Cathy's Art Diary

Useful online lecture from ARTscapades introducing the exhibition on Rubens and women at Dulwich Picture Gallery. I say useful as I’d hoped to get to the show but I’ve run out of time now so I was pleased to hear an explanation of what was there and what narrative they are suggesting. Amy Orrock, a co-curator of the show, guided us through the four rooms and their themes. The show is built around the seven pictures by Rubens owned by the gallery which are all of women. She guided us though those as well as the excellent loans which illuminate those works and add to the story. The show looks at portraits, Biblical subjects and Rubens development of the nude discