Cathy's Art Diary

Stunning exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery looking at Georgian fashion. I’d booked a curators talk for before I went round which was given by Anna Reynolds and it set the scene well. It made the narrative of the show a bit clearer as the design of the gallery can be a bit limiting. She talked us through the materials used, the layers of clothing, changes in fashion, the role of uniforms and much more. The show itself was well laid out, starting with two wonderful group pictures of crowds in St James Park and George IV’s wedding. I loved the mix of paintings and objects which were often well placed to let you see how the clothes worked in reality. There were lots of pictures I’d not seen before including some beautiful ones by Zoffany. It was well explained and packed with information. If anything it was a bit overwhelming and I’m already planning a second visit to pace myself better! Thank goodness for the fact you can get your ticket stamped so it lasts a year. Closes 8 Octob...

Fascinating online lecture from the Paul Mellon Centre as part of their Georgian Provocations Series  focusing on a portrait of Henri Christophe, King of Haiti. I didn’t know anything about this work and its pendant picture of the king’s son and Esther Chadwick from the Courtauld took us through several aspects of the picture. She begun by telling us the story of Christophe who came to power after the Haitian Revolution. She also looked why the artist Richard Evans went to Haiti and the historic precedents behind the imagery used. The most interesting section looked at how the pictures came to be shown in the 1818 Royal Academy show probably having been sent to William Wilberforce and submitted to the show by him as part of the abolitionist agenda. She also talked about the other works there were shown with it in particular how these works were hung either side of Turner’s “The Field of Waterloo”, speculating if the whole group was commenting on the fall of Napoleon.  

Fascinating online lecture from the Foundling Museum looking at Georgian trade cards. Jon Stobart from Manchester Metropolitan University set out clearly what these cards can tell us about the retail trade in London in the 18th century and how they changed over the period. He had great illustrations mainly from the John Johnson Collection of Trade Cards. I was particularly interested in the cards which showed pictures of the shops and sometimes how the service worked. I loved one of a lady trying on shoes and another of a couple sitting at a counter being shown goods by the shop keeper. I was also interested to learn that in the 1770s London banned shop signs as they were a hazard to traffic so shop fronts became more important for marketing the goods. Also that in this period the numbering of buildings on street was introduced but before that the shops had to give quite detailed descriptions of where they were such as “St Paul’s churchyard opposite the tree”. Who would have t...

Strange exhibition at the RIBA using the art of Pablo Bronstein to examine the longevity of the Georgian style. The highlight of the show were the drawings by Bronstein of contemporary buildings constructed in the Georgian style. These were delicate pictures drawn with an interesting eye for detail. Some of them took on a fantasy feeling as buildings were moved to new locations or mounted on Georgian detailing. The drawings were shown with items from the RIBA archive chosen by Bronstein to look at original Georgian ideas and how these have been used as a classic English style ever since. These were interesting items and with other works would have made an interesting exhibition in themselves, however equally the drawings would have stood on their own and I think mixing the two diluted them both. The exhibition however was beautifully designed, creating the look and feel of a Georgian house in the space. I loved the yellow and white striped rooms and the use of Georgia...

Fascinating exhibition at Kensington Palace looking at the lives of three Georgian princesses, Caroline, wife of George II, Augusta, wife of Frederick Prince of Wales and Charlotte who married George III. All of these women were involved in Enlightenment thinking both in the arts and the sciences. Starting with   the sciences and there was a fascinating section on how Caroline helped to pioneer the use of smallpox vaccinations as two of her sons had died following the previous inoculation. It also looked at how she helped Coram set up the Foundling Hospital as she had known of charitable hospitals in Europe. There was a good section on the education of their children including a drawing of a cottage by one of the Duke of York’s. The boys and girls got the same education. Augusta designed a robe which the children could wear for formal occasions but which they could be got out of quickly so they could go back to playing and learning quickly. There was an example of this...

A sumptuous exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace looking at the first Georgian monarchs. The best sections of the show looked at what the kings had bought and tried to give an idea of how they lived and what their surroundings looked like. There was one large room of paintings and furniture they had bought from previous ages such as Holbein’s and a lovely studio of Pontormo Virgin and Child. Another room looked at the contemporary art and furniture which they bought and included some nice William Kent pieces. There was also a nice section on the Royal Palaces and what changes they had made to them. However although the section on military maps and Hogarth were fascinating I am not sure they fit the narrative of the story very well. I would have preferred to see a bit more on the lives of the monarchs and their families. I got the impression Queen Caroline was a good egg but would like to have known more. Reviews Times Guardian Evening Standa...

Excellent exhibition at the British Library to mark 3000 years since George I came to the throne looking at how life in England had changed by the time the last Hanoverian king died. I had been lucky enough to have a curator tour of this exhibition before Christmas but was pleased to come back and look in more detail at the exhibits. The curator had been fascinating on how the show was arranged and what they had chosen to put in and leave out. I thought the detail of this show was fantastic from looking up at the period marble payer backs of the cartoons and newspaper articles outlining the history of the period in the entrance section to the light dialogue between sections such as the Jane Austen references without a Jane Austen section. I loved the section on shopping and the growth of consumerism and so wanted to go to the ceramics shop which also sold chandeliers! I liked the way the growth of interior design at this period from whole Adams interiors to people buy...