Cathy's Art Diary

Annual exhibition at Tate Britain of the short listed artists in the Turner Prize. I must admit none of them made me stand back and think “silly” this year. Goshka Macuga looked at archiving, exhibition making and museum display using the works and relationship of Paul Nash and Eileen Agar. This therefore grabbed me from the start and I loved the two large, half cylinders in glass. Cathy Wilkes, had done the manikin on the toilet with supermarket counter, which got the most publicity. I could hear my friend Linda’s voice in my ear saying “Messy”! Runa Islam, was three video installations. I liked the one of breaking china which had a strange tension like an artistic Aunt Sally! Finally Mark Leckey, who won this year, used found material to create images. I liked the fact that the small AV displays were shown on old projectors so making the thing projecting the art part of the piece. Reviews Times Independent Evening Standard

Retrospective exhibition at Tate Britain of the work of Francis Bacon. When you first went in you immediately felt like you were being bludgeoned round the head but it was good to see so many Bacon’s in one place. In other galleries I find I have a tendency to say “Oh it’s a Bacon and move on” but here you couldn’t so you concentrated and learnt what he was about. Basically he paints the psychological state of himself and others. I particularly like the room dedicated to the archive which is now held in Dublin. I remember seeing the mock up of the studio there a few years ago and being so struck by the layers of creativity and inspiration in the room. This could in other words be called mess! Hard to pick a favourite in an exhibition which was not necessarily relaxing to look at but I’d pick the small portrait of his lover George Dyer which was distorted but showed wonderful detail in the hair. I also have a weakness for screaming popes! Reviews Times Guardian Daily Telegraph Independ

Exhibition at the National Theatre of an annual competition of landscape photographs. I must admit I didn’t have long to do this, just the interval of a play while eating an ice cream but there were some beautiful images. Scotland seemed to come out of it best but its amazing how pictures of where you grew up (in my case Oxfordshire) are so recognisable.

Exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum looking at design during the years of the Cold War. I must admit I was slightly disappointed by the exhibition. I was expecting it to look at domestic design and things like the festival of Britain, rather as the Art Deco and Art Nouveau exhibitions did. Instead it looked at very high end design with a strong focus on architecture and engineering design, I had excepted it to be international but the concentration seemed to be on Eastern Europe with splattering of the USA. Having said that though there were some stunning objects. It was lovely to see a collection of Picasso ceramics made for the a peace congress and I loved the big biosphere with a hammock inside. All in all it was very serious and dare I say a little self regarding. Reviews Times Independent Daily Telegraph Evening Standard

Another lecture at the National Gallery to compliment the “ Renaissance Faces ” exhibition . This lecture was given by Nicholas Penny, the director of the National Gallery. I have to admit I thought it took a while to get going and it would have been nice if he had always said what a picture was before leaping into the point however he was very engaging and charismatic. The talk took wider view of pendants than I had assumed as it included diptyches and double portraits as well as traditional pendants.

A nice small exhibition at the National Gallery looking at works done by Sisley on his visits to England and Wales. I had not realised that Sisley’s parents were both British and that he was sent to London to study commerce when he was 18. There he discovered the works of Turner and Constable. On his trip in 1874 he sought out views similar to the Seine in Paris and created a series of pictures of the Thames at Hampton Court. I loved the one of the view under the bridge at Hampton Court. It was a wonderfully unusually angle for a picture. Following his marriage in Cardiff in 1897 he travelled in Wales with his wife working at Penarth and on the Gower Peninsular. There is a lovely series of three pictures of rocks which seem to act as a study in how the waves and shore interact with it. Reviews Guardian Independent Evening Standard

Small one room exhibition at the National Gallery celebrating the arrival of three Impressionist masterpieces which were bequeathed to the gallery by Simon Sainsbury. It takes the three pictures “Bowl of fruit and tankard before a window” by Gauguin and “Snow scene at Argenteuill” and “Water-lilies, setting sun” by Monet are displayed next to paintings which the gallery already owned which compliment them.

Study morning at the National Gallery to compliment the “ Renaissance Faces” exhibition . This was a series of four lectures looking different themes of the show. Susan Foister, a principal curator of the exhibition, talked about how the Northern artists fitted into the themes of the rooms. Minna Moore Ede, assistant curator of Renaissance painting at the National Gallery, looked at sculpture by comparing the bust of St Constance in the first room and the marble plaque “Young couple” by Tullio Lombardo. Jenny Graham from the University of Plymouth looked at the role of artifice in portraits, why it is there and what it represents. Finally Carline Brooke from Birkbeck College again talked about the role of drawing. I thought this would be a repeat of the previous Wednesday’s lecture but although it covered similar themes it did so by comparing and contrasting the Bellini portrait of a man and Durer’s portrait of Conrad Merckell.

Another lecture at the National Gallery to compliment the “ Renaissance Faces” exhibition . Given by Caroline Brook of Birkbeck College, this lecture looked at the role of drawing in Renaissance portraiture and why it rose to prominence at this time and then declines. It looked in particular at the abstract nature of drawing, claiming that the act of drawing a line on a paper is a abstraction as it uses illusion to create reality. It also looked at the different uses of drawings : as preparatory works, as works of art in their own right, as presents for friends and as means of an artist analysing himself in self portraiture.

Lecture at the National Gallery to compliment the “ Renaissance Faces” exhibition . Given by Joanna Woodall from the Courtauld Institute the lecture looked at the work of Antonis Mor, a contemporary of Titian, who features in the last room of the exhibition. She used his work to look at the question of art as imagination. In particular she contrasted Mor’s and Titian’s portraits of Philip II. Mor’s portrait shows Philip as a military leader but at a battle which he missed! Mor however pictures him in this important regal right of passage, the leading of troops in battle.

