Exhibitions

Another busy weekend, but very varied. On Saturday I visited the Alphonse Mucha exhibition in Rotterdam. I have seen his work before, I know all the posters, and I visited the “Slav Epic” when I was in the Czech republic a few years ago. It is a good exhibition, because they have some of the famous posters, they have studies for the Slav Epic, but they also have some of the lesser-known small paintings. There were some beautiful works there. And they had some perfume bottles and other objects, very beautiful and delicate. I also liked several series of photographs, both studies for some of the bigger paintings, but also pictures of the artist, his studio, and a lovely one of Paul Gauguin, playing the piano in his bare legs.

At the same museum I visited three very different exhibitions of photographs. One was a series of 60 pictures by Vanity Fair photographer Edward Steichen. He took pictures of the big stars of the thirties, including my favourite, Garbo. This was an interesting show of some of the famous faces of the time, all very glamorous and beautiful. Right next to this one was a series of pictures by Disfarmer, all pictures of farmers and their families from one village taken some 40 to 60 years’ ago. Some at the same time as the Steichen pictures, but they couldn’t be more different. No glamour here, but worn faces of hardworking people in their Sunday clothes. Men, women, children, their ages hard to determine. Most looking very serious, only a few smiling or looking happy. One or two only of the women looking comfortable in nice clothes. Very impressive. Then, for complete contrast, a small exhibition of modern photographs of “Dutch Heroines”. Modern glamour, lots of colour and more nudity. I wonder if people still go to see those pictures in 60 years time.