Inspired by the East: How the Islamic World Influenced Western Art


Disappointing exhibition at the British Museum looking at how the Islamic world has influence Western art from about 1500.

I say disappointing as the show had a problem at the middle of it because the influence had not been that politically correct but it fell over itself to try to make this right or apologise for it. It discussed the different connotations of the word Orientalism. As the show was about the influence on art it might have done better to explain this quickly at the start and then focus on the lovely objects and pictures and what the influence was. Yes sometimes the Victorians misunderstood and misused what they were looking at but does that alter the beauty of the object that results.

I loved some of the early work in the show such as the paintings by the Danish artist, Melchoir Lorck, who visited the Ottoman Empire with a Danish embassy and created a visual record of the people he saw. I’d seen a lot before about Gentile Bellini’s trip but didn’t know about this one.

There was a good section on the influence on interior design with Leighton House featured heavily. I had not realised before that part of the fashion for tiles in the Victorian era was a change in production techniques which allowed then to be mass produced.

There was a wonderful picture gallery along two walls set against a dark red background. I loved a portrait of John Frederick Lewis shown with the scarf he is wearing in it. There was a section looking at how artists misinterpreted the Hareem as they were unable to get into it. There was also a nice display on Pascal Schah who opened the first photo studio in Cairo.

It was a nice touch that the last section featured four contemporary female artists from the Middle East. I particularly liked Ina Eviner’s “Hareem” which reclaimed an picture by Melling which had appeared earlier in the show in a 3 minute video where the figures come to life and are shown as protesting, praying and trying to escape. I found it quite mesmerizing.

Closes 26 January 2020

Reviews
Times
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