Starting this weekend, the DeYoung Museum becomes the exclusive West Coast venue for a tour of Dutch masters paintings from the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis at The Hague. The centerpiece of the exhibition is Vermeer's famed 'Girl With a Pearl Earring,' considered a masterpiece of the Dutch Golden Age and often called the Dutch Mona Lisa.
The painting, of course, inspired an unfortunate 2003 film of the same name starring Scarlett Johansson that we won't go into now because we don't have the strength.
There is also a special rarely seen work that was restored especially for the American tour: 'Vase of Flowers' by Rachel Ruysch, one of the few female painters of the Dutch Golden Age.
The first members-only previews are tomorrow and Friday.
The show goes from January 26 to June 2, and you can see a preview of the 35 paintings on display here. There is also an adjacent, related exhibit titled Rembrandt's Century, displaying a range of works on paper from the 17th Century by Rembrandt and his predecessors from the collections of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Tickets are $25 for adults, seniors 65+ $22, students with current ID $21, kids 6-17 $15, and admission is free for members and children 5.