Mad as a Hatter

Song - French Cafe Accordion Music

Last Friday Mr. B and I headed to the city to visit the Legion of Honor and to see the Degas, Impressionism and the Millinery Trade exhibit.

Degas - The Millinery Shop 1879-86

Unfortunately I brought the wrong lens for my camera so I couldn't get shots of the entire painting and I couldn't back up because it was very crowded as it was the final weekend of the exhibit.

I loved that they matched a number of old hats from the time period with the paintings.  However they were protected in large plastic showcases so the photos do not do them justice.

Berthe Morisot - Eugene Manet on the Isle of Wight 1875

They had an area dedicated to men's hats and above you can see the straw boating hat.

They discussed the use of arsenic and mercury in preserving the feathers and felting the hat. That is where the term "mad hatter" comes from as it is linked these toxic substances that gave the workers shakes, speech problems, hallucinations and emotional instability.

Georges Jeanniot - At the Milliner's 1900

James Tissot - The Shop Girl 1883-85

The Mad Hatter: "Have I gone mad?" 

Alice: "I'm afraid so.  You're entirely bonkers. 

But I'll tell you a secret.  All the best people are." 

--Lewis Carroll

Impressions of the Day

Song - Con te Partiro by Andrea Bocelli

Last Sunday Mr. B and I went to the Legion of Honor in San Francisco to see the Intimate Impressionism show from the National Gallery, Washington DC which they are remodeling.

Not Washington....but the Gallery.

Just thought I might have confused you there......

It was lovely and there were many great pieces but I did have a few favorites.

There are several pieces that I wanted to share with you....

The Artist's Sister at a Window by Berthe Morisot

The Artists Paint Box and Moss Roses by Edouard Vuillard

Sweeet!

Argenteuil by Claude Monet

Detail of Argenteuil 

Just look at those yummmmy colors!

Table Set in a Garden by Pierre Bonnard

I can just see myself sitting in that garden having a cup of tea.

The last two are probably my favorites because they are just so painterly!

Then Mr. B took me for coffee and cheesecake at Caffe Trieste because I have been commissioned to do a painting of the little coffee house and I needed some reference material.

And then I took Mr. B across the street to......

Church !

This is actually the Nuova Porziuncola at the National Shrine of Saint Francis and is a scaled replica of St. Francis's Porziuncola in Assisi, Italy.

As we were driving home, we both felt like we had a mini European vacation!

Without Chevy Chase!!!

"For it is in giving that we receive." --St. Francis of Assisi