Carissa Green Reads
I read widely from many genres. Perhaps this blog will feature fewer ratings and reviews, but I certainly intend to write about my reading life - it's the subject I most find myself wanting to talk about.
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Theme Reading - Exhibit style
Last March, I went to see Vermeer's "Woman in Blue Reading a Letter" at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The painting was on loan for the museum's 100th anniversary. It was a wonderful spring break adventure.
In honor of that trip, my "theme reading" was Blue Balliet's children's book, "Chasing Vermeer." In that charming novel, two Vermeer paintings in particular are discussed, "A Lady Writing," and "The Geographer."
Lately, I got quite excited, because the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is having a special exhibition, in which two Vermeers will be on view -- the very ones Balliet referenced in her book, as I mentioned above. Except I'm not quite right.
Yes, MFA is getting "A Lady Writing" from the National Gallery. But the other Vermeer that will be on loan is "The Astronomer," not "The Geographer." However, it was a natural mistake - "The Geographer" and "The Astronomer" seem to feature the same model. They are nearly the same setting.
I sincerely hope the exhibition motivates young people in Massachusetts to read the book. Theme reading is a fine thing, and Petra and Calder were great characters.
You can preview the exhibition here: http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/class-distinctions.
-cg
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