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Blog Category: Exhibitions

Love and the Maiden: A Tale in Tempera

Posted by Melissa Buron on March 16, 2012

Last month we featured John Roddam Stanhope’s Love and the Maiden in FRAME|WORK, which served as the first in a series of blog posts that will demonstrate key elements of the Aesthetic Movement through this singular painting. In this installment, curatorial assistant of European art Melissa Buron examines how Stanhope's use of tempera paint contributed to the aesthetic of the Victorian avant-garde.

2002.176

John Roddam Spencer Stanhope (English, 1829–1908). Love and the Maiden, 1877. Tempera, gold paint and gold leaf on canvas. Museum purchase, European Art Trust Fund, Grover A. Magnin Bequest Fund and Dorothy Spreckels Munn Bequest Fund. 2002.176

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Bringing the San Francisco Streets into the Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier!

Posted by Sarah Bailey Hogarty on March 9, 2012

The designs of Jean Paul Gaultier often straddle the seemingly divergent worlds of haute couture and street fashion. To illustrate the profound influence of the street’s wild style on Gaultier’s designs, the museum commissioned San Francisco based artist Rio Yañez to create a 65-foot long graffiti mural, which will serve as the backdrop for the Punk Cancan section of the exhibition. The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk opens March 24 at the de Young.

Amy Winehouse

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A Conversation About Corsets

Posted by Gregory Stock on March 7, 2012

If there is one article of clothing associated with the Victorian Era, it is the corset. This Sunday, March 11, we continue our exclusive series of public programs for The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde, 1860–1900 with Visions of Beauty—Inside the Victorian Artists Salon, presented in partnership with Dark Garden Corsetry and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood Artist Salon. We recently sat down with Autumn Adamme, the owner of Dark Garden and your guide to all things corseted, to discuss this controversial fashion icon.

Dark Garden black dress

Photo courtesy of Dark Garden

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Finding San Francisco

Posted by Jim Ganz on March 2, 2012

Arthur Tress: San Francisco 1964 opens tomorrow at the de Young. Although the primary subject of the exhibition is the city we call home, many of the locations represented in the pictures were difficult to pin point. During his preparations for the exhibition, curator James Ganz tried to track down some of the more mysterious sites portrayed, which resulted in a San Francisco adventure of his own.

Tress 40

Arthur Tress, Untitled (Legion of Honor Museum), 1964. Printed 2010–11. Selenium-toned silver gelatin print. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. ©2012 Arthur Tress

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FRAME|WORK: Flora and Pomona by Edward Burne-Jones

Posted by Sarah Bailey Hogarty on February 28, 2012

The integration of art and beauty into every aspect of life was one of the foremost tenets of the Aesthetic Movement. Artists who subscribed to this ideal stepped outside of the confines of their medium of choice and experimented with all variety of design: painters became furniture designers and architects designed textiles. This week’s FRAME|WORK features two luscious tapestries from the Museums’ permanent collections included in the special exhibition The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde, 1860–1900 (on view at the Legion of Honor through June 17). Created by Edward Burne-Jones for Morris & Co., Flora and Pomona exemplify the aesthetics of the Aesthetic Movement.

Flora and Pomona

Edward Burne-Jones (English, 1833–1898) for Morris & Co. Flora (left) and Pomona (right), 1886–1920. Wool, silk, cotton; tapestry weave. Museum purchase, Dorothy Spreckels Munn Bequest Fund. 2001.120.1–2.

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Investigating Indigo in the Art of the Anatolian Kilim

Posted by Sarah Bailey Hogarty on February 24, 2012

On view through June 10 in the Textiles Gallery at the de Young, The Art of the Anatolian Kilim: Highlights from the McCoy Jones Collection showcases extraordinary examples of flat-woven kilims from the 15th to the 19th century. Considered to be the most important group of Anatolian kilims outside of Turkey, these kilims are notable for their elaborate design patterns, unusual color combinations and the weavers' mastery of natural dye processes. The intense blues presented in these textiles are made possible by the unique properties of indigo dye.

2003.87.5

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