Work by the artist in residence at the Whitney Museum of American Art . This was a false room which you could view through spaces in its corners. It was a basically a work space in which the artist works with everyday objects to look at how they transform with use. The website describes it as “questioning the autonomy of the art object through a process of its constant transmutation”. Not sure I understand but I am sure I agree! Must admit the artist had gone for a short break when we were there but the thing which struck me most was the smell, as he had been baking! Review New York Times

Exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art which brings together works from the Whitney’s permanent collection, highlighting connections between art and visions of utopia. I must admit by this exhibit I was getting a bit tired and punch drunk! I hadn’t expected the Whitney to have quite so many exhibitions! Once you are there you feel you need to do them all, especially as it was our last day in New York, but by this stage the feet and brain were tired! For that reason I can only remember the highlights of this one not really anything about the theme! Anyway my favourite piece was Paul Sietsema’s “CG Room” from 2002 which was a modern room resembling one of the Dutch box paintings of a room done within a box to form a 3D picture. Review New York Times

Retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art looking at the work of this photographer who has defined the history of colour photography. These photographs mainly of the Deep South had a sense of peace and deep observation. His set on Gracelands seemed to focus on the focus on the mundane and give it meaning. Many were also like the Hopper’s we had seen earlier in the day. On a mundane level the highlight had to be seeing Ben Stiller going round the exhibition! Reviews New Yorker New York Times

Super exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art looking at the work done by Alexander Calder when he lived in Paris and the influence that time had on the rest of his career. It was particularly interesting following on from the current exhibition at the Royal Academy of the work of the Galerie Maeght which featured Calder. It started well with the wire portraits he had made of people he met in Paris exhibited beautifully against a white wall and lit so you saw the shadows they threw. Star of the show had to be the room devoted to the circus he built at this time which he could use to generate income from giving shows. The circus itself was set up but with it were films of how it worked. The whole thing was charming! I loved the two figures which came on and took a third off on a stretcher after and accident and the kangaroo! A room at the end showed how his work changed on visiting Mondrian’s studio and culminated in a series of large scale mobiles including “Small Sphere and

Small exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York of contemporary photography purchased by the museum. Probably most memorable were the first two pictures, mock ups of obituaries for Bill Clinton and Malcolm MacLaren. Also striking were street scenes by Zoe Leonard.

Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum looking at the impact of Futurism and Cubism on British modernist printmaking from the beginning of World War I to the beginning of World War II. Arranged in themes this exhibition reminded me of the one at the British Museum earlier this year of American prints. There were many familiar artists as well as new names. It was great to see so many C.R.W. Nevison’s, in particular to see his New York work there. I fell heavily for the work of Cyril Power who did vivid London scenes. I loved his picture of a rowing crew called “The Eight”. It is always nice to see some old friends when abroad. Reviews New York Times

Retrospective of at the Metropolitan Museum of the work of this 20th century artist. This exhibition had a wonderful sense of peace about it. Morandi had lived and worked in the same house for many years and concentrated on minimalist still lives which at their most pared back were almost abstract. He would take the same set of objects and paint them over and over from different angles and in different arrangement so they became a study in shape. Although repetitive they built up a sense of rhythm. There were also some lovely muted landscapes and a set of pictures of vases of flowers painted for his sisters. Reviews New York Times

Fascinating exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum in New York looking at works which had been acquired by the museum while Philippe de Montebello has been its director. It was an eclectic mix of painting, furniture, sculpture, calligraphy, dresses and more, which gave a great sense of the range of interests of the museum. The tape tour was well worth taking as it explained why and how many of the pieces had been bought. Many of the stories were quite funny and touching and, as Philippe de Montebello himself was the main narrator, it gave you a real sense of the man and what he might be like to work with. Where to start of favourite pieces? I have to pick the Lucien Freud of Leigh Bowery from the first room, such a study in flesh; Room two a wonderful self portrait of Rubens with his wife and child; A winged boy from the Medici garden in Florence; Van Gogh wheat field; Macintosh wash stand made for Kate Cranston and two rooms of prints and drawings just as your legs were giving out! Re

Excellent exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York looking at how Van Gogh looked at the problem of how to use colour to depict darkness throughout his career. Having read “The Yellow Book” recently, the story of the time Van Gogh and Gauguin spent together in Arles, it was particularly interesting to see many of the pictures from this period which I had read about it detail. I loved the way he showed the sources of light in a very deliberate way. Stars and lamps show the rays of light leaving them as well as the objects themselves. Also the way the pictures work so well from a distances as a composition but up close you get the added element of texture and pattern. The exhibition included many letters to his brother Theo which gives you a wonderful sense of his brother’s infinite patience with him! Reviews New York Times

Exhibition dedicated to Andrea Riccio (1470–1532), the Renaissance sculptor, at the Frick Collection . The joy of this exhibition was that it brought together multiple models of the same sculpture and explained what the differences were and why the models differed. It also brought together four of the five known lamps from the Frick, Ashmolean, Lourve and V&A. Very touching was the Carrand Vessel where they had brought together the main vessel from the Bargello in Florence and the cover from the V&A. It seemed such a shame that they would be parted again. It would be nice if they two could spend six months in each place. I loved a wonderful plaque of the entombment complete with hysterical figures with a real sense of movement and grief. Also a wonderful seated nude with a syrinx (Pan pipe to you!). Reviews New York Times

Small exhibition at the Frick Collection in New York bringing together their three Verneer’s on one wall for the first time in ten years. The three pictures “Officer and Laughing Girl”, “Mistress and Maid” and “Girl Interrupted at Her Music” are all quite different but lovely. “Mistress and Maid” is a slightly untypical picture focusing on the action of the maid handing the lady a letter but leaving out the background details. This gives it a nice intensity. The other two are the more usual scenes set in the corner of a room with familiar furnishings and pictures. “Girl interrupted at her music” has a slightly unfinished look. I love the cool intensity of Vermeer and this was a great opportunity to see three together within a small flick of the eye of each other!

