![DSCN0358 _ Modernism from the National Gallery of Art The Robert & Jane Meyerhoff Collection, De Young Museum](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5583/14867737460_fa16e1aa16_o.jpg)
Last weekend, I visited De Young Museum to see the special exhibit: Modernism from the National Gallery of Art: The Robert & Jane Meyerhoff Collection.
![DSCN0378 _ Modernism from the National Gallery of Art The Robert & Jane Meyerhoff Collection, De Young Museum](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3873/14867737440_b49e42574e_o.jpg)
![DSCN0015 _ NGA at De Young](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5580/14867738990_cd2e3a0c68_o.jpg)
![DSCN0040 _ Modernism from the National Gallery of Art The Robert & Jane Meyerhoff Collection, De Young Museum](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3843/15051348331_f9ae44b04c_o.jpg)
The exhibition included many important modern masters, with works in the styles ranging from almost realism to schematic abstract and cartoonish.
![DSCN0092 _ Modernism from the National Gallery of Art The Robert & Jane Meyerhoff Collection, De Young Museum](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3904/15054727982_e6da3d4381_o.jpg)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To me, the most astonishing offering was a series of paintings by Barnett Newman, titled The Stations of the Cross: Lema Sabachthani, created from 1958 to 1966. Spartan and aesthetically pleasing, the group paintings had an otherworldly beauty and spirituality. The scope of the paintings was vast; and despite the long period of the creation, this series never veered away from the clearly defined concept, and these canvases could be appreciated individually or as a whole:
![DSCN0403 _ The Stations of the Cross_ Lema Sabachthani, 1958-66, Barnett Newman, NGA at De Young](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3911/14867735650_81aabc5f3c_o.jpg)
![DSCN0400 _ The Stations of the Cross_ Lema Sabachthani, 1958-66, Barnett Newman, NGA at De Young](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3918/15031400566_1b60f6eb69_o.jpg)
![DSCN0402 _ The Stations of the Cross_ Lema Sabachthani, 1958-66, Barnett Newman, NGA at De Young](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5573/15054043042_a65b08df02_o.jpg)
![DSCN0070 _ The Stations of the Cross_ Lema Sabachthani, 1958-66, Barnett Newman, NGA at De Young](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5585/14867816878_05a0b57a61_o.jpg)
![DSCN0404 _ The Stations of the Cross_ Lema Sabachthani, 1958-66, Barnett Newman, NGA at De Young](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5571/14867671579_22e14cdb13_o.jpg)
![DSCN0002 _ The Stations of the Cross_ Lema Sabachthani, 1958-66, Barnett Newman, NGA at De Young](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3876/14867814958_4eed34550b_o.jpg)
![DSCN0065 _ The Stations of the Cross_ Lema Sabachthani, 1958-66, Barnett Newman, NGA at De Young](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5553/14867737880_fcf2a36498_o.jpg)
![DSCN0062 _ The Stations of the Cross_ Lema Sabachthani, 1958-66, Barnett Newman, NGA at De Young](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5556/15051348031_093192857b_o.jpg)
Similarly, I found this Rothko's abstract piece, in very subdued palettes, exceedingly beautiful. It surely made a stark contrast to his more vibrantly painted pieces, particularly his red and purple pieces. It is a very meditative piece:
![DSCN0381 _ Untitled, 1969, Mark Rothko, NGA at De Young](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3855/14867673319_be0df93a3c_o.jpg)
![DSCN0041 _ Untitled, 1969, Mark Rothko, NGA at De Young](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3844/15051348221_b817a7a335_o.jpg)
Untitled, 1969, Mark Rothko
The Bradley Walker Tomlin painting was definitely vibrantly colorful and also amazingly beautiful, and even orderly, despite the deceptive chaos:
![DSCN0399 _ Maneuver for Position, 1947, Bradley Walker Tomlin, NGA at De Young](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3878/14867848717_7ba965c84a_o.jpg)
Maneuver for Position, 1947, Bradley Walker Tomlin
Hans Hoffmann's piece included was a typical Hofmann - strong color contrasts, geometric pattens seemed ever moving on the canvas. Very dynamic:
![DSCN0395 _ Autumn Gold, 1957, Hans Hofmann, NGA at De Young](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3839/15051346961_1b8639d3c8_o.jpg)
![DSCN0396 _ Autumn Gold (detail), 1957, Hans Hofmann, NGA at De Young](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5587/14867848967_02d25e1528_o.jpg)
Autumn Gold and detail, 1957, Hans Hofmann
Other pieces with similar complexities and contrasts are these pieces below, in turn subtle, bold, schematic, and chaotic:
![DSCN0392 _ Essex and Hester (Red), 1958, Grace Hartigan, NGA at de Young](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5566/15054406525_6b35c1286e_o.jpg)
Essex and Hester (Red), 1958, Grace Hartigan
![DSCN0384 _ Desert Landscape, 1951, William Baziotes, NGA at De Young](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3916/15054043672_a34a8ff1a6_o.jpg)
