Flanders exhibition

It's been a cultural few days for me so far. Yesterday I went to an exhibition at the Bunkamura centre and in the evening I went to my book group.

The exhibition was called "Lights of Flanders" and focused on Belgian artists in the 19th century who had set up an artist colony in flemish rural villages. Here, they captured the countryside and people of Flanders doing everyday things, but in idyllic settings where the sun is always shining and the life is relaxed. I had never really been aware of these artists' works before and was transfixed by the beauty of some of them. Perhaps it's because I hadn't seen them before, but they seemed fresh to me. Many were done in an Impressionistic style which is something that I don't usually like. Maybe this is because we have seen their work so often - such as Renoir, Monet etc - that it becomes too familiar. Anyway, I was very glad I went!

In the evening I went to my book group and we discussed "The Lacuna" by Barbara Kingsolver. The story is told from the point of view of a boy who works in the house of Frieda Kahlo and Diego Rivera. I had been excited about reading it as the writer is very good and the subject matter interested me. It took a long time to get into and if it weren't for the book group I probably would have given up, but I'm glad I stuck with it as it grew into an interesting, juicy historical novel.