Cathy's Art Diary

Interesting exhibition at the V&A looking at role of making things in our lives. This exhibition was too busy when I went round it so it was hard to read the labels and I think I lost on what is was trying to do. There was an eclectic mix of objects which were fascinating but I just wasn’t sure how they fitted together. The moral of the story, don’t wait until the Christmas break to do free exhibitions! Reviews Times Daily Telegraph Independent

Small exhibition at the V&A looking at the clothes and creative vision of Annie Lennox. I am a big Annie Lennox fan and was really looking forward to this. What was there was good but it was very small. There we only about 6 outfits which were lit in turn so you had to stand in quite a cramped gallery for a long time to see them all properly. I liked the house in the middle to show the creative process and the gallery of photos but must admit I came away wanting more and remembering the amazing Kylie exhibition!

Good exhibition at the V&A looking at design in the 1970s and 1980s. I must admit at first I didn’t get this and, given this is my era, I expected it to grab me. It began with a lot of imaginative architecture but after I while I longer to see something which had actually been built! In the objects section it began to come together but I wasn’t quite sure why at first it was only in the later section that it was because it was the start of design statements such as Alessi which I did notice at the time. Obviously the ground breaking early works had passed me buy it was only when something I could buy appeared that I sat up and took notice! The best section for me was the performance one with a section on Grace Jones and an outfit, 2 ballet outfits designed by Leigh Bowery and wonderful videos of singers/performance artists of the era. At that point I got it! I came away from the exhibition with lots of new images in my mind and a better knowledge of things which had influenced me...

Small display at the V&A examining the first 50 years of the magazine Private Eye. It mainly consisted of cartoons on various themes such as politics and celebrity but also looked at the investigative journalism of the paper. I loved the mock up of the editor’s desk with various souvenirs of various campaigns. It also reminded me of some of the wonderful parodies of political life such as the Dear Bill letters and the parish magazine of the ‘vicar’ Tony Blair.

Small exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of pictures of contemporary actresses to compliment the current exhibition of the first actresses. It ranged from the well established actress such as Dame Judi Dench and Maggie Smith to actresses at the start of their careers such as Anna Popplewell. Some of the commentaries had comments from the actress on the work of their predecessors.

Nice exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery tracing the lives of the earliest actresses and how the profession developed. It started with risqué pictures of Nell Gwynn then looked at the actresses of Covent Garden in the 18th century who started to take on breaches rolls but were sometimes also prostitutes but also began to be writers and business women. The middle gallery looked at the actress as muse and how they became popular subjects in Royal Academy picture so of the time in their various theatrical roles. A fun gallery looked at actresses in character plus the role of amateur dramatics amongst the aristocracy. It was definitely an exhibition that you left wanting to find out more. Reviews Times Daily Telegraph Evening Standard

Super lecture at the National Gallery to accompany the current Leonardo exhibition given by Eric Harding. It looked at his work in the late 1980s to repair and conserve the Leonardo cartoon after it was shot. He had recently retired from the British Museum but was seen as the only person who could do the work and came out of retirement to do it. He was the most engaging speaker and answered questions generously and in a very open manner. It was fascinating to hear what new techniques were used on this work and the meticulous nature of saving all the minute pieces and cataloguing them to rebuild the work.

A good discussion at the National Gallery to accompany the current Leonardo exhibition chaired by the curator of the show Luke Syson with Martin Caplin from the Royal Library at Windsor and the artist Michael Craig-Martin. The two speakers each spoke for about 20 minutes on the role of drawing in Leonardo’s work and then had a discussion with the chair and the audience. They addressed pictures which were studies, how Leonoard returned to studies throughout his career and the role of finished drawings. Most fascinating was to hear the artist Michael Craig-Martin talk from an artists view point and how he saw some of the unfinished drawings as an invitation to continue to image.

Nice exhibition at York Art Gallery examining the life and career of William Etty, the York born artist. Having been at university in York I thought I knew the work of Etty well but this exhibition looked not only at the pictures but also at how they were received by his contemporaries. Many art critics at the time viewed his work as lewd due to his use of the female nude however a modern eye finds these figures delightful and maybe notices more of interest in his male nudes. The first main gallery concentrated on the controversy but the others looked at other aspects of his careers. I loved the section looking at the role of life drawing in his career because there were these wonderful timeless nudes with Victorian hairstyles.

A wonderful lecture at the National Gallery to accompany the current Leonardo exhibition given my Martin Kemp, Emeritus Professor at Oxford. He looked in particular at the newly attributed painting “Salvator Mundi” describing how he first saw it in the conservation studio of the National Gallery and the work that has been done to attribute it to Leonardo. It was quite magical to hear first hand about this work and to be taken through the detail of why he feels it is genuine. I can’t wait to see it in the exhibition.

Lovely exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum of the work of Claude Lorrain. The exhibition was broken into three sections paintings, drawings and etches. I liked the fact that many of the paintings were hung in their original pairs to show the contracts he painted of sea and land, different times of day and subjects. The drawings were a revelations as they were so well finished and really illuminated the imaginary processes behind the paintings. My favourite things though had to be the Firework series of etchings which showed firework designs for the coronation of Ferdinand III as King of the Romans. These includes wonderful machines which split apart and fireworks came out. I think the London 2012 Opening Ceremony could learn a thing or two! Reviews Daily Telegraph

A small exhibition at the National Theatre to show the finalists’ designs in the Linbury Prize for Stage Design. As well as pictures of the designs it also included small mock up of the sets like old Victorian children’s theatre toys and sketch books collecting ideas for the designs. I particularly liked a design for the Watermill Theatre as it’s a space I have been to and liked.

Exhibition at Somerset House of photographs of Venice. The exhibition included the work of 14 artists and looked at everyday life in the city as well as new interpretations of the city. I love some kaleidoscope style pictures which took a view of a canal plus of a palace and rotated the image 4 times by 90 degrees to form multi mirrored version of the image. There were also a set of stunning portraits which could have been faces from any era of the city.

Wonderful exhibition at the British Museum examining devotional objects from medieval Europe in particular reliquaries. It was like falling into a jewel box! I liked the fact it put the objects in context but also acknowledged them as beautiful and sometimes ground breaking objects. Having done a course at the Courtauld earlier this year on early Christian images it was wonderful to see the early items and see how iconography developed. In amongst the gold there were some wonderfully touching items such as St Cuthbert’s personal travelling altar, a really direct connection to the saint. However my favourite items have to be the reliquary for the Holy Thorn with tiny gold figures rising from their graves on the bottom and small gold apostles up the edge. Reviews Times Guardian Daily Telegraph Evening Standard

Exhibition at the Louvre of early Renaissance drawings and incunabula from the collection of Baron Edmond de Rothschild. I found this an confusing exhibition but this wasn’t helped by the fact we came in from the wrong end and did it backwards! The idea was to show how printing developed in Italy and how this was influenced by drawing. However the exhibition was dominated by a fantastic model book bringing together wonderful architectural fantasies and pictures by the Master of the Soane Album. The printing elements began with the wonderful “Battle of the Naked Men” by the Pollaiolo brothers and continued with a room of small early etchings. There were also some lovely drawings such as a boy in turban by Gozzoli and Gaddi’s drawings for his frescos at St Croce but they didn’t seem to fit with the theme.

Interesting exhibition at the Pompidou Centre which looking at how new media like photography and film influenced the work of Edvard Munch. The early rooms looked at how Munch set about reproducing his work. It looked at a series of themes which he revisited many times in his left. The first two rooms seemed almost identical but were the same hang of dfferent versions of about 6 works. There were then rooms on film and a wonderful picture called “Workers on their way home” which took a cinematic approach to a group of workers walking towards you. The whole exhibition was dotted with photographs and film taken by Munch to show how he used the new forms. I have to be critical of the way the exhibition was hung and used. The rooms were quite small and there were large groups of school children being lectured to in there. At times a group would practically fill a room and made it very difficult for other people to view the works. I knew very little about this artist and came away better i...

Small exhibition of illuminated manuscripts for the museums own collection at the Louvre in Paris. It was arranged over 2 rooms which almost displayed different worlds. The first room was the early work and showed a detailed medieval world with wonderful insights such as a woman chasing a fox which had stolen a chicken. It included wonderful works by Jean Fouquet. The second room was the Renaissance world with larger pictures looking at classical motifs and perspective. Some pictures were full page illustrations. There was a nice section on Flemish works as well.

