Land's End a la Japanesque

The ecstatic word of mouth about "Japanesque: The Japanese Print in the Era of Impressionism" at the Legion of Honor museum turns out to be true. It's a fun, beautiful, and illuminating exhibit showing the influence of Japanese prints on Western artists in the second half of the 19th century.



In a few instances, the museum has hung a Western print next to the earlier Japanese print that was "sampled," and the results amusingly border on plagiarism.



The best part of visiting the Legion of Honor, however, is walking around Lincoln Park and Land's End which surrounds the museum.



It reminds one of how much Northern California coastal cliffs naturally look like Japanese prints.



The large screen by contemporary artist Masami Teraoka at the Asian Art Museum just underlines the point.



On late Thursday afternoon, the area was looking particularly Japanese printlike.



The exhibit is closing this weekend, and it was packed to the gills on Thursday, but a visit with walk included is highly recommended.