I want to thank Chris for turning Laura and me onto Wendy Beckett. Last night, we watched a segment from Sister Wendy - The Complete Collection (Story of Painting/Grand Tour/Odyssey/Pains of Glass): DVD on the "golden ages" of European painting: the time of Vermeer, Rembrandt, Velázquez, and Poussin. My Matisse kick has stimulated for me a more general interest in the history of Western painting. Although I bombed out with Netflix: Artists of the 20th Century: Henri Matisse (which I found to be too dry), I still held out hope that a TV series or multimedia lecture series would be still a great way to learn more about Matisse and art in general. Since I have enjoyed Bach and the High Baroque, I turned to the Teaching Company for more but was disappointed to find that there is currently no course on modern art. When I mentioned my search to Chris, he reminded me of Sister Wendy.

We found Sister Wendy's comments to be stimulating. I am already looking at Rembrandt and Velázquez in new ways. (I didn't know that much about the them to begin with, so art veterans might have a different take on Wendy Beckett.) The two paintings that stick in my mind from last night are: Rembrandt: Bathsheba at Her Bath:

and

VELAZQUEZ, Diego: Las Meninas:

While Deborah
and I were hanging out that the SF Asian Art Musuem yesterday, she asked me
why I had chosen to become a member of the museum. Since I don't remember anyone
ever asking me that question and because I hadn't completely thought through
the reasons myself, I struggled to come up with a satisfactory answer. Certainly,
the museum has an excellent collection of Asian art, perhaps
the best place to get an overview. And I do have a thing for museums and
for sharing the experience with others. (I invested in a contributing membership
level, allowing me to bring up to 3 adults with me.) But why this museum and
why now?

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