Beautiful exhibition looking at the work of Fra Angelico and his contemporaries at the Musee Jacquemart Andre in Paris. The exhibition included about 30 panels by Fra Angelica alongside painters who influenced his work, such as his teacher Lorenzo Monaco, Masolino and Paolo Uccello, as well as artists that he inspired, such as Filippo Lippi and Zanobi Strozzi. It really was a vision of the use of light and was a real chocolate box for the eyes. I hadn’t realised Fra Angelico and also been an illuminator so was fascinated to see his works on paper. I fell heavily for an altarpiece by Baldovinetti with the most beautiful St Julian. An added extra was that you could buy the tape tour as a phone app which means I can still refer to it, look at the pictures and zoom into particular sections of pictures to study them further.

Talk by Dillian Gordon to coincide with the publication of a new National Gallery catalogue of ‘The Italian paintings Before 1400' at the National Gallery ( http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk ). This was a fascinating talk which looked at new information which had emerged since the last catalogue was published in 1988. It looked at both scientific discoveries as well as new discoveries of different elements of altarpieces. There was almost too much information to take in including new ideas on Duccios Maesta and Margarito of Arezzo picture in the gallery. One new thing I learnt was that crucifixions with crosses shown as being made of three woods are usually from the Crusader states.

An exhibition at the National Gallery of 19th century Swiss and Norwegian landscapes from the collection of Asbjørn Lunde. I must admit I found the pictures a bit uninspiring! I have not been to either country so did not relate to them from familiarity. The picture descriptions were good and explained the political significance of the work however again it seemed to pass over me. Maybe it’s just because I’m a city girl and don’t ‘get’ rugged landscape!

Small exhibition at the National Gallery looking at the gallery’s first director and how he built the collection. The exhibition looked in particular at how Eastlake bought a number of pictures including the Bellini “Madonna of the Meadow” and included those pictures. It included his and his wife’s travel diaries describing meeting with sellers and how they found out about the pictures. This was a good way of showing off what the National Gallery archive holds and how it has been used for research. Reviews Evening Standard

Study morning at the National Gallery to compliment their exhibition “ Devotion by Design ” . It consisted of 3 excellent talks on themes from the exhibition. The first was the best by a co-curator of the exhibtion, Jennifer Sliwka, looking at the huge Sassetta altarpiece. She made you look at the work in a new way giving a lot of background on where it had been placed and introducing interesting ideas of how the side panels may work in a complex set of pairings. It made you go and look at the picture again with a fresh eye. David Ekserdjian from University of Leicester talked about narrative in altarpieces not just in the obvious pradellas but also in the embroidery on clothing or in the backgrounds. Finally there was a very different take from Ben Quash from Kings College, who looked at the different theological themes an altarpiece might reflect depending on its setting and use.

Jewel of an exhibition at the National Gallery exploring Italian altarpieces from before 1500. Although many of the pictures were familiar from the gallery’s own collection they were shown in a way which made you look at them again and see them in their original context. The first gallery looked at pictures which featured altarpieces to show how they were used in a liturgical setting. This was then backed up in the long room of the exhibition space by putting pieces with our labels on mock altars of the correct height for the picture. In particular this made the Signiorelli of the circumcision come to life and explained it’s off perspective and empty space at the bottom as is was display with a processional cross which filled the space. Reviews Times Independent Evening Standard

Lovely exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum looking at artefacts from the royal burial tombs and the palace of Aegae, the ancient capital of Macedon. It focused on the Temenid kings including Philip II and Alexander the Great and included new finds from recent excavations. I must admit in the first room I was feeling a bit despondent as it seemed to be full of rusty spears and just one gold crown however as you moved into the other rooms you realised this was just the early pieces. The second rooms was full of the most wonderful jewellery with the end display showing the complete jewellery from 5 women’s tombs displayed on Perspex bodies to show where the items would have been worn. This was stunning and really brought the pieces to life. The last room looked at life at court in particular the role of the banquet and included wonderful sets of eating vessels. This was a period and civilisation I knew nothing about but will now look out for following this eye opening exhibition. Reviews ...

Another brilliant week at the Courtauld Summer School . This year I look the course called “Nike to Angel” with Dr Cecil Hennessy which looked at how early Christian iconography evolved from classical themes plus how the iconography developed. Cecil was a wonderfully clear, logical lecturer and really encouraged ideas and participation. There was a series of ten lectures giving an overview of the topic then looking at different artistic mediums from the period such as ivories, mosaics and metalwork. We had some really good sessions in the museums going to the V&A and the British Museum twice. The second session at the British Museum was brilliant as it was a handling session. We thought we’d see second rank pieces but when we arrived the curator had out pieces we’d looked at on the previous visit. We handled (in gloves) a wonderful apotheosis ivory with textured elephants, the wonderful casket from a treasure hoard, a fantastic smooth vessel with a perfectly fitting lid and most m...

