The Dutch painting show at the MFA runs through January 18, so it is a perfect Christmas vacation activity with the kids.
Rembrandt’s “The Shipbuilder and his Wife” is worth the price of admission and the accompanying sign notes that it is owned by one person: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. It is possible to live well in England if you can have a Rembrandt in your bedroom! Vermeer’s Astronomer is there, saving you a trip to the Louvre.
Try to not let the kids linger at the sign next to Jacob Backer’s “Half-Naked Woman with a Coin”. The curators note that “prostitutes earned far more than women who performed manual labor.” You don’t want to have to explain to them that having a one-night sexual encounter with a dentist in Massachusetts pays better than going to college and working!
There are signs encouraging visitors to post pictures on Facebook, etc., but cell phone service is poor in the underground galleries. The museum’s MFAGuest WiFi network was advertising its SSID and five bars of signal strength, but wouldn’t accept connections from my iPhone. Is running a public WiFi network simply beyond the skills of Americans?
I went with my mom and we enjoyed a great lunch at Bravo, so apparently cooking and serving is easier than running WiFi!