Exhibition at the Royal Academy which looked at the achievement of the Galerie Maeght. The gallery was founded by Aimé and Marguerite Maeght and opened in Paris in 1945. It was to become one of the most influential and creative galleries of the twentieth century. In particular this exhibition focused the work of four artists Miro, Calder, Giametti and Braque who formed close links with the family. It also looked at their early relationship with Bonnard and Matisse. My favorite pieces were some stunning un-Braque like landscapes by Braque. There were about 7 of them put closely together and reminded me of the arrangement in my lounge! I found the film the family had taken of the artists particularly touching especially that of Matisse painting Margarite Maeght just underneath the picture he was drawing. Reviews Metro

Stunning exhibition at the Royal Academy bringing together objects from the Byzantine Empire. As soon as you walked into exhibition you are struck by a sense of gold and richness. The first rooms presented the history and then they looked at themes. Interesting themes included the way that the early Byzantine Christians set the iconic traditions for Christian art even till today. It looked at how the bearded image of Christ took precedence and how many of the now standard images developed. It was fascinating to see early Annunciations and to realize they were working out how to show this. I was also fascinated by the room which looked at the relationship between Byzantium and Italy. As well as looking at the objects the Venetians stole from Constantinople it also looked at artistic elements which they took. Best of all had to be the room of icons. There were all so luxurious but also had a real sense of peace. However I will say that this is in some ways a very annoying exhibition. Ma

Beautiful exhibition at the National Gallery which brought together portraits from the Northern and Italian Renaissance together. Arranged in themes it showed the works together not in northern and southern rooms so you could see how the north influence the south and how the south then took the techniques it learnt and ran with them. The exhibition was full of old friends and I spent a lot of time working out where I had seen pictures before. Most wonderful was bringing the Van Eyck self portrait together with his portrait of his wife. Surely these were designed as a pair and it was so lovely to see them together again. My favourite has to me the Memling, probably of a Venetian, holding a coin. The detail in the face is so fine down to individual strands of hair against the landscape. Also worth mentioning is the stunning red chalk self portrait by Pontormo. Even better was that this was a bonus afternoon brought about by a power cut at work which meant we were all let out early! Revi

Small exhibition at the National Gallery bringing together Titian’s “Death of Actaeon” and “Diana and Actaeon” to help raise money to but the later for the nation. Painted for Philip II of Spain it is lovely to see these two works together. They were presented with the sections of Ovid which they represent. Review Daily Telegraph

Second lecture in a series at the National Gallery focusing on the Renaissance Faces exhibition . Given by Paula Nuttall this lecture looked in particular at the influence of Northern artists on the Italians claiming that many of the idea which later flourished in Italy began in the North, an idea I absolutely agree with. In particular it looked at the role of landscape in the backgrounds and the ¾ face pose. It drew interesting parallels between works.

Good exhibition on the life and work of Le Corbusier at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool. Just realised I missed this exhibition off my Liverpool Odyssey! Not sure why as it was very good! It was held in the crypt which was also a good opportunity to see this work by Lutchens. I found the architecture was much nicer from the inside than the outside and often addressed very practical issues. I loved the kitchen for a block of flats complete with a small hatch that the milk man could leave the daily delivery in. I was also struck by the paintings by Le Corbusier. I’d not thought of him as a painter and they were very fine. Reviews Times Daily Telegraph

Annual craft fair held in the courtyard of Somerset House . As my Mother would say “It’s clever but it’s not art” so not sure it should be in the blog but I decided it was a vaguely artistic event so I’d let it count! Also it cost £8 so I wanted to get my money’s worth. There were some beautiful things in the fair and if I win the lottery at the weekend there are a number of people I’d phone up to buy! I fell for a lovely silk stripped scarf but at £170 I think now. Instead I bought the cheapest item in the show, a small button badge with a bit of map and a press stud on it! It’s better than it sounds and was only £4!

First in a series of lectures at the National Gallery based around their Renaissance Faces exhibition Colin Wiggins, Head of National Gallery Education, talked about the life and work of Pontormo taking as his starting point a beautiful self portrait daring in the exhibition. I find Pontormo’s work odd and fascinating and it was interesting to find his life reflected his art. In particular I loved the reading from his diaries which showed a weird obsession with what he ate and his health.

Liverpool’s International Biennial exhibition which commissions ambitious and challenging new work by leading international artists. I must admit I did not do this justice as there were many works all over the city and we only had a weekend. However we did get to see Ai WeiWei’s giant diamante spider at the Town Hall and Richard Wilson’s “Turning the Place Over” which was a large circle cut our of derelict building which turned round slowly to complete the building then break it again. Oh and it turns out that the John Moore’s 25 exhibition which I have already reviewed as part of it! However given how much was going on this seems a rather pathetic effort! Review Daily Telegraph

Excellent exhibition at the World Museum Liverpool which looks at the story of music on Merseyside since the end of the Second World War. Although there is obviously some emphasis on the Beatles, it is a very wide ranging exhibition and brought back memories of living there 23 years ago! As well as a good chronology of the Merseyside music scene there was also a section on how music is made and marketed which included a small mock up of a recording school, a mixing desk and a video mock up complete with glitter ball and blow up instruments. There was almost too much to take in and of four of us who went round together we each seem to have remembered different aspects. Review Liverpool Echo

Exhibition for this contemporary art prize held about every two years at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. I must admit I didn’t have long to do it and skimmed but some images still leapt out at the me. I think my favourite was “Special Relativity” by Julian Brian which showed a rearranged front room with the pair of ceramic dogs taking the place of the chairs on either side of the fireplace. Alongside was a related display of past winners including David Hockney and Peter Blake. Review Liverpool Echo

Excellent exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool showing this series of detailed city panorama’s by Ben Johnson. In particular it focused on a new panorama of Liverpool from the waterfront commission for the European Year of Culture. It shows both existing and planned buildings in exquisite detail and it was lovely to see local people enjoying it and pointing out where they lived and worked to friends. I had a great conversation with the lady next to me talking about what the new buildings were as it is 23 years since I lived in the city. A super video showed you how the picture was created and a computer simulation took you through how it grew and let you focus in on particular features. In the next room there was a sequence of older panoramas of the city to compare to the new vision. It had a real sense of being a work of art created for a city. Reviews Independent Liverpool Echo

Talk at the Charleston Small Wonder Festival by Gerald Scarfe. It took the idea that a cartoon is the ultimate short story and Scarfe talked about where he gets his ideas and how he works. It was fascinating to be talked through this art form and to see the images blown up on a large screen rather than the size they appear in the newspaper.

Talk at the Charleston Small Wonder Festival given by Harland Miller on an exhibition he curated at the White Cube Gallery using art works inspired by the poems of Edgar Allan Poe. This was an excellent evening particularly when you realised there should have been three speakers but the other two pulled out at short notice or didn’t turn up at all. However Harland Millar, author and artist, managed to fill the session reading a short story he write for the catalogue to the exhibition and showing images from it. It gave you a real insight into how such shows come together and how a different theme can stimulate creative ideas.