Another brilliant exhibition by the Courtauld Gallery which focused on the relationship between Toulouse-Laurrec and one of his muses, Jane Avril. Jane was a dancer at the Moulin Rogue with an eccentric style and is familiar to us from some of the wonderful posters by Lautrec for the theatre as the red headed angular figure. The exhibition included many pictures of her by Lautrec and often places sketches next to the finished posters. It also had pictures of her off stages as well and showed the pathos of the artist on and off stage. The exhibition also looked at her life from her childhood in hospital being treated for St Vitus’ Dance to her later tours of Europe with the dance troup. Reviews Times Daily Telegraph

A small exhibition at Abbott and Holder , a lovely gallery near the British Museum. This exhibition was of recent watercolours by Christopher Le Brun, a contemporary watercolourist. They had a wonderful surreal quality while also being understandable, beautiful landscapes.

This year’s garden at the British Museum is an Australian one. Currated in connection with the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew it looks at the plants which grow in the different landscapes of Australia. It was clever how the colour of the path changed as the landscape changed. I loved the very colourful sections of yellow flowers. Review Daily Telegraph

Nice little exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery which explores the theme of gravity in art. It was nice to see an unusual theme plus to see contemporary and older works displayed together. There was a wonderful photograph called “Dan” by Wolfgang Tillmans which confuses your eyes. I loved the hanging bricks called “Neither from nor towards” by Cornelia Parker which plays with ideas of gravity and time.

Nice little exhibition at the Festival Hall to mark 50 years since the Festival of Britain. It began by looking at the site for the festival and the designs for it. There was a good display on the design of its logo and how it was used. I hadn’t realised that the festival was celebrated all over Britain and there was a nice section of what other cities did. My favourite section however was on the souvenirs on offer at the time and how they mirrored the design landscape. There was a nice display of scarves lent by a couple I am in contact with about selling some scarves of my own. Reviews Times

Nice exhibition of imaginary landscapes by Jim Vincent at the Cornerstone in Didcot. These mixed media pictures were effective both at a distance and close up as it was only then that the detail came out.

Installation in the courtyard of Somerset House of sculptures by Ai Weiwei. It consisted of a circle of 12 bronze animal heads re-creationing the traditional Chinese zodiac sculptures which once adorned the fountain of an imperial retreat in Beijing. The pieces were beautifully detailed and looked great in the courtyard. However I went on a very rainy day and it was too wet to stop and look at them properly! Reviews Guardian Independent

Luscious exhibition at the V&A looking at the aesthetic movement of the late 19th century. It covered all aspects of the movement from pictures though furniture and publishing. There was a good tape tour voiced by Rupert Everett with just enough information and stops. It enhanced the exhibition rather than distracting you. It was lovely to see pictures shown with artefacts. I liked the recreation of a room in Rossetti's house and the wall of Pre-Raphaelite stunners. The whole exhibition was like falling into a good quality hot chocolate with marshmallows! Reviews Times Guardian

Small room display at NPG celebrating the life and work of Gilbert and Sullivan at the National Portrait Gallery . It has works which you expect to see and but nothing special. There were nice photographs but on the whole the ones which are in all the text books. There were two late portrait photos of the men themselves I'd not seen before. However it was nice that it was in the same room as their portraits.

Small exhibition of recent works by this Royal Academician at the Royal Academy . OK I have to admit I didn’t really get them! They just looked like paint had been thrown at paper! I found they were rather dwarfed by the grand Tennant Room. I did however like 3 portraits he had drawn in the 1960s. Maybe I should have done this before the Watteau!

