This morning I woke up with anticipation to a glorious and mysterious drive up towards the Legion of Honor, one of the Fine Arts Museums in San Francisco. Perched on a seaside cliff at the end of a windy pathway through the golfcourses in the Presidio, men teeing off in the fog, and sighing with relief when I spotted the landmark waterfountain in front where little Asian kids in uniform plaids were wrestling and tugging on each other. I've been wanting to see the Rodin sculptures, craving this escape up here, but what finally brought me was a preview of Marie Antoinette's personal collection of commissioned clocks, lanterns, sofas and paintings from her private estate, one that was historically set aside for the mistresses of the French King, now her stylish countryside getaway, not from the king himself, but from the public eye. It wasn't a large collection, but after the furniture being auctioned off to Boston corn farmers or English aristocrats, her collection is slowly being restored and sought after by the Director of Versailles, who was a charming man who led the tour alongside the Curator of the Museum's Decorative Arts collection, his English accent and knowledge of every bronze gilded wreath, acorn and dog hair on her chairs made for a wonderfully delightful start to an art-filled day.. later spent with a Collector at a favorite Bruschetta Bar of mine, and then off to an arts presentation about Eliasson's HR2 vehicle development. Lots of rotating spheres... and a soothing Danish accent sort of led me to nod off a bit. But back for the Ant Farm and Buckminster Fuller lectures (possibly) this evening, all at SFMoMa.
Anyhow...
If you're interested in the decadent and complex lives of queens, the Legion of Honor is screening films about La Reine's from all periods with dinner reservations. From Elizabeth w. Cate Blanchett, and yes, of course, Coppala's Marie Antoinette to other documentaries, illustrating the full thrust of how public life for royals can be a fulltime occupation as we saw in The Queen last year, the pressure, alongside its power, of how one may focus one's attention to political duty, and one's people, or a dress collection will be up for your discussion or pure entertainment value.
FAMSF.org