Small exhibition of the First World War photographs of Frank Hurley at Charleston Farmhouse . I had previously come across Hurley at the photographer on Shackleton’s expedition to the Antarctic and loved those evocative images. It’s a powerful idea that having been rescued from the South Atlantic, he then went to the Western Front as an Australian war artist. Many of the photographs reminded me of those Antarctic ones, particularly those in dug outs. He was criticized at the time for using composite images when he could not get the scene he wanted however these make powerful images which show scenes which could not have been achieved in a single frame. The exhibition was part of the Brighton Photo Biennial .

Small advertising exhibition at the O2 on the work Adidas in designing the kit for Team GB for the Beijing Olympics and looking forward to London 2012. They have picked 30 Olympians from the main and Paralympics to focus on and photographed them in a setting which means a lot to them. Each athletic has a stand dedicated to them with a picture , a video about them and a piece of their specialised equipment. A nice touch is that as the events have gone on and the win medal pictures of those medals have been stuck on their stand. It was a nice bonus to find this exhibition on a trip to the cinema!

Exhibition on the life and work of George Barbier artist and fashion illustrator, theatre designer and protagonist of the Art deco movement, at the Museo Fortuny in Venice. One of those exhibitions that you look at and think “Oh how twee” and derivative because you’d collected illustrations like this in the 70s but then you realised this is the man who invented this style so he is ground breaking. Here was someone who set the style for a generation. The exhibition was arranged in themes looking at his theatrical work, cinema work and fashion and book illustration. The theatre designs were wonderfully silly and grand but I think the fashion illustrations were my favourite.

Stunning exhibition by Isabelle de Borchgrave of paper versions of Fortuny dresses at the Museo Fortuny in Venice. This Belgium artist has made over 80 dresses and accessories from paper and arranged them round Fortuny’s palazzo-museum to illustrate episodes in his life and reflect the significance of his work. The works gave an amazing sense of colour as well as being masterpieces of detail. Seeing them next to three real dresses it was hard to tell them apart. The exhibition gave an amazing sense of the vibrancy of the place and really brought it to life.

An exhibition at the National Gallery looking at the work of the Divisionist painters in Italy and the influence they had on the futurist movement. I found this exhibition was a bit mixed. It’s not a subject I knew anything about so it was interesting to see what Italian artists were doing at the same time as the Impressionists were appearing in France. The first room was super with some grand landscapes, my favourite being a huge white alpine landscape by Emilio Longoni. However I was not so sure about the rest. At times the artists seem so determined to make a political statement that the art becomes a bit like a political poster. Some of the symbolist works also passed me by a bit particularly one called “The Bad Mothers” which seemed to be an atonal picture of two long haired women in a tree. Reviews Guardian Evening Standard

Exhibition at Tate Britain which explores the responses of British artists to the Middle East between 1780 and 1930. I must admit I went to this exhibition just because it was on and actually really enjoyed it. I loved the warm colours although I did feel the exhibition was more about the place than the artists. The artist which most impressed me was John Frederick Lewis whose works included some wonderful detail. In his “A Frank encampment in the Desert of Mount Sinai” there were two wonderful dogs including a small one with a stick in its mouth. He also painted a wonderful picture in a Hareem with a wonderful tiled wall behind two female figure is lush fabrics. However try as I might I don’t like William Holman Hunt. I just don’t like his colour palate. A lovely surprise at the end was some 20th century pictures including one of Sarajevo by Stanley Spencer and a super David Bomberg of Jerusalem. Reviews Times Daily Telegraph Evening Standard

Small exhibition in the Sunley Room at the National Gallery looking at the challenge to artists of depicting different types of love. It brings together pictures from all eras and styles to illustrate this. The highlight must of course be “Young Woman Standing at a Virginal” by Vermeer but I would never have imagined I would be looking at that in the same room as one of Stanley Spencer’s beatitude pictures. The exhibition looked as many aspects of love, religious, parental, sexual, charitable and more however it took on too much in a small number of pictures, It got me thinking but not really drawing any conclusions. Reviews Daily Telegraph Evening Standard

A super last day to finish the course which left me with food for thought and already wondering what I can so next year to build on it. The first session was on the School of Raphael looking at how he built up a workshop to complete the huge amount of work he must have been involved in and how that style spread throughout Europe after the Sack of Rome in 1527. Raphael was therefore behind the Baroque, the model for decorative schemes for the next two centuries and consolidated the classical architectural style. I have to admit as someone who thinks things start going awry in art from the late C18th onwards until the Pre-Raphs in the C29th j’accuse Raphael! The next session was on the Sack of Rome itself looking no only at the event itself and the damage done but also looking at the long term effects. Over 10,000 people were killed in the sack with many more dying of disease in the following months. At least two libraries were destroyed, one of the Raphael tapestry’s in the Sistine was

A super exhibition at the British Museum looking at the life and work of the emperor Hadrian. It made good use of the Round Reading Room again taking you on a journey through his life. There were many stunning artefacts but best of all were the statues and busts which fitting well into what I’ve been learning this week on the High Renaissance summer school at the Courtauld. The section on Hadrian’s villa was fascinating and I can really feel another trip to Rome coming on. The gallery on Antonius was interesting. He really was a very pretty boy! Reviews Times Daily Telegraph Independent Evening Standard

A fascinating exhibition at the British Museum looking at print making in American in the last century. In doing this it also gave a good overview of art there in general. My favourite section was the modernist one using the buildings of New York as subject matter. These includes “New York” by Louis Lozowick which is used for the poster. I also liked the Provincetown woodcuts which were mainly done by women and rather cubist in style. As ever I seemed to like the earlier prints best finding some of the later ones too abstract. Reviews Guardian Daily Telegraph Evening Standard

Day four showed even more goodies! Lectures covered a detailed examination of the plans for Julius II’s tomb from the grand plans for a free standing tomb with 40 plus statures to the final version in St Peter ad Vincula. It covered whether the slaves or captives and what they stood for, why Moses seems to be facing the wrong way and what the whole thing costs. After this we looks at the Stanza or apartments in the Vatican decorated by Raphael. I only really knew the School of Athens in any detail although I have been there so fascinating to go through the iconography of the three rooms in detail. As with the Sistine Chapel it was all about stressing the powers of the popes and ‘bigging up’ the current one. This afternoon was a magical trip to the prints and drawing room at the British Museum where we had a chance to look at some wonderful Michelangelo and Raphael drawings. We were even lucky enough to have the drawing for Adam on the ceiling, a fine figure of a man!