Exhibition of exquisite drawings by Watteau at the Royal Academy . I must admit I’m not a fan of 17th century French paintings but these drawings seemed to have more immediacy and life than the paintings. It was a nicely arranged exhibition with a good tape tour which told you just enough without getting bogged down. It explained well how he moved from using red chalk, to black and red and finally to black, red and white and the difference those techniques made. I loved the studies of heads from different angles arranged beautifully on a page. My favourite picture was a study of the back of a woman sitting on the ground which showed in detail the elaborate draping of her dress. Reviews Daily Telegraph Independent Evening Standard

New statue which is temporarily in the courtyard of the Royal Academy for the duration of the Summer Exhibition. It is cheating a bit to blog this as a separate entry to the exhibition but it is so lovely I thought I should, plus I wanted to get it on the blog quickly and I’ve not seen the exhibition yet! The statue is a memorial to the Rainbow Division, the 42nd division of the US National Guard in the First World War. It will be placed at the site of a battle which took place in July 1918 at Croix Rouge Farm where 162 of the division were killed. It is a classic statue of a First World War soldier carrying a dead colleague by James Butler. There is a poignant contrast between the heavy uniform of the live soldier and the semi—naked loose form of the dead one. It looks lovely against the buildings of Burlington House and I am pleased it has been shown there for a short time before going to France.

Lovely exhibition at the National Theatre showcasing the work of fabric designing sisters Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell. I would have said I had not heard of this company however as I looked round I realised how many of the designs were familiar and in fact might be covering my sofa! The exhibition features big design boards covering each of the 5 decades the company had been operating. There was also a wall of design sketches for sale. I admit I weakened and bought one! I wanted one called simple flowers but have had a phone call to say it has already gone so instead I’ve gone for a more simple one called ‘Damask’.

Fabulous installation piece at the Fabrica Gallery in Brighton by Janet Cardiff. It was part of the Brighton Festival and involved 40 speakers each playing one of the parts in Spem in Alium, a motel for 40 voices by Thomas Tallis. This was such a magical experience. The first time it played through when I was there I just sat and listened with my eyes shut to the amazing blend of sound. It was so relaxing. The next 2 times I walked round listening to the individuals voices and delighted in how different speakers came in an out of the arrangement. It was wonderful to hear a voice to come in unexpectedly behind you. I also liked the fact that the talk before the performance was recorded too so as you walked round you heard quiet snippets of conversation. As I sing in a choir I recognised the conversation as true choir speak!

Superb exhibition at the Brighton Royal Pavilion and Art Galleries of the early work of Duncan Bell and Vanessa Bell. It was full of old friends such as Duncan’s ‘The Bathers’ which hit you afresh as you walked in. However there were also some super pictures which I had not seen before. Paintings were hung well together to create a dialogue, such as pictures by both artists of a camp site. I think this period saw the product of most of the artists’ best work so it was good to see a such a concentrated examination of it. There was a lovely video to go with the exhibition which just lasts about 6 minutes and comes at the end so it does not distract from the pictures. Reviews Times

Small exhibition at Charleston Farmhouse of works by Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell which look at drawing the body. Most of the pictures are life studies of nudes. The notes covered not only how the pictures were done but also often who the models were and how the artists found them. It also included a few pictures by Vanessa of her children. This was the first exhibition of work drawn from thousands of sketches, sketchbooks and paintings that make up the Angelica Garnett Gift to Charleston and I look forward to many more exhibitions of this quality from the collection.

Nice exhibition at the National Gallery of work by Bridget Riley. There was a great use of colour which meant the black and white ones seem to be about lack of colour. The display included a series based on same shapes in different combination of the same colours included one painted directly on wall with a temporary passing quality. Reviews Sunday Times Guardian Daily Telegraph Evening Standard

Small display at the National Gallery of works by Jan de Beer to compliment the Gossaert exhbtion. De Beer broke with traditional Netherlandish artists like Gosseart using expressive figures in architectural spaces. The exhibition includes a analysis of altar piece debating if it was for a female, scholarly patron because of the female saints and use of books. There were beautiful female saints in ornate clothes. The exhibition also included lovely drawings.

Small exhibition at the National Gallery of works by George Bellows and the Aschan Group, a group of American artists from the early 20th century who looked at the modern world. When you first saw pictures from the door they strike you as landscapes but many are urban pictures of New York. “Blue Snow, The Battery” was an amazing snowscape with the city forming the hills in the background across the river. I thought Bellows came out as the best artist and the exhibition has a slight feel of the Scottish Colourists. Reviews Daily Telegraph Independent

Small exhibition at the Christchurch Gallery in Oxford which looked at the role of drawing in Spain and Naples in the 17th century. It discussed the connections between the 2 geographical areas where drawing is rare because it was not seen as essential to the growth of artistic ideas. There were many lovely works including Ribera’s St Irene which was the star of the show. I loved a picture by Preti of the Vision of St Anthony where he had offered the patron two versions of picture via stuck on flap on paper giving him a chance to choose his tabernacle.

