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I'm standing outside of the Legion of Honor where we're celebrating the
opening of Impressionists on the Water
I'm also standing in front of the opening to the San Francisco Bay which in a
few short weeks will host the America's Cup sailing races
let's go inside the exhibition and take a look at some of the boats on view
we're standing in front of one of my favorite paintings in the exhibition
Renoir's Oarsmen at Chatou
now the boat in the foreground at this painting is very important because it
relates to the boat in the entrance to the exhibition
it's called a gig which is a two-person pleasure row boat. It was exciting for us
to be able to look at this painting when we installed the Nana in Rosekrans
court because we were able to figure out exactly how the ropes that control the
rudder should be positioned over the back of the chair
for the second person in the gig would sit
the star of the exhibition
is Gustave Caillebotte
who is not only an artist but also a very brilliant designer of yachts
and many of his yachts are represented in the exhibition both in paintings
and in the models
in this painting for example
his finest boat, called Roast Beef, is shown
three times, first of all
we see Roast Beef
at anchor
secondly
we see Roast Beef
sailing upwind
and thirdly in the background
there
we see
it represented
downwind.
More than that however is the fact
that the artist Gustave Caillebotte shows himself here
in a self-portrait
he able to show off if you like about the fact
that he's so skillful as a designer that he is able to helm this boat with
one finger, and so when you are at the Palace of the Legion of Honor and you overlook the Bay
you have this picture also in mind