Cathy's Art Diary

Fascinating online lecture from the National Gallery focusing on the work of the conservation department. Larry Keith, Head of Conservation, talked to us from the studio using Poussin’s “Cephalus and Aurora” from the 1630s which he is working on at the moment as an example for the points he was making. He took us though the history of conservation at the gallery and some early controversies. I was amused to hear of a Parliamentary select committee getting involved in the 1850s which I can’t imagine happening now. We looked at the issues that can occur using this painting to discuss the effect of darkening varnish, how colours change and what to do about tears as this work was damaged by falling slate when it was in storage in the Second World War. He talked about how works are chosen for conservation and the principles by which the gallery works using materials that can be reversed if future generations change their minds about the treatment of a picture.

Fascinating online lecture from the Victoria and Albert Museum looking at Peter Brathwaite’s lockdown project recreating portraits of black figures. Brathwaite is an opera singer who in lockdown took up the Getty Challenge to recreate portraits using objects around the house. He decided to look at black figures and produced an image a day for 50 days which he has now published in a book “A Story in Three Acts”. I had seen some of their works in a street exhibition on King’s College so was intrigued to hear him talking about them and to see more. He was interviewed by Jenny Gaschke, the coordinator of a display at the museum at the moment called “Between Two Worlds” for which he has produced the image shown here. He explained how making the images led him to research not only the people shown but also his own family history.   He talked about the bias in archives, not only in their content but also in the racist language to search them because of when they were created and cata...

Intriguing online lecture from the National Gallery examining the presence or lack of presence of Black figures in two Titian paintings. The talk was given by Rosy Akalawu-Ellman, an artists and student who had started he BA a few days before. She had been on the gallery’s Articulations scheme to encourage public speaking skills to young people. She talked about Black History Month and some of the problems she thinks it raises in that it can concentrate on suffering and liberation and put Black people in a white context and she discussed some of the philosophers being this. For me the more interesting section of the talk looked at the Black figure to the far righthand side of Titian’s “Diana and Actaeon”. Is she a maid or an allegorical figure? Why is she the only clothes female in the work? She talked about the trend for Black models across Europe but particularly in cosmopolitan Venice. She then looked at “Perseus and Andromeda”, in the same series of paintings for Philip II, ...

Fun sculpture trail around Covent Garden of decorated gorillas. You know I love a sculpture trail and I found this by chance while having a wander through Covent Garden. It is in aid of Tusk which supports conservation projects in Africa. I managed 8 works of the 15 in about an hour and hope to get back to find some more on the other side of the market. They are decorated by artists and celebrities. My favourite was Frankie outside the opera house by John and Jen Cleese.   Closed 14 October 2023    

Colourful installation on the Strand outside Somerset House by Simone Brewster. The work had been part of London Design Week which I’d missed and commented on the future of the cork industry. I must admit I’m not sure how other than that the large sculptures were covered in coloured cork. The blurb said that “the future of the cork oak forest will be secured by four key traits: upright expression, drought resistance, regenerative growth and biodiversity conservation.” Each work was meant to reflect one of these traits but I don’t really understand that link. Still the works looked great in the space! Closed 8 October 2023  

Interesting exhibition at Somerset House looking at Black British fashion since the 1970s. Curated by Black Orientated Legacy Development Agency (BOLD) the show sets fashion by Black British designers against the history of Black life and culture in Britain over the same years. I would have liked to see a bit more explanation of some of the exhibits and why they were there such as a large format magazine called Kaleidoscope. I would have also liked a bit more emphasis on the designers and less in the history. I was interested to see that a lot of the work was from this year and loved these Doc Martens designed for the show. I loved a room of clothes but again would have alter appreciated a bit more narrative. It was a stylist show with imaginative presentation, such as the nightlife section being set in a nail bar, but a bit more narrative would have improved the experience and knowledge I came away with. Closes 7 January 2023

Strange installation at the National Gallery by this year’s artist in residence, Céline Condorelli. The work was in room 31 with French 17th century works including the Poussins. A carpet replaces the usual museum benches and a diaphanous curtain is draped over the skylight. Through the floor vents there is a soundscape of snippets from Trafalgar Square. It’s all very nice but I’m not sure I understand what it’s about. The commentary says that it   “invites to us to become aware of our own way of seeing, to pay attention to the space and materials of the National Gallery, how we behave in it and how it is connected to the world outside.” I think I need an online talk on it to hear more from the artist on this one. Closes 7 January 2023 Review Guardian

Interesting exhibition at the National Gallery of six panels of Andrea Mantegna’s “Triumph of Caesar” fresco cycle. The works are on loan from the Royal Collection while their gallery at Hampton Court is being refurbished. They were bought from the Gonzaga family of Mantua by Charles I in 1629. For this show the six panels have been beautifully reframed by the National Gallery Framing Department. It was a lovely touch to show a cast of the bust from Mantegna’s tomb and Ruben’s sketch for “A Roman Triumph” based   on two of the panels which he saw in situ in Mantua. It’s always great to see this lively and theatrical piece and setting it in a new context makes you look at it with fresh eyes. Closes 2026 Review Guardian  

Superb exhibition at the National Gallery on Frans Hals. This was a beautifully hung show with an excellent commentary which was cleverly written in places. It was well paced with space to Iook at the works. The whole effect was like walking into a jolly party and you wanted to sink down and chat with the sitters in the portraits. The faces were fresh and honest and I became slightly obsessed by ruffs and lace collars. My favourite pieces were the group portraits either of militia companies or family groups. I was astonished that the Rijksmuseum had lent “The Meagre Company”. I also loved the husband and wife pendant pictures which had been reunited. My favourite hang was the double portrait of Isaac Massa and Beatrix van der Laen, also from the Rijksmuseum, shown with two other portraits of Massa. Beware I have a number of lectures and courses on Hals and the Dutch Golden Age so you’ll be hearing lots more about him from me! Closes 21 January 2023 Reviews Times Guar...

Interesting online lecture from ARTscapades on the 17th century artist Adam Elsheimer. I’d not come across this artist before so was intrigued to be introduced to him by artist and writer, Julian Bell, in this talk based in his new book on the artist. I seem to be drawn to this century at the moment so it was useful to add Elsheimer to my knowledge bank. Bell focused on Elsheimer’s “Flight into Egypt” of 1609 to highlight his style and tell his story. He explained how Elsheimer’s works when he arrived in Rome were small pieces painted on copper. Sadly, partly because he seemed to have worked slowly, he ended up in debtors’ prison and died aged 32. Bell placed us into the world of Northern artists in Rome at this period and described how Elsheimer and Rubens became friends. He also looked at how the art world had been shaken by the works of Caravaggio and a moving away from the elegance of Raphael. He talked us through the expensive sky in this work and how that might relate to...