A Visit To The Legion of Honor to View The Brothers Le Nain Exhibition

Photo: Chronica Domus

Last month while perusing the web site of The Legion of Honor - which happens to be my favorite fine art museum in San Francisco for reasons I shall return to later in this post -  I noticed an upcoming exhibition that piqued my interest.  The exhibition focused on the paintings of the brothers Le Nain. Who I wondered, were these brothers, and what masterpieces had they painted? A rudimentary web search revealed that the works of Antoine, Louis, and Mathieu were a bit of a mystery.  No one, it seemed, could identify with certainty which piece of their oeuvre had been painted by which brother.

This peculiar discovery led me to procure two opening day tickets to what turned out to be a most enjoyable experience.  How could it not have been?  We were, after all, going to a museum so beautiful that it is a work of art in itself.  And, to top it off, my husband and I we were visiting on a sparkling warm autumn day with not a whisper of lingering fog to be seen anywhere.

This must be the most spectacular setting of any museum I've had the pleasure of visiting, with views of the Pacific Ocean spilling into the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge off into the distance

Photo: Chronica Domus

This was also a day of optimal flying conditions if one happened to be piloting an F/A-18 Hornet jet.

Well, it was Fleet Week after all, and the Blue Angels were performing their annual areal gymnastics to the delight of onlookers across the city

Photo: Chronica Domus

The majestic scenery is just one of the reasons this happens to be my favorite art museum in the city. The classical decorative architecture is another.  Built in the Beaux-Arts style, the building is a three-quarter scaled rendition of the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur in Paris, and was a gift to the city by the sugar magnate Adolph B. Spreckels and his wife Alma.  Now, tell me, does not this spectacular entrance announce that one is about to arrive somewhere very special indeed?

Now this is an entrance befitting a world-class art museum, would you not agree?

Photo: Chronica Domus

Photo: Chronica Domus

What a contrast to the abysmal copper-clad monstrosity of the de Young Museum, which I wrote about, here.

Part of the opening day celebrations for the exhibition included a live performance of seventeenth century classical music by Seismic Strings.  The music gloriously poured into the entry hall from the nearby gallery where is was being played and set the mood for what was to come.

An impressive autumnal arrangement of foliage and seedpods decorate the entry to the gallery that was set up for a performance of live music

Photo: Chronica Domus

Following the concert, we decided it was probably a good idea to eat a late lunch before we headed downstairs to the exhibition. The Legion of Honor has an outstanding café which serves tempting and delicious hot entrées and snacks to sustain hungry museum goers.  This serene room overlooks the beautiful alfresco dining area that was a popular spot on the day we visited.  What a marvelous place for a relaxing breather and a bite to eat.

Now, onto the main event.  We descended the elegant marble-clad stairwell to the Rosekrans Galleries, wherein the exhibition was staged.  You'll notice when you visit the Legion of Honor that navigating the beautiful galleries is a breeze.  Everything is logically ordered and there is no fear of accidentally walking into a dead corner of an awkwardly designed space, which is often an unfortunate consequence of visiting the newly rebuilt de Young Museum.  But, let's return to the brothers Le Nain.

'Three Men and a Boy' circa 1640-1645 is believed to be an unfinished portrait of the brothers Le Nain likely painted by Mathieu, the central figure - interestingly, a cleaning to remove unoriginal paint in 1968 revealed the figure and color patches to the right of the painting 

Photo: Chronica Domus

The curators of this exhibition did a wonderful job of gathering more than forty of the brothers' works from museums and places of worship across England, France, and the United States.  Included is an altarpiece from Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris being exhibited for the first time in this country. It is one of the brothers' most important ecclesiastical works.

'St. Michael Dedicating His Arms to the Virgin', circa 1638 is being shown in the United States for the first time - if only we knew which of the three talented brothers had painted it

Photo: Chronica Domus  

Much investigative work by the conservators of this exhibition was carried out in an attempt to understand the techniques, brushwork, and modeling approaches used by the individual artists in determining who painted what.  As Antoine, Louis, and Mathieu all shared a studio and signed their works 'Le Nain', it was determined that some techniques were specific to only one brother, while others were used more generally by all three.  How frustrating it must be for all concerned to conclude that the mystery of which brother painted what work of art has yet to be conclusively proved.  

Although there were many other religious works on display, I was more drawn to the allegorical paintings.  'Allegory of Victory', which usually resides in The Louvre Museum, is one that I found particularly arresting.  The dramatic composition and scale immediately affixes the viewer's gaze, or at least it did mine.  I lingered upon it for what seemed like an eternity.  Not only is the subject matter transfixing, but the restrained and deliberately subdued color palette is masterful.  It simply took my breath away.  The winged and helmeted woman stands victorious over what is believed to be an allegorical figure of Deceit, Rebellion, or Intrigue. Oh, how I would love to hang this in my drawing room.

'Allegory of Victory' circa 1635, is believed to have been painted by Mathieu Le Nain and was my favorite painting of the exhibition

Photo: Chronica Domus

Another of the brothers' works I enjoyed viewing was 'Bacchus and Ariadne' which usually resides at the Musée de Beaux-Arts in Orléans, France.  The luminous quality of both Ariadne and Bacchus in contrast to the oarsmen is sublimely beautiful.  I only wish my dismal photograph could do this masterpiece justice but alas, there is nothing quite like seeing this artwork in person.

'Bacchus and Ariadne', circa 1635, is supremely beautiful in both composition and tonality

Photo: Chronica Domus

Aside from the religious and allegorical subjects on display, the brothers heavily focused their attentions on capturing scenes of everyday peasant life and the ills of poverty.

'The Resting Horseman', circa 1640, depicts a tenant farmer and his family, a subject often painted 

 by the brothers judging by the many works included in this exhibition

Photo: Chronica Domus 

If you happen to have a few hours to spare while visiting San Francisco, and would enjoy viewing this intriguing exhibition and learning about the fascinating clues unearthed when attempting to solve the puzzle of which brother painted which work of art, I urge you to come to The Legion of Honor. The Brothers Le Nain exhibition runs through January 29, 2017 so you have a few months ahead of you to plan accordingly.  And, if this happens to be your first visit, you'll be in for a real treat.  There are many other treasures in store to insure your time at this fine arts museum will be memorable.