Desert Landscape, 1951, William Baziotes
![DSCN0012 _ Perilous Night, 1982, Jasper Johns, NGA at De Young](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3891/15031403436_2fd2cabaf9_o.jpg)
Perilous Night, 1982, Jasper Johns
![DSCN0007 _ Souvenirs, 1980-84, Howard Hodgkin, NGA at De Young](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5572/14867851707_d1d20c479f_o.jpg)
Souvenirs, 1980-84, Howard Hodgkin
The following group included the most representative and visually complex offerings, intricate in patterns and meanings:
![DSCN0038 _ La round des images, 1977, Jean Dubuffet, NGA at De Young](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3845/14867674269_5c2bb05021_o.jpg)
La round des images, 1977, Jean Dubuffet
![DSCN0032 _ Saigon, Minnesota, 1985, Eric Fischl, NGA at De Young](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5565/14867850707_00e2ce6a96_o.jpg)
Saigon, Minnesota, 1985, Eric Fischl
![DSCN0004 _ Archive, 1963, Robert Rauschenberg, NGA at De Young](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3871/15051349741_709446d4b6_o.jpg)
Archive, 1963, Robert Rauschenberg
![DSCN0025 _ Courtroom, 1970, Philip Guston, NGA at De Young](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3868/14867735980_beb470c15d_o.jpg)
Courtroom, 1970, Philip Guston
The following group paintings were the most schematic and purely abstract, and some of them were quite lovely, such as those by Ad Reinhardt:
![DSCN0010 _ Graphics Tablet, 1998, Terry Winters, NGA at De Young](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3894/15031403646_0075c39e90_o.jpg)
Graphics Tablet, 1998, Terry Winters
![DSCN0036 _ Picasso's Skull, 1989-90, Brice Marden, NGA at De Young](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3840/15031402726_99c9e96b4e_o.jpg)
Picasso's Skull, 1989-90, Brice Marden
![DSCN0390 _ Untitled (Yellow and White), Untitled (Red and Gray), 1950, Ad Reinhardt, NGA at De Young](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5555/15051345841_4fea11c5c0_o.jpg)
![DSCN0049](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3876/15032523566_b45851ea32_o.jpg)
Untitled (Yellow and White), Untitled (Red and Gray), 1950, Ad Reinhardt
![DSCN0387 _ 1951-N, 1951, Clyfford Still, NGA at De Young](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3845/14867815918_9cef06473f_o.jpg)
1951-N, 1951, Clyfford Still
![DSCN0383 _ Study for Homage to the Square_ Light Rising, 1950, altered 1959, Josef Albers, NGA at De Young](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3835/15054043902_50c673fcbc_o.jpg)
Study for Homage to the Square_ Light Rising, 1950, altered 1959, Josef Albers
![DSCN0386 _ First Theme, 1964, Burgoyne Diller, NGA at De Young](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5588/15054043632_5a21825fc1_o.jpg)
First Theme, 1964, Burgoyne Diller
![DSCN0033 _ Untitled #2, 1981, Agnes Martin, NGA at De Young](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3869/14868475238_1a0a4b778a_o.jpg)
Untitled #2, 1981, Agnes Martin
And lastly, there were some Roy Lichtenstein's cartoonish paintings - certainly there was no denying that there was some beauty in them, but they just didn't speak to me, as to some other absorbed patrons:
![DSCN0089 _ Painting with Statue of Liberty, 1983, Roy Lichtenstein, NGA at De Young](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5590/14867673659_00efb8d22a_o.jpg)
Painting with Statue of Liberty, 1983, Roy Lichtenstein
![DSCN0091 _ Entablature, 1974, Roy Lichtenstein, NGA at De Young](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3897/15031401806_23c07f0aac_o.jpg)
Entablature, 1974, Roy Lichtenstein
The exhibit was in the Herbst Special Exhibition Galleries of De Young Museum and it ran from June 7, 2014 to October 12, 2014. Highly recommended.
![DSCN0084](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3870/15055511595_aba79db235_o.jpg)
![DSCN0093](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5570/14868426770_cc52cfce5c_o.jpg)
And you can tweet about it:
![DSCN0379](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3915/15055080712_3b099b9b62_o.jpg)
Related posts on Art · 文化 · Kunst:
- Impressionism from National Gallery of Art (DC) in San Francisco
- Last Trip to a Museum in 2012 - The William S. Paley Collection: A Taste for Modernism at De Young Museum in San Francisco
- Last Call - "The Girl With A Pearl Earring" in De Young Museum, San Francisco
- Venetian Masterpieces from Vienna at De Young Museum
- Birth of Impressionism at De Young Museum, San Francisco
- Post-Impressionism Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay, De Young Museum, San Francisco 2010-11
- Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris - De Young Museum, San Francisco
- Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and Beyond: Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay at De Young Museum, San Francisco
- My Favorite De Young Museum Collections
- My Favorite Paintings at National Gallery of Art, Washington DC