet Helms
(music promoter and father of San Francisco’s 1967 “Summer of Love”); Dorothea
Klumpke (astronomer and mathematician); and Harvey Milk (first openly gay man
elected to public office in California).
***
After writing about my online family history research last month, readers
Bill Delaney and Susan Alland filled me in on some local genealogy resources. The
Genealogical Society of Santa Cruz County has a library, located on the ground
floor of the Santa Cruz Public Library, 224 Church Street, which houses
microfilm of local newspapers back to the early 1800s; close to 10,000 books;
computer access to Ancestry.com library edition and Heritage Quest (available
at all branches); and volunteers to assist patrons in their searches. The Genealogy Library is open during library
hours and staffed with volunteers from 10:00-12:30 and 1:00-3:30 each day to
assist patrons with their research. Go to www.scgensoc.org
for information about the Genealogical Society’s monthly meetings with expert
speakers open to the public. The Watsonville Library has an upstairs history
room with many of the same resources.
Tina Baine
For an archive of my columns go to www.tinabaine.blogspot.com
The Neptune Society Columbarium of San Francisco
One Loraine Court, San Francisco
Monday -
Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday - Sunday, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m
Saturday - Sunday, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m
www.californios.us/columbarium/
Girl with a
Pearl Earring
Dutch Paintings from the Mauritshuis
de Young Museum, Golden Gate Park, 20 Hagiwara Tea
Garden Drive, San Francisco
Tuesday – Sunday, 9:30 a.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Friday (beginning late March) 9:30 a.m. – 8:45 p.m.
deyoungmuseum.org
415-750-3600
