First, a bit of global trivia: The Hague may be best known for its war crimes tribunals, but the Netherlands’ third-largest city is also home to one of the best-known masterworks of Dutch art, Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. And second, something you probably already know: we Americans (at home or abroad) can be pretty obnoxious sometimes. Rachel from Santa Clarita, California can talk to you about all of the above.
While visiting the Vermeers at the Hague’s Mauritshuis Museum, she stumbled upon this entry in the guestbook from a fellow Californian. In fairness, Rachel says, “The writer does have a point; the way that the paintings are displayed makes it difficult to see/appreciate them. But I think trying the curator in the Hague is a tad excessive.”
It is a crime against humanity to place the Girl w/ a Pearl Earring against a dark green background It should be placed over a light gray background to optically recover the tone of the painting. The museographer should be tried and condemned right here in the Hague. Y.J. (an art critic and painter from LA)
related: The art of passive resistance
40 responses so far ↓
#1
Jessica
Would you mind typing out what you think it says? I bloody can’t read it on that white paper with large lettered blue ink.
Jun 26, 2011 at 9:10 pm rating: 90
#2
katie_2256
The “art critic & painter” at the end ruins their whole message. Getting an A in primary school for art and having your mum stick a picture you drew up on the fridge does not make you an artist.
Jun 26, 2011 at 9:14 pm rating: 90
#3
cat
and this is why that painter doesn’t have a place to showcase his/her art
Jun 26, 2011 at 9:16 pm rating: 90
#4
Uninspired Required Name
I just face-palmed, seriously, had to be a Californian making the U.S. look bad, again. Dammit.
Jun 26, 2011 at 9:55 pm rating: 90
#5
James L.
This is not an obnoxious American issue. This is an obnoxious, opinionated artist, who could just as well have come from any other country.
Jun 26, 2011 at 10:06 pm rating: 90
#6
Canthz_B
Luckily, poor penmanship isn’t a crime against humanity, so the writer was able to safely leave the country without an involuntary visit to The Hague.
Jun 26, 2011 at 11:06 pm rating: 90
#7
me..me..me
Well, he did say he’s a “painter” and not an “artist”.
Maybe his medium of choice is the Glidden kind.
(eta: this was meant as a response to #2)
Jun 27, 2011 at 12:45 am rating: 90
#8
Grant
Ah, but that way they can put the painting on tour and charge you £20 a time to see the painting against a variety of backdrops and in a wide range of settings.
Jun 27, 2011 at 3:48 am rating: 90
#9
Buck
Funny, ran across a similar entry in a guestbook at a National Park museum for which I used to volunteer. They were complaining about the lighting on a display case housing small artifacts from the site. Seems we didn’t spend enough money on “non-glare coatings” for the case. That person happened to be from Germany. So…
Jun 27, 2011 at 5:22 am rating: 90
#10
Graham
What! It’s a real painting!
I thought it was just a film with that bloke who was the King thingy and Scarlet O’hara.
Anyway, America isn’t real, it’s just a made up place full of rednecks, lawyers and fast food junkies. And art critics.
Jun 27, 2011 at 5:56 am rating: 90
#11
Me
“Hague” is also my last name!
Jun 27, 2011 at 10:05 am rating: 90
#12
anonymouse
Here’s a link with a photo of TGWTPE in the museum.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artimageslibrary/5354260999/
You be the judge.
Jun 27, 2011 at 12:34 pm rating: 90
#13
orange dog
Not to paint with too big a brush… but this is a clearly artist PA not American PA. Cultural myopia doesn’t enter into it.
BTW, the mixture of passive aggression and anal retentiveness is a wonderful composition. The strokes of arrogance and sarcasm give it a rich, bold texture of pretension (just like this comment).
Jun 27, 2011 at 1:28 pm rating: 90
#14
Srlsy Guys!
Art Critic. Read: I studied art at community college once.
Jun 27, 2011 at 3:09 pm rating: 90
#15
dersk
On behalf of all cloggies: donder op, trut.
Jun 27, 2011 at 3:23 pm rating: 90
#16
isa
Something the owner of this site probably didn’t know: all countries have people (at home or abroad) who can be pretty obnoxious sometime.
I lived in Europe for several months and I still deal with them for business purposes here and there, and since I am an Asian American I get both the “why can’t you Americans do things our way?” And “you Asians have weird cultures” reactions from some people. *shrug* There are considerate people everywhere; there are idiots everywhere.
I don’t consider myself an artist, but I do like to go to the museums. And I have seen/heard similar PA notes and comments by “critics” from all over the world…
Jun 27, 2011 at 4:58 pm rating: 90
#17
bliffit
I was hoping for more elegant or distinctive handwriting. This “artist” appears to be marginally competent at CorelDRAW at best.
Jun 27, 2011 at 9:42 pm rating: 90
#18
sonny bishop
If this “critic” had done their homework, they would have known that the original backround for the painting was a “smooth, glossy, hard and deep translucent green”. Dark backrounds were used to enhance the three-dimensional effect of the figure.
Jun 28, 2011 at 9:37 pm rating: 90
#19
blart
That’s a Californian for you.
Jul 1, 2011 at 2:52 pm rating: 90
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