Small exhibition in the costume galleries at the V&A of the stage costumes of the Supremes. It was very good at putting the works in context looking at the history of Black music and segregation. In particular it discusses the role of Motown. I hadn’t realized that Berry Gordy, their producer, also released the sound recordings of Martin Luther King’s speeches. However the stars of the show were the clothes. I liked it best when they had all three costumes even though they were the same. There were acres of sequins and beads and I’m sure many of the dresses must have been really heavy. Wackiest were beaded trousers where the beads were set to look like herring bone. Reviews Times Evening Standard

So day 3 of the summer school on the High Renaissance has been the best yet. Two lectures and the visit looked in detail at the Sistine chapel. First off was a quick romp through the earlier frescos and their iconography then on to the ceiling. We covered why it was done, how Michelangelo did it and took a detailed look at the iconography. This linked through to the earlier frescos and gave a link between the old and New Testament and all looked towards promoting the role of the papacy. Next were the Raphael tapestries which I much admit I didn’t know existed. I did know about the cartoons at the V&A but hadn’t really registered what they were for. Again we looked at the iconographic links to the frescos and ceiling and discussed the patronage of Leo X. I just love the Medici! This afternoon’s trip was inevitably the V&A to see the cartoons. Walked up and down them again and again looking at the politics of them, the production, iconography again and style. So exciting to stand

Today’s second day of the summer school started with two lectures this morning. Firstly one on the study and collection of antiquities in Rome looking at why they were collected, how they were displayed and what the effects of this were. I’ve always been fascinated by the use of antique statues in art and how the models are reused in many pictures. I am now desperate to go back to Rome and do the Belvedere courtyard and the Capitaline museum. The second lecture built on this but looked specifically at the effects on architecture and in particular the work of Bramante. I loved the fact he was so ambitious but that many of the buildings were actually poorly built. It was very interesting to look at the different designs for the new St Peter’s and what they meant. This afternoon was a trip to the National Gallery looking at relevant works. We started with Raphael’s Julius II and compared it to Bellini’s Doge looking at what both were saying politically as well as artistically. We then loo

Exhibition at the Courtauld Institute Gallery which shows their collection of Cézannes in its entirety alongside nine letters giving an insight into his views on art. This is the largest collection of Cézannes in Britain and the exhibition included both paintings and drawings. The main impression the pictures gave was of wonderful shades of green and blue both in landscapes and still lives. I particularly liked “The Lac D’Annecy” form 1896 which was of a lake with a castle in the middle farmed by the branches of trees. It was lovely to see these works together which gave a good overview of Cézannes work. Reviews Times Daily Telegraph Independent Evening Standard

Today has been my first day of this year’s week at the Courtauld Institute’s summer schools. This year I am doing “High Renaissance : art and architecture in Rome 1500-1527” which is being led by Michael Douglas-Scott. It is shaping up to be another good year. It’s been nice to bump into a few people who I’ve met in previous years and to get back into the swing of lectures. I must say work already feels a long way away! Today has been two lectures. Firstly on Renaissance Rome and the papacy looking at the state of the papacy at this time and why art and architecture was important to it. It touched on the duel roles of Rome as centre of Imperial Rome and as centre of the Christian church in the West which made is a major centre of pilgrimage. The second lecture was on Revonatio Urbis that is urban renewal in the city at this time. Again it firstly looked at why this was done which including to improve the image of the papacy, to provide better transport for pilgrims, to improve the hygi

Exhibition at Somerset House looking at the relationship between architecture and fashion. I must admit I found the whole thing took itself very seriously! It was looking at the art side of both industries so seemed to feature clothes which people couldn’t have worn and building which hadn’t been built yet! I also found some of the displays difficult as the labels were at floor level next to very bright spotlights. There was a good brochure with lots of detail but it was difficult to read it as you walked round. Anyway criticism aside there were some great clothes, which I admit had drawn to the exhibition rather than the buildings. I loved the video of the hoped wedding dress with zips on the hoops which the model undid to pull out other bits of the outfit. It was funny that she could pull out the jacket but two people had to run on to help her put it on. The best outfit was a stunning Vivienne Westwood ball gown in a light chocolate brown satin although I also like the slashed denim

Small exhibition at the Royal Academy ( of the early drawings of J. F. Lewis of the animals at the Exeter ‘Change Menagerie in the Strand and farm animals from near his home. They are shown with works by other members of this family of painters, engravers and bookbinders.

Exhibition at the Royal Academy of works by the Danish artist, Wilhelm Hammershoi. It was well worth taking the tape tour of this exhibition as it give a good insight into the art world of Copenhagen which the labels didn’t really cover. I was surprised by the pictures as I had imagined that they would have a jewel like finish but although they were like that from a distance the surface was much rusher. As they were quite personal and gave a view of an interior life being able to see the brush strokes seemed to give a direct connection to the artist. The room of pictures from the artists flat at Strandgade 30 was stunning. All very tranquil and I loved the way you kept seeing the same objects in different places particularly the badly fired punch bowl. However you realised there were odd things going on with some furniture places so you couldn’t open doors and table legs throwing shadows in four different directions. However my favourite was one of the pictures of barns in the first r

Exhibition at the National Theatre of the entries in this competition which showcases the outstanding press photography taken for and used by the UK media. There were some stunning images but it made the last year seem very depressing. Thank goodness for sports photography! Probably the most striking photo was of an injured solder but the most moving was of the uncle of one of the children of the family killed in a fire in Northern Ireland. It showed him carrying a small white coffin with just one tear. The most beautiful was a car outside a house in the floods so perfectly taken that it was mirror image with not sign of which view was real and which the reflection. Reviews Evening Standard

Exhibition at the Fundacio Joan Miro in Barcelona showing the work of this Danish/Icelandic winner of the first Joan Miro Prize. The works look at the relationship between light and colour in the form of a series of installations. The first projected cubist patched of colour against a white wall showing how the colours worked with and against each other. My favourite though was the huge table of white lego where you were encouraged to play building fanciful architectural designs. There were children but mainly very intent adults. You couldn’t resist adding a staircase to something left by a previous builder. You found yourself going back to see if your design was still there and if anyone else had added to it.

