Cathy's Art Diary

Interesting online lecture from ARTscapades on the James McNeill Whistler exhibition at Tate Britain. I had already seen the show when I listened to the talk so I found it interesting to learn more about how it was put together and the research which went into it. Carol Jacobi, lead curator of the show, gave us a sense of her excitement about the project, even to the point of describing her favourite brushstroke in the show! As the show is arranged chronologically she took us through the artists life and the main works on display. She was particularly good on the influences on his work and how this changed over time.

Excellent online lecture from ARTscapades introducing the exhibition of Caravaggio’s “Cupid” from Berlin and putting the work into context. Richard Stemp elaborated on this two room exhibition which I went to a couple of days after the talk so look for a blog of the show next. His first talk looked at the first room recreating Vincenzo Giustiniani’s sculpture collection. He used this to explain where Caravaggio was in his career at this point and his relationship with various patrons including the Guistiniani brothers. He explained how the engravings reproduced around the walls were from the catalogue of the collection by the curator of the collection, Joachim van Sandrart in the 1630s. In the second half he moved into the other room which holds the Cupid himself and two sculptures. He put forward some interesting ideas of other works of art which influenced the Cupid and went into some detail about the meaning of the work and precedents for it.   He also discussed how, althou...

Interesting online lecture from ARTscapades looking at what Suffolk meant to Stanley Spencer. Amy Lim, curator of the Faringdon Collection at Buscot House and volunteer curator at the Stanley Spencer Museum, talked us through the latter’s exhibition in collaboration with Gainsborough House, looking at Stanely Spencer and Suffolk. Lim explained how Stanley met his wife, the artist Hilda Carline, who had worked as a land girl in Suffolk in the First World War and how they returned to the county for their honeymoon and on working holidays painting. She talked us through paintings made on those trips. She then talked about the breakup of the marriage and Stanley’s second marriage to Patricia Preece and how, when that rapidly broke up too, he returned to Suffolk to work and to see if it still meant the same thing to him. She talked about how Stanley was rooted in a sense of space and how this also showed in his work based on his village Cookham. She also talked about his later work...

Excellent online lecture from ARTscapades on Hans Holbein the Younger. The author of a new biography of Holbein, Elizabeth Goldring, was in conversation with Michael Prodger of the New Statesman, to bring out the highlights of her book. I was fascinated to hear how Goldring went about her research given that Holbein left no diaries or letters. The only source material from him are a dictated will and notes on his drawings. Instead she turned to his patrons’ archives such as the letters of Erasmus. I liked her description of these as adjacent works. She talked about how Holbein’s portraits have become our view of Tudor England and how she can’t image Tudor art or history without him. However she also talked about other works by him from before he came to England, in particular his portraits of Erasmus which his workshop continued to produce in Basle even after he’d moved to England. She also mentioned his design work including armour for Henry VIII and over 200 pieces of jewell...

Enlightening online lecture from ARTscapades with the curator of the Kerry James Marshall exhibition at the Royal Academy. I had seen the show and loved it but knew I hadn’t understood all the nuances of it so it was useful and fascinating to hear Mark Godfrey talk about the works and his curating choices. He talked about how he met the artist back in 2012 and had been discussing putting on a show of his work for the last five years. He talked about how they worked together on it. He then led us around the rooms explaining the titles and theme of each room and introducing the main works. As someone asked in the Q&A “Can you appreciate the work without knowing the references?”. I was shouting yes as I had but knowing more about the work certainly added another layer.

Interesting online lecture from ARTscapades introducing an exhibition looking at how contemporary art has responded to Turner’s art. The curator of the show at the Walker Art Gallery, Melissa Gustin, led us though the themes of the show and explained how they chose the pieces for the show and their dialogues they set up between Turner and later artists. She also explained how the title also refers to the fact that Turner himself was groundbreaking and trying new ideas. We always forget that the Old Masters were the contemporary artists of their time. It sounds like this show would have been fascinating but sadly couldn’t get to Liverpool in time. The talk introduced me to a number of contemporary artists I didn’t know.

Useful online lecture from ARTscapades looking at the life and architecture of John Vanbrugh. Charles Saumarez-Smith, former director of the National Gallery and author of a book of the same title as the lecture, led us through Vanbrugh’s remarkable life, a story of confidence and opportunity. He told us how he was imprisoned in France returning to England with no career prospects in 1693 aged 19 but by 1705 he had written and translated plays, designed Castle Howard, was appointed Controller of the Office of Works, planned a West End theatre and been invited to design Blenheim Palace. He talked about how he got the prestigious architectural commissions and what he brought to them from his theatrical background.  

