The de Young might have its flashy Impressionism show right now, but I recommend you avoid the crowds and make a beeline instead for the Contemporary Jewish Museum and their gem of a exhibition of paintings drawn from the collection of Jacques Goudstikker. Mr. Goudstikker (ask a Dutch person to properly pronounce his name for you) was a very well-to-do art dealer in Amsterdam before WWII, so famous that Göring with his taste for Old Masters headed straight for Goudstikker's gallery when the Nazis invaded the Netherlands and was even photographed carrying an unindentifed stolen painting out under his arm. That photo and a wealth of other supplemental material is on view at the CJM including Goudstikker's "little black book," a typewritten, alphabetized list of all the works in his collection at the time he and his family had to flee their home. That book has become invaluable to Goudstikker's heirs in their ongoing efforts to reclaim the paintings that were looted by the Germans and landed in many major holdings around the world. The paintings in the exhibition represent a fraction of those that have been returned to the family (in 2006 the Dutch government turned over a small treasure trove of 200 pieces that had been absorbed into the national collection), but there are some real masterworks on display in the museum. The St. Mary Magdalene pictured here is being used to advertise the show for good reason; in person she is a stunner. But also don't miss the portraits of rich patrons and young women, elaborate Biblical tableaux, and the strange Dutch still lifes that are a perennial favorite of mine. Many paintings still remain missing, and I wish the family veel geluk and continued success in retrieving them.
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