Claude Monet, The Rio della Salute (detail), 1908

On Saturday, June 13th, members of the California and Northwest Chapters gathered at the de Young Museum in San Francisco for a docent-led tour of the special exhibition Monet and Venice, followed by brunch at the Beach Chalet.

The morning centered on a rare and revelatory body of work: though Claude Monet visited Venice only once, the paintings he produced there are among his most dazzling. Co-organized with the Brooklyn Museum, Monet and Venice is the first exhibition dedicated to his Venetian cityscapes since their debut over a century ago. Featuring more than 100 artworks, it placed Monet's Venice paintings alongside select works from across his career, including his celebrated Water Lilies, as well as Venetian views by artists such as Renoir, Sargent, and Canaletto.

Unlike the bustling scenes painted by other artists, Monet's Venice is eerily deserted, its architecture and canals dissolving in an encompassing, hazy light he described as the enveloppe, a quality that gave the paintings their singular, dreamlike atmosphere.

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Following the tour, the group made their way to the Beach Chalet, where patrons gathered for brunch in a relaxed and convivial setting—a fitting close to a morning spent in the company of extraordinary art.