Exhibition in Gallery 13 at the Fundacio Joan Miro in Barcelona showing the work of this Japanese (?) artist. Gallery 13 looks at the work of contemporary artists and the exhibition consisted of two sets of works by Kohei Nawa. Both sets play with your eyes and distort reality. One set are guns in Perspex which gives the weapons a misty and distance appearance. The other covers familiar objects such as a shoe and a Tweetie Pie in glass balls giving them a pixilated appearance.

Annual exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery also offering an award to the best new portrait submitted that year. This years unset theme seemed to be pictures of people’s partners obviously as they are cheap and indulgent models. This included the winner of this years first prize “K” by Craig Wylie, a huge photographic quality oil painting showing every detail of the skin and clothing. There also seemed to be a marked concentration on detail and less abstract work. “Buti” by Flavia Maris Pitis became a study in hair, both human in the shape of a beard and animal in the guise of fur hat. Also “Metamorphosis” by Jose Luis Corella looked at the effect of face paint on skin becoming a study in texture, the cracking on the lips, the change in the skin with the white paint and the shine on the nails. My favourite this year was almost the first one I saw “Walter” by Oliver Jeffers, a study of a fishmonger, fish in one hand lemon in the other against a plain green background. It is one o

Exhibition of portraits by Wyndham Lewis at the National Portrait Galley . I thought this was a really good exhibition with some super pictures but I did not warm to the artists. I must admit to a certain bias. As you may have realised fro the blog (which incidentally I’ve now managed to maintain for a year) I am a big Bloomsbury fan and Lewis fell out with them in 1914 hence I was probably predisposed to not like him! I found his rather self conscious use of self image for public use as shown by the first set of self portraits annoying. I got a real sense of someone who wanted to be someone but he didn’t really mind who and in what field. I also disliked his attach on people who had helped him in his book “The Apes of God” unpleasant. However that said this is an art show and I thought the pictures were great. There were some super drawings including one of Sacheverell Sitwell which gave a real insight into the sitters. However lets draw a veil over the hideous Virginia Woolf. My favo

Lecture at the National Gallery by Robert Lumley from University College London, looking at the new exhibition “ Radical Light ” . The lecture discussed the political context in which the paintings site, ie in the years following the unification of Italy. It also looked at themes in the pictures such as the countryside and the working classes. I must admit this is not a period or topic I have looked at before so I got a bit confused with the plethora of Italian names.

Annual exhibition of new works at the Royal Academy . In fact I attended the sponsor’s evening on the Monday before the show opened so the exhibition was somewhat incidental to the champagne drinking. I was invited by a financial journalist friend so he bumped in to a lot of people he knew. However there was time to look at the art and as ever I loved the two Weston Rooms. Lots of yummy things in there and some were even affordable although I didn’t succumb! My favourite picture was a Ben Levine landscape in the last room which grabbed me from across the room. It fit in so well in my lounge! Best moment though was the site of people photographing the display of mini cup cakes which were a stunning work of art in its own right! Reviews Times Daily Telegraph Independent Evening Standard

A lecture/concert at the National Gallery looking at the meaning of music and musical instruments in C17th Dutch paintings and then giving a chance to listen to the music. The talk was given by James Heard from the National Gallery education department and the music was provided by Bridget Cunningham, Junior Fellow of the Royal College of Music on the harpsichord. It was a delightful evening and it was magical to hear contemporary music played while looking at a blow up of one of the gallery’s own Vermeers.

An interview with Angelica Garnett at Charleston Farmhouse . Angelica was the daughter of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant who lived and worked at the house. Soon to hit 90 she was interviewed by art historian Simon Watney and was lucid and interesting if a little deaf. Two images stay with me one of Maynard Keynes showering her with bath salts as a child and one of her burning a picture which Duncan had been dissatisfied with on his death. The talk was followed by a showing of the film ‘Duncan Grant at Charleston’.

Part of the Charleston Festival held at Charleston Farmhouse this talk combined Grayson Perry with the author of a new biography of Edward Burra, Jane Steveneson. This was a super event. Speculation had mounted amongst the audience as to whether Grayson would be in a dress and there was a gasp of delight when he appeared in a green romper suit complete with pink flowers. He was speaking about an exhibition he had curated in Redhill and promoting the catalogue. I’m not sure I’d really understood him before but as soon as he spoke I ‘got it’. He’s a big fairly beefy east ender who subverts what you might therefore think of him by the fact he wants to wear girls’ clothes and he subverts the idea of a man in girls’ clothes by being a fairly beefy east ender! I’m now a big fan! Jane Stevenson held her own on the stage as she was talking about a similarly individualistic artist, Edward Burra. Questions at the end brought the two themes together well and were not dominated by Grayson however

Behind-the-scenes of the Conservation Department at the Courtauld Institute led by Graeme Barraclough, Head of The Courtauld Gallery Conservation. Organised by the Friends this was a fascinating tour to hear about the work of the teaching department and of the gallery itself. Everyone was very friendly and generous with their time. It was very interesting to see picture close up in the process of conservation. In particular they were working on a Cupid and Psyche by Joshua Reynolds which is currently a rather dull yellowed mush but should be transformed by being cleaned. It was followed by drinks in the square at Somerset House on a lovely warm evening.

Small exhibition at Charleston Farmhouse of drawings by Peter de Francia on the subject of art. Influenced by Goya and Beckmann these pictures take satirical view of the art world. Although generally I found them a bit detached I liked the picture of two buyers at an art auction cradling the items they have bought.

Lecture at the National Gallery by Xavier Bray, Assistant Curator of 17th- and 18th-century Paintings at the National Gallery, on the painting of “St Francis in Meditation” by Zurbaran. This picture is currently featured in the exhibition by the artist in residence, Alison Watts, as it inspired her to paint her large scale pictures of drapery. The lecture looked at the iconography of the picture and at who it might have been painted for. It was nice to look in detail at one particular picture and all aspects of it.