Interesting online lecture from ARTscapades introducing an exhibition at Pallant House on artists painting artists. Melanie Vandenbrouck, the chief curator of the gallery, led us through the themes of the show from friends, lovers and relationships born in art school. Although the show mainly looks at Modern British and contemporary art she did outline the previous history of artists painting other artists. The talk mainly led us through the works in the show talking about both the artists and the sitters. She introduced me to a lot of work I didn’t known including this wonderful painting by Saoirse MacAntisonnaugh of the annual tea party at the Slade art school. I was most interested to learn about works which had been commissioned for the show or which have emerged as a result of it including Jenny Lewis’s project to contact every living artist in the show and photographing them for a series called “Ripples” which she is posting on Instagram.  

Fascinating online lecture from ARTscapades looking at how Rodin was influenced in dancers and in particular Nijinsky. Juliet Bellow, from the American University and the author of a book of the same title, talked us through three sources of dance influence for Rodin, the Art Nouveau solo dancer Lois Fuller, the Cambodian Royal Ballet who visited Paris in 1906 and Ballet Russe and Nijinsky. For this talk she concentrated on the latter and   looked in detail at a small sculpture Rodin made of the dancer in 1912. She talked about how Rodin was influenced by the ballet “Apres Midi du Faune” and in turn how the dancer looked to sculpture for inspiration for his choreography. She speculated on how the work was made based on recent studies of two versions and concluded that it was made to be held in the hand and turned and in doing so it took on various aspects of the ballet. She also broadened the lecture out to show how Rodin was a supporter of the republican cause and positio...

Excellent online lecture from ARTscapades comparing the work of Anselm Kiefer and Vincent Van Gogh. Although the talk was instigated by the current exhibition of the same title at the Royal Academy, Ben Street made it more than a description of the show and instead developed a clear and well thought out discussion of the similarities in the artists work despite working about a century apart. He explained how Kiefer, the contemporary artist, has always responded to Van Gogh’s work from his first trip out of German using a travel grant to retrace Van Gogh’s travels in Europe. He spent time comparing works by both artists and tracing the links. He discussed the concept of ‘deskilling’ in art as well as how both artists view the role of artists. My favourite section looked at how we view older art with contemporary eyes bringing to it events which have happened since the work was painted. For example how can we look at Van Gogh’s painting of his boots without thinking of the image...

Interesting online lecture from ARTscapades introducing an exhibition at the Towner Gallery in Eastbourne on Modernism in Sussex. Hope Wolf, from the University of Sussex and also the author of a book with the same title as the talk and exhibition, outlined how the show came about. The idea had started with a previous exhibition at Two Temple Place in 2017 which I had been to, and had developed from the research she did for that show. She explored how the ideal of Modernism seem to be at odds with rural life in Sussex but how a number of artists settled in the area. She also looked at the idea of “New Regionalism” introduced by Clive Bell at the opening of the Miller Gallery in Lewes. Wolf introduced us to   a number of artists I hadn’t come across despite knowing the area well however I felt there were almost too many ideas to be encompassed in one show. Sadly I didn’t get to the exhibition to know how well it worked in its display and narrative.

Charming online lecture from ARTscapades looking at the life of Isabella D’Este, the Renaissance patron of the arts. Sarah Dunant, introduced her new novel on Isabella, based on her extensive research in the archives in Mantua which holdover 30,000 of her letters. She took us thorough Isabella’s life with readings from her book. Given her audience, Dunant, concentrated on Isabella’s art collecting and building projects including her studiolo. She explained how she liked a bargain and would look further afield that Rome to buy ancient artefacts. Since listening to the talk I have read the book and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’d been looking for a good biography of Isabella for a while and this format felt accurate and a novel format made it more approachable to read. I loved the way she gave Isabella a voice, both from using the real text of her letters and making her a ghostly voice in the archive. This gave Dunant the chance to also look at changing approaches to history and to Isa...

Useful lecture from ARTscapades introducing the Hiroshige exhibition at the British Museum. I am fond of Japanese prints but don’t know a lot about them so this was a much-needed talk before visiting the exhibition which I have yet to do. Hiroshige was working in the early 19th century so was one of the artists influencing artists like Van Gogh and Whistler. Alfred Haft explained how the show had come about following a gift of 35 prints from the collection of Alan Medaugh which has been enhanced by a further loan of 82 prints from his collection. He talked us through the five sections of the show with illustrations from each of them. He took us through the artists landscape, urban scenes, designs for fans and images of the natural world. I now feel ready for the show.

