Leonardo: Experience a Masterpiece


Disappointing exhibition at the National Gallery illuminating their “Virgin of the Rocks” painting.

I’d hoped this would offer something new however it felt very thin and seemed to make a few points in a large space. The space was divided into five galleries each one focusing on an aspect of the picture however all the points, except maybe the last, could have been made with one information board. I’m afraid it was a classic case of style over substance.

The first room, shown here, looked at the role of landscape in the picture using large photographs of the Alps, broken up by a metal screen of boxes with quotes from Leonardo on them, some in his mirror writing which was then reflected by the side of the box if you got the angle right.

The second room looked at his use of light and shade and did have quite clever light boxes with white objects in them where you could alter the light source and see what difference it made to how it looked. Interesting but once you’d done it that was it! I quite liked the room recreating the conservation studio but I wasn’t too sure what the video projection was telling me and felt it might have been more fun and informative to recreate Leonardo’s studio.

The biggest waste of space was a room which just seemed to have a map of Milan with a sound scape and projections of drawings of some of the buildings however it did lead to the best room which had the picture itself over which was projected various recreations of how it would have looked in situ showing the side panels and the carving which probably sat on the top. This was quite magical however because everything was so fake and constructed it took me a while to realise it was the real picture!

I’m sorry to have taken a while to write this one up as I’d have liked to warn you earlier not to bother with this one. It might be a good way to introduce children to Leonardo but if you know your art it’s an expensive way to not learn anything new,

Closes on 12 January 2020

Reviews
Guardian
Telegraph
Evening Standard


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thomas Becket: Murder and Making of a Saint

Image
Stunning exhibition at the British Museum on the life and afterlife of Thomas Becket. I studied Becket both at A Level and at university so I was really looking forward to this show and it did not disappoint. From walking in to see an old friend, the early Limoges casket showing the murder from the Victoria and Albert Museum, I was gripped. The show told the story well using fantastic objects and led you through his life, the murder, the political aftermath, his sainthood and miracles, and how Canterbury became a major pilgrimage site. It is hard to pick out the best objects as so many were wonderful. I loved that they had early copies of some of the five eyewitness accounts of the murder which made you fell you were almost touching the event. I liked the manuscript on his time in exile which was almost like a comic strip. How wonderful to get a 13th century font from Sweden which shows how far and how quickly the news that Henry II had integrated the murder spread. I think my...
Read more

Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year Exhibition 2019

Image
Delightful exhibition at Clarendon Fine Art showing pictures from the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year TV series. I had loved the series which had set nine artists, both professional and amateur, to paint one of three celebrities. It then had a semi-final and final with them all looking at one sitter and in the final they also took on a commission. I loved the way you watched a picture build and how some were then made or spoiled by one stroke of paint.   Finding these pictures I knew so well in the flesh was therefore fascinating. None of them disappointed. My favourite artist from the final, Tom Mead, works looked just as good in real life if not better as you could see the detail. The show included his impressive self-portrait which he submitted to enter the competition, a wonderful fragmented picture of his reflection in a mirror giving a sense of movement. I loved that it included a large version of him and a miniature. His commission for the final of Jazzie B...
Read more

The Renaissance Nude

Image
Beautiful exhibition at the Royal Academy looking at the nude in Renaissance art. The show was gently themed but mainly let the pictures speak for themselves. It began by looking at the subjects, both religious and secular, which include nude figures then examined techniques and models used in these works, finishing by looking at more personal pictures. This is a period I’ve studied a lot so there were a lot of old friends and it was quite fun predicting what might appear. There were a few surprises too such as the rather surprising drawing of the Ecstatic Christ. I liked the fact the show included lots of different art forms not just paintings including sculpture, etchings, drawings and illuminated manuscripts. There were some fascinating hangs to draw comparisons particularly two sets of pictures by Giovanni Bellini and Hand Memling from almost exactly the same date. These were shown back to back in a display cabinet down the middle of one room. My favourite work was ...
Read more