Cathy's Art Diary

Fantastic refurbishment of the Victoria and Albert Museum galleries housing casts of sculpture and architectural features from around Europe. I’ve always loved the cast courts and I was worried that the museum might try to do something new with the space but it has just been refreshed, cleaned and loved. The paint work has been taken back to an original colour and there are nice new information boards, not just about the work there, but also about the history of the gallery and the reason for collecting casts. The gallery was designed around the large casts of cathedral facades at either gallery and it’s nice that you can view these not only from floor level but also from the gallery from the floor above. I always manage to spot something new when I go to these galleries so I’m not sure if they’ve fitted in more items or if I’d just not noticed them before. I love the line-up of the early Plantagenet tombs shown here and feel like it was seeing old friends. I’m always ...

Wonderfully restored Weston Cast Courts at the Victoria and Albert Museum. I have always loved these spaces and the silliness of having casts of statues and pieces of architecture huddled together. It’s like taking a walk round European cities. They look so much better now they have been redecorated and refreshed. I love the Italian gallery which is sparser and now a lovely pale green colour. It’s nice to see old friends such as the Gates of Paradise from Florence and where else could you see so many Michelangelo’s together! The Northern European room is more packed and darker. It retains that slightly dusty feeling it had. It’s wonderful to have whole doorways and facades of churches! My favouites are the tombs of the Angevin kings. I think a couple of them may still be being cleaned as I couldn’t find Eleanor. Review Telegraph