Lecture at the National Gallery to accompany the current Gosseart exhibition . This lecture was given by Catherine Reynolds an independent scholar and put Gasseart into the context of Netherlandish art at the time. She claimed that would have had access to many earlier work including the Arnolfini Wedding as he worked as a picture restored for Margaret of Austria. Although he took on many new innovations from Italy he put these into the context of early Netherlandish work. She outlined how Gossaert adapted the style of earlier painters such as false frames in portraits.

Nice exhibition at the National Gallery looking at the career of the Netherlandish artist Jan Gossaert. The exhibition aims to put Gossaert into context and re-establish him as one of the great artists of his day. I am not sure it succeeds. It is a good overview of his career and I am sure he was very innovative but the ideas he brought in were followed very quickly by others so it is hard to get a true view of how ground breaking he was. There are many excellent works in the show but because he was influence by many people and things you don’t get a sense of one artistic vision. My favourite section was the portraits. The very focused views of men of the time with false frames behind them throwing them into your space were super and you can’t help but love the portrait of the small Danish princess. It was also super to see his Adoration of the Magi with preparatory drawings and pictures which influenced the picture such as an etching of dogs by Durer. Reviews Times Guardian Daily ...

Fascinating lecture to introduce the new exhibition on Jan Gossart at the National Gallery given by Maryan Ainsworth, Curator of Painting at the Metropolitan Museum. The lecture went through the main themes of the exhibition and outlined new research which had been done for it. There was an interesting section on Gossart’s trip to Rome with Philip of Burgundy on an embassy to Julius II and how he later pulled on images he’s seen there and sketches he’d done. I was particularly interested in the section on new research which shows that Gossart worked closely with Gerard David, whose work I love. The lecturer called this a ‘prestige collaboration’ ie 2 artists coming together to work as equals.

One of a series of lectures at the National Gallery in the Paul Mellon Lecture series for 2011. Given by Elizabeth Prettlejohn, this was a fascinating dense look at the how Victorian artists’ discovered Spanish art and the effect it had on their work. She looked at when significant works entered British collections and who would have seen them. She also outlined contemporary art historic writing on Spain. Unfortunately I only managed to get to one lecture in the series so did not pick up on and follow the theme.

Nice little exhibition at Christchurch College Gallery in Oxford focusing on the life of Henry Aldrich, Dean of the college on the late 17th century. The exhibition focused on Henry Aldrich as a collector, looking especially at his collection of prints. It also looked at how he used the prints for his own designs. I liked the section on a design he did for a stained glass window which showed the original print it was based on, Aldrich’s design and a drawing of the window which has now been destroyed by a student. The exhibition included my all time favourite print Durer’s “St Jerome in his study” a real virtuoso work in which you can see more every time you look at it.

Nice exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum looking at the work of Camille Pissaro’s son Lucien and the private press he ran in the years leading up to the First World War. The exhibition included all 32 books produced by the press and was a study not only of the art works produced but also of how a private press operated. It compared this press to others in this era such as the Kelmscott Press. This was a world I knew very little about despite it being an artistic period I am interested in so it shed light on a new aspect of the early 20th century. Reviews Independent

Small exhibition of drawings at the Ashmolean Museum to compliment their exhibition on Lucien Pissaro’s Eragny Press. This show looked at the progress in drawing after 1913 in particular the role of the Slade School. I must admit I found the link tenuous however it was a good excuse to show some lovely drawings. There were some nice Ruskins and a study for Sickert’s ‘Ennui’. I particularly liked an Augustus John of a Canadian soldier.

Super talk at the National Gallery between the artist Ben Johnson and Colin Wiggins, Head of Education at the gallery. This talk complimented the current exhibition of Ben Johnson’s work at the gallery which has included him working on a new picture of Trafalgar Square. It was really fascinating to hear an artist talk about the ethos of his work. He said he was fascinated by numbers and measurements and has always analysed pictures geometrically. It was interesting to hear how the current picture had developed over many years starting with photographs from the gallery roof and how he had then wondered if any pictures in the gallery equated to it. He found Canaletto’s “Stone Mason’s Yard” broke down into the same shapes and proportions. I liked hearing him talk about the Liverpool townscape in the exhibition as I had seen it in Liverpool as few years ago. He was very moving about how the people of the city had reacted to it and made the picture develop since he finished it.