Small free exhibition at Somerset House looking at how London is reinventing itself for the 21st Century. Organised by Design for London the exhibition looked at the forces affecting London and encourages visitors to interact and leave notes on their views for the city. It reminded me of exhibits at the architectural biennale as there were lots of things to read and take away, sheets on each topics to tear off and read and postcards of 41 areas which are scheduled to be developed into open spaces.

Small exhibition of nineteenth century French drawings in the Courtauld Institute’s own collection showing how strong drawing was at this time despite the changes in art. The works included pictures ranging from Ingres to Gauguin. There was a wonderfully erotic sketch by Rodin of a female nude which reminded me of the Sickert Camden town nudes but my favourite was a jockey on a horse by Degas which was full of movement and tension.

Small exhibition at the Courtauld Institute focusing on Renoir’s ‘La Loge’ which they own. The exhibition looks at the loge of box as a subject for painting in the 1870’s, which was a new subject looking at modern life. Up till then boxes had been used in caricatures and fashion plates and the exhibition looks at both of these. It also brought together paintings by the Impressionists of this subject four by Renoir, two by Cassatt and one by Degas. The setting seems to give the opportunity to paint portraits of people, framed by the box and concentrating on what’s going on around them, seeing and being seen. Reviews Times Time Out

Lecture at the National Gallery inspired by the current exhibition by the artist in residence Alison Watt given by Gen Doy. author of 'Drapery: Classicism and Barbarism in Visual Culture'. I must admit I did not find this a very good lecture. It tried to cover too many themes of what drapery has meant in art, classicism, fetishism, materialism, femininity etc and therefore didn’t cover any of them properly. It made some of the themes just sound rather odd and dare I say kinky. Much to my amusement the lecturer insisted on giving the dimensions of many of the pictures which in the context of some of the themes made me want to shout “But size doesn’t matter”!

Small exhibition at the National Gallery by their artist in residence Alison Watt. Taking her inspiration from drapery in pictures in the gallery she has produced a series of large canvases showing the folds of white material. The scale of these pictures is very impressive and the images are calm and tranquil. The images are suggestive of other things without being obvious. Video Guardian Reviews Evening Standard

Retrospective of the work of Peter Doig at Tate Britain bringing together over 50 paintings and works on paper and including many pieces which have never previously been shown in the UK. I had not come across Doig’s work before and found it delightfully relaxing. I loved the large landscapes such as “The House that Jacques Built” in the first room and “Bomb Island” which reminded me of the 3D maps of Venice. A real find and someone I will look out for in the fiture. Reviews Independent Daily Telegraph Evening Standard Time Out

Exhibition of British neo-classical sculpture from 1760-1860 at Tate Britain . Stunningly displayed in the Duveen Galleries this exhibition was as much about the display and the effect of these sculptures than about the objects themselves. To see these cool mainly life sized marbles displayed against black with people modern people moving between them was beautiful and really brought the statues to life. Having seen the Cranach exhibition the day before the Cannova’s “Three Graces” against the black background gave a real resonance back to that show. Reviews Evening Standard

Exhibition of drawings from their own collections at Tate Britain arranged in themes rather than by date. This was a lovely way of viewing the work as it gave you a chance to look at the works for what they were before reading the label from the group to one side and seeing who had drawn them. I think the best way to describe is to list the themes and my favourite in each block. Creatures great and small – “Rosetti’s wombat” by William Bell Scott (Yes it seems to be true Rosetti owned a wombat!”) Stories real and imagined – “Pink and green sleepers” by Henry Moore (One of the underground sketches from the war) Face to face - a self portrait of Stanley Spencer Modern figures – An untitled figure study by Keith Vaughan Studies from art and life – an academy study by William Mulready A wonderful Edwardian male nude complete with moustache. Town and country – “Chimney Stacks and Winding Ways, Whitby” by Fred Cecil Jones Modern and abstract – “Oct 55/Torre de Grillo, Rome” by Ben N

Exhibition at Tate Britain on the work of the Camden Town Group, who introduced Post-Impressionism to Britain. Concentrating on the work of the five founding members of this group Sickert, Ginner, Gore, Gillman and Bevan the exhibiton looked at the themes in their art and how they reflected contemporary life. To put them in context there was good use of film and photographs of the time. I have always loved Ginner’s work so found the exhibition a wonderful opportunity to see so many of his works in one place and to see them alongside the people who were influencing him. I love the way he uses the texture of the paint to build the shapes he is painting and yet still create a finely defined picture. I loved his picture of Victoria Station as it was not much different to now. This was a beautifully hung exhibition with quite a lot of space given to each work. The galleries seemed to be split up in a slightly different way which gave it a different pace. Pictures were also hung well togeth

Exhibition of the work of Lucas Cranach at the Royal Academy . This was a stunning exhibition as it confounded my previously held impressions of Cranach’s work. I’d thought of him as a painter of Adam and Eve’s and slightly dodgy Venus’s however the early part of this exhibition showed him as a talented painter in the Northern European tradition. He became the painter for the court of the Electors of Saxony working not only on paintings but also banners and decorations. The tape tour also showed him as a business man. He became the only apothecary in Wittenberg thereby having access to cheap pigments and controlling the supply. He was also a printer and at that time painted portraits of boards of the same size and wood as the end blocks of books. It also showed his role in the early reformation and his relationship with Martin Luther, however he also managed to continue to work for Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg painting him as St Jerome in his study. To play favourites in the exhibi

Small exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery looking at the stories behind the production of some of the National Portrait Gallery's recent portraits. The six featured are Tomas Watson’s “John Fowles”, Andrew Tift’s “Neil and Glenys Kinnock”, Sir Eduardo Paolozzi’s “Richard Rogers”, Tom Phillip’s “Iris Murdoch”, Stuart Pearson’s “J K Rowling”, Leonard McComb’s “Doris Lessing” and Yolande Sonnichend’s “Stephen Hawking”. I hadn’t seen the J K Rowling before and its is lovely, a 3D mixed media study in fine detail. The Kinnock picture was impressive in that it is based on nearly 500 photos and sketches of both them and their personal possessions.