Useful online lecture from ARTScapades describing the exhibition of drawings by Victor Hugo at the Royal Academy. I had visited this excellent exhibition a few days before so it was less of an introduction for me and more of a rediscovery. Sarah Lea guided us through the show’s layout highlighting some key works. I must admit didn’t get a lot from the talk which I hadn’t got from the show which was clearly narrated. I would like to have heard a bit more about how the show was put together and what she had learnt from doing it.

Excellent two week online course from ARTscapades looking at the Sienese artists of the early 14th century. Art historian Richard Stemp led us through the main four artists featured in the recent National Gallery exhibition, Duccio, Simoni Martini and Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti. In each case he guided us through their work both items in the show and ones which couldn’t travel. This was particularly useful as he could include frescos which added another dimension to the work. As ever Stemp brought a knowledgeable but wry eye to the subject bringing out the humanity of the images and yet placing them in the context of their time. This was a lovely way to revisit the exhibition which I had enjoyed and it led me to going again before it closed.

Excellent online lecture from ARTscapades looking at Vanessa Bell’s early Modernist works. I had assumed this would be a standard book talk as the speaker, Wendy Hitchmough, has recently written a biography of Bell but instead she decided to focus on Bell’s early Modernist works and to discuss how radical they were. This made it a lot more interesting and in depth that I had expected. She began by discussing how Bell encountered the Post-Impressionist via helping to organise the 1910 show of their work in London then looked at the effect this art had on her portraits, particularly of her sister, Virginia Woolf. She next focused on three major works “Studland Beach”, “Mother and Baby” (now lost)   and “Nursery Tea” all from 1912 talking about their radical composition and subject matter and how that was informed by Bell’s experience as a woman and mother. She concluded by talking about how Bell created spaces where women could meet and show art such as the Grafton Group and...

Intriguing online lecture from ARTscapades looking at Italian art in the Royal Collection and how it got there. Desmond Shawe-Taylor, Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures from 2005 to 2021 led us clearly through the topic with an emphasis on what, how and why the monarchs bought. We spent the first half looking at Charles I’s collection and I really enjoyed a section where we looked at where all the major works hung at Whitehall Palace. This led to a discussion on what Charles II reacquired on his restoration. In the second half we looked at the late Stuart’s and Georgians noting how taste for Italian art changed and the prevalence of anything the style of Raphael. The only major purchase came under George III when he bought the collection of John Smith, the British consul in Venice and agent to Canaletto. We finished by looking at Prince Albert’s love of early art such as a Duccio Triptych for which he made a frame.

Interesting online lecture from ARTscapades looking at salon culture in 18th and 19th century Japan. The talk focused on a display in the Japan galleries at the British Museum so Rosina Buckland set the scene outlining the museum’s collection room of Japanese artefacts and prints. She also talked us through some recent acquisitions. Akiko Yano then talked about salon culture defining it as privately formed groups of men and women who practiced the same art form or had the same hobby. She talked about how these grouping often but across the rigid class structure of the country. Yano had some lovely illustrations of the idea but they felt a bit random at times rather than forming a narrative. I need to pop up the galleries to take a look for myself. Update: I never got to it.  

Interesting online lecture from ARTscapades looking at artists’ palettes. Alexandra Loske, director of the Royal Pavillion in Brighton and author of books on colour, introduced her book on palettes starting by telling us how it came about. She saw palettes as a way that artists organise colour. Her aim had been to find 50 real palettes and use these as route into talking about the artist and where possible identifying the painting for which it might have been used. She talked us through as selection of these. However as she struggled to find 50 real palettes, she broadened this into looking at them in paintings. She talked about how artists use palettes as a symbol of their art in self-portraits. I’ve used a photo of a palette converted into a clock that I bought a few years ago to illustrate this post and at the end of the talk it was fun for the artist, Maria Bell-Salter, who moderates the ARTscapades events and is always surrounded by her paintings on Zoom, to show us her p...

Useful online lecture from ARTscapades introducing an exhibition on drawing in the Italian Renaissance at the King’s Gallery. Martin Clayton, from the Royal Collection Trust, guided us through the themes of the show highlighting key works. He started with an aspect which isn’t in the show, which I have since been to, talking about how the drawings entered the collection from Charles II acquiring the collection of the Earl of Arundel to George III’s purchase of the Joseph Smith library. Clayton talked about the different types of drawings and how they were used and I was particularly interested in the section on drawing for the applied arts as I had not expected to see this reflected in the show. The talk gave me a good grounding for going to the exhibition which was extensive to   the point of being overwhelming.