A small exhibition of photos by Kevin Cummins of the band Joy Division at Somerset House . In the commentary he talks about working on film rather than with a digital camera and the importance this gives to waiting for a moment.It included rehearsal and concert photos plus cover shots and showed Manchester in late 70s looking retro plus moody.

Exhibition of recent work by Breon O’Casey at Somerset House . Breon is a contemporary of artist from St Ives and this exhibition included paintings, sculpture and prints. I liked the sculpture and the prints, particularly the prints of birds as thy were both colourful and peaceful. However I was not convinced by very abstract paintings.

Small exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery of 16th and 17th century works on paper to compliment the Cezannae card players exhibition. This gallery focused on the Flemish and Netherlandish tradition of portraying peasant life. The grotesque features and vulgar poses of the people amused urban audiences but the landscape show they wanted their countryside unspoilt. There was a wonderful Bruegel the Elder drawing for a print complete with mobile brothel in the centre.

Small concentrated exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery looking at Cezanne’s pictures of card players. The exhibition had five paintings plus preparatory works and highly finished drawings. It was a rare opportunity to see these works together and was a good study of how the pictures developed. The models were farm workers on the family estate. The studies done individually then grouped in the imagination and studio. It is thought that he painted then as monumental figures suggesting an unchanging way of life. The exhibition also included lovely studies of individual peasants in tones of blue and brown. Often shown in the studio with known works behind them. Reviews Times Daily Telegraph Independent

Lovely exhibition at the National Gallery looking at the work of Canaletto and comparing it to the work of other artists working in Venice at the time. Each room subtly featured a different rival and discussed each of them and their comparative strengths. Carlevarjis pictures invariably had a gondolier with no shirt on in the middle. One section features three versions of the same view by Canaletto and his nephews. Canalettos work came out of it well and you realised what a clichéd view of him you have. Although many of the works are the picture postcards of their day the early work has much bolder brush strokes and less stylised views. In others such as one of the Ascension day ones you realised how thick the paint was in the detailed sections. Canaletto was always looking for a new view or image and his style changed through out his career. A clever trick was to have same view done in year of Canaletto's birth and death to show change in style. And of course he was a master of do...

Wo nderful exhibition/happening at the National Gallery of 2 townscapes by Ben Johnson plus a 3rd which he and his team were working on. I had seen his work before in Liverpool and was delighted that the Liverpool picture was in the exhibition. The new picture was of Trafalgar Square from one corner of the roof of the gallery and it was fascinating to see such a familiar place from a new angle. It was also so interesting to see it developing and to see the artist themselves working on it. He uses computer cut stencils and spray paint to build up the picture gradually into a wonderfully clear almost hyper real scene. I have had to go back since to see how it had developed and watch out for a blog on a talk he gave about the project. This was a perfect companion ehibition to the Canaletto one. Review Evening Standard

Super exhibition at the V&A looking at the work of Serge Diaghilev and his influential dance company the Ballet Russes. The exhibition started with a good section putting his work into context looking at Russia, Diaghilev’s life to this point and ballet at the time. It was interesting to think that he began work just 19 years after Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty was premiered. There was a magical section which showed various stages of set design for Firebird including squared up design and the real thing. It was magical to turn round and realise the real back curtain was there hung the full height of the gallery and creating a wonderful installation projection of the dance in silhouette against the designs. You then went round corner to Picasso front cloth of "Two Women Running on the Beach" for "Le Train Bleu". Favourite pieces? A costume for the filmstar in La Pastorale which was a Renaissance bodice and short fringe skirt. Also an early purple dress for Sche...

Luscious exhibition at the V&A of royal robes worn by the emperors and empresses of the Qing Dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of China (1644-1911). The clothes were displayed as beautiful objects and grouped by use and purpose rather than date. This was partly because the style of the outfits did not change over the three centuries. There was lots of detail on what clothes were worn when and what different motifs meant. I found had questions in my mind as I went round such I wonder how often they were worn and if they were handed on to the next emperor? However just when I wanted some info on how they were made I got it in a nice display on the material and tailoring. I loved a piece of material with a gown embroidery on ready to cut out like a paper pattern. My favourite items which I wanted to wear were a red and purple empress’s skirt with a fur hem and a rather plain but classy brown and gold empress’s regular dress.