From Observation to Abstraction : The Body in Art

Interesting display at the Royal Academy looking at how artists have approached representing the body in art from the Academy’s foundation to the present day.

The display related to the body in different ways, in some it is a trace of a figure, or a suggestion of one. I must admit when I was at the show I didn’t realise the older works were part of the show as I had seen them before in that gallery but was impressed how they picked up a similar theme! Oh well it had been long day.

I liked the fact the display included the caste of the Belvedere Torso which is cropping up a lot in a course I am doing at the moment on the High Renaissance.

There were some nice contemporary works including this lovely picture by Elinor Stanley which at first look looked abstract then I realised it was a figure from above. I also like liked this wooden torso by John Skeaping.

I loved the use of a beautiful Jenny Saville circular drawing to fill the space vacated by the Michelangelo tondo which was in the exhibition in my previous blog post.

Closes 30 June 2025


 

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