A sister exhibition to the “Brilliant women” once also at the National Portrait Gallery showing 21 black and white photographs of outstanding women from different fields of achievement including the arts, charities and business photographed at differing points in their careers all taken by Bryan Adams. I loved the fact that amongst great women in entertainment such as Dame Judi Dench and Annie Lennox the most glamorously dressed person is a political scientist, Dr Scilla Elwrothy. My favourite was the picture of Darcy Bussell with the surface of the moor projected onto her dress. Reviews Evening Standard

Nice small exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery focusing on the original groups of intellectual women known as bluestockings looking at how they used portraits to advance their work and reputations. In three sections the first looks at the women, their relationships and how they met and worked. The second looks at how these women were used to represent the muses and the final one at their politics. I loved Richard Samuels “The living muses of Great Britain” which includes a portrait of Angelica Kauffman, one of the female founders of the Royal Academy who I am increasingly finding turning up in shows and in my reading. Most astonishing is that 8 of the nine women earnt their own livings from their work. There was also a good representation of female artist including Angelica herself, Mary Moser, Frances Reynolds (Sir Joshua’s sister) and Elizabeth Vigee-leBrun. However most moving of all was that in the gallery leading to the exhibition is the wonderful joint portrait of the jou

Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of portrait photographs from the magazine, Vanity Fair. It devotes space to both the early works from 1913 to 1936 and since it’s relaunch in 1983. In the early section there is an emphasis on the avant guarde surprisingly at that period the British seem to be that. This included wonderful photos of Virginia Woolf, Augusts John, Adolfus Huxley etc. They also show hints of the later artist styles of photographs such as in the portrait of Gloria Swanson taken through lace. Linking the two periods is an examination of the publications two head photographs Edward Steichen in the early period and Annie Leibovitz in the later one. I have always been fond of Leibovitz’s work and the prize in this exhibition was the picture of the cyclist Lance Armstrong. It is very hard to pick a favourite from this show as all the works are so good but in my list would be the 21st birthday photo of Prince William, the portrait of Jesse Owens and that of Rachel Welc

Exhibition of items from the boy kings tomb at the O2. This exhibition was much better than I expected. I must admit I hadn’t heard good things but it was well set out with some beautiful artefacts. I particularly liked the two children’s chairs, they were so perfect despite their age. The objects were given space to be shown off to their best and often the reflections in the cabinets and across cabinets added to the mystic. I must admit though that the shop must get an award for the tackiest gifts ever! As one friend said “You really shouldn’t do that to a teddy bear”! Pictures Times Reviews Times Guardian Daily Telegraph Evening Standard

Lecture at the National Galley by Jacqui Ansell a freelance lecturer to accompany the current Pompeo Batoni exhibition. This talk looked at the clothes worn by the Grand Tourists in the portraits and discussed how they reflected how these sitters behaved and wished to be seen. It was a bit of a repeat of the talk she gave at the workshop morning a couple of weeks ago but did add a bit more to this.

Small exhibition of the work of Polish artist Miroslav Balka at the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh. “Entering Paradise” is the footprints of 12 homeless men. These are very poignant as this print may be the only record of them and they show feet which have gone a long way. It is shown with “BlueGasEyes” a video projection of gas flames.

Exhibition of the works of Ben Nicholson at the Dean’s Gallery in Edinburgh put on as a result of a donation by his third wife Felicitas Vogler to the gallery. I loved the room about his family as this put his work in a context. I hadn’t realised before that his mother Mabel Pryde was an artist as well as his father and the works by her were very feminine and family orientated and reminded me slightly of Hilda Carline. I have never really come to grips with Ben Nicholson and this was another good opportunity to try but I still didn’t quite get there. I admire their pale tranquillity but must admit to liking colour and vibrancy more in my art. I did like the etchings of Tuscany, particularly the way none of the side of the plate were straight.

A lovely idea for an exhibition at the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh which brings together more than 30 prints, watercolours or drawings picked by warders of the Gallery from the Prints and Drawings Collection. Each picture had a write up about who had picked it and why. It gave a different view of the collection and a real insight into the people who worked there. You got a glimpse of a community including a large number of men who had been made redundant from industry in the late 1990’s but had now found a new life. A Van Heemskerk was a nice link to the exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery. My favourite was probably predictably a sleeping dog by David Octavious Hill!

Two painting exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh bringing together Rubens “The Feast of Herod” with Ribera’s “Drunken Silenus”. In the mid-seventeenth century the two paintings were the highlights of the huge collection amassed by Gaspare Roomer, a wealthy Flemish merchant and financier resident in Naples. A nice opportunity to see these two pictures together and muse on what the original owner’s eye saw in them.

Exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery in Edinburgh of Flemish paintings in the Royal Collection bringing together 51 works from the 15th to 17th centuries. This was a stunning exhibition. I love this gallery there is something so calming about its space. I also recommend the tape tour which has the advantage of slowing you down and making you think. There were three main themes to this show portraits, the relationship between Rubens and Van Dyck and landscapes. The real star was Bruegel’s “Massacre of the Innocents”. A striking work from a distance but even more stunning for the detail close-up. The story of the picture and how, because it was painted shortly after a Hapsburg massacre, it was considered to be too inflammatory so many of the massacred babies are painted over with animals somehow gives it an even more menacing feeling. The most stunning portrait was Massys’s Erasmus, painted for Sir Thomas Moore. It shows a face of such intelligence and such beautiful detail in the nails i

Lecture at the National Gallery on their current Batoni Pompeo exhibition by Francis Russell, Deputy Chairman of Christie’s UK. Visually this was a good talk with excellent slides but I did found the content wandered a bit and seemed to end up as a list of sitter’s names and names of art historians in this field. I had hoped to add to my knowledge of this artist but I got little from this which I didn’t get from the exhibition or the previous week’s study morning.

A small exhibition of C19th oil landscapes painted in the open air at the National Gallery . Although this exhibition was just in one room there were a number of small but delightful pictures. They didn’t really seem to say anything in particular other than ‘hey look people did this before the Impressionists’ but seemed rather personal as had not been produced for sale and had often stayed in the collections of the painters. A revelation were two artists who I had not come across before Jean-Michel Cels represented by a sky study with birds and a study of a tree and Michallon with a Nash like picture of water in rock gorge.