A Tale of Three Cities and Another and Others

On the one full day in Tokyo that had my calendar jam packed with activities, and on the way to meet my friend with whom I would share the festivities of the late morning and early to mid afternoon, I had to take the subway to meet her.  While on the way, I chanced upon a poster advertising the show "Berlin" which for some reason had an image of a Vermeer painting ("Woman with a Pearl Necklace").  Now, being afraid of getting run over by the hordes of zombies on their way to work, I took a quick photo for reference so I could see what it was all about later.  It turns out that the National Museum of Western Art had an exhibition which featured many paintings culled from the collection of notable museums in Berlin, and so with little convincing, I met my friend and we made our way there.

this poster was calling my name

Believe you me, despite the surprisingly large crowd (mostly gathered in front of this painting, a sort of small scale version of the chaos at the Mona Lisa), I stood in line to look up close at this work, and it was worth every second of waiting- even if I had to wait in the freezing snow, in a torrential rain, a Vermeer would be worth going to see with one's own eyes.

As usual, I was tempted to buy a postcard or some ephemera related to the show, but more and more I find it unnecessary.  Even photos (which were not allowed inside, thus the absence of a shot of the painting on display) are surely lacking, and detract from the appreciation which is best turned over in one's mind again and again.

On a side note, I was extremely happy to see the last model for the Balzac sculpture by Rodin inside the galleries, as I have come to enjoy this work of a Master by another Master each time it is encountered- in Paris, in New York, and now in Tokyo.  As another side note, I realize that a small model was auctioned off a few years ago, and now have my acquisitive eyes and mind set on that should it ever come up for grabs again.

And with that materialistic statement, I must present (again) the Gates of Hell.

Tokyo Version