Why Bother?

Lesley with Diebenkorn

I recently visited The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. The impetus for my visit was the special exhibit "Bonnard to Vuillard: The Intimate Poetry of Everyday Life." And it did not disappoint! I broke one of my usual rules, and allowed myself to study the exhibition catalog in advance of my trip. Comparing my experience with the catalog to that of my in-person  visit, I was struck by the rewards I got from making the effort to go to the show in person. In today's world where almost everything can be done "virtually", why bother to go in person? Read on for my top three reasons.

Visiting the Nabis Exhibit

1.  You can't appreciate the scale of a painting from an image in a catalog. Paintings presented on the pages of a book are necessarily of somewhat the same dimensions. After all, a page is only so large! It would be far too distracting to show a person standing by each painting in order to show its relative size. We can read the actual dimensions in the descriptions of the paintings, but even knowing that information doesn't convey the "feel" that we get from confronting the painting in person. A small painting encourages you to step close, to peer in. A huge painting encourages you to step back, to let the whole of it wash over you. Just look at the dramatic difference is scale between the Diebenkorn painting at the top of this post, and the Nabis' paintings following it. Two different worlds!

"The Door and the Sewing Table"
Oil on Cardboard, 16.75 x 17.5 inches
Édouard Vuillard, c. 1900

2.  Reproductions don't show the true colors of the original. Even though we have wonderful new technologies for reproducing images, the reproduced image just cannot tell the real truth of the original. Oftentimes the reproduction comes very close to the original, but falls slightly short. Occasionally the reproduced image is so poor that it doesn't even seem like the same painting as the original. The catalog for the Nabi exhibition is a wonderful one, with excellent quality images overall. Even so, there are exceptions. For example, one of my favorite paintings in the exhibit was the one pictured immediately above. I swore to my husband that I had not seen it in the catalog--I was adamant that it was definitely NOT in the catalog. Upon returning home and consulting the catalog, I found that it was in fact pictured there. But the reproduction was so far off the mark that I didn't even recognize the painting. See the reproduction below (photo from the catalog). I rest my case.

Reproduction of Vuillard

3. A well curated exhibit places the paintings in a context that enhances your enjoyment and appreciation of the artwork. No question about this. I have attended exhibits that were so well staged that I felt as if I had entered a time machine and had been taken to the painter's world. The Anders Zorn retrospective in Paris is one that comes to mind, and I tell you why here. The Nabi exhibit at The Phillips was in that same category. Because the Nabis believed that art should be part of everyday life, they created not only paintings, but also decorative items such as stained glass, screens, tapestries, and vases. The Phillips included all of these types of objects. The curators went even further, and wallpapered some of the gallery spaces to reflect the style of the Nabis' era, and the nature of the interiors they painted.  I'm including an example below. The colors, the textures and the placement of the art evoked the decade of the Nabis at their zenith. A great job!

Gallery in the Nabis Exhibit, The Phillips Collection

If you can get to Washington for the Nabis exhibit at The Phillips, it's worth a journey. The show runs through January 26, 2020. If you've been, or if you go, let me know what you think!