Cathy's Art Diary

Fascinating exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery to complement their current main exhibition on the artist, looking at drawings by Lely and his substantial collection of drawings.   Lely had one of the great collections of drawings and prints in England in the 17 th century. At a sale on his death there were 10,000 works, each of which was market PL before the sale so they can now be traced in museums throughout the world. There is an emphasis in the collection on figures and drapery and many works were used as inspiration for his own work. The exhibition shone a spot light on collections of this period and how an artist used the work of others as models. I loved an ornamental head by Giulio Romano as I had seen a recent exhibition of his drawings in Paris, also a St Mark by Fra Bartolmmeo for San Marco in Florence.  

Small exhibition at the Courtauld gallery looking at the early work of Peter Lely, the 17 th century painter. These early works were mainly pictures of love, music and mythology rather than the portraits he is better known. I must admit I found the works rather insipid if not verging on the bad in the case of “Reuben presenting mandrakes to Leah” which seemed to be a study in chubbiness! Other were almost 17 th soft porn such as one of voyeuristic nymphs by a fountain. This was still a good exhibition as it gave a view of the artist’s work I didn’t know before but thank goodness the Windsor Beauties came along and saved his career! Reviews Times Telegraph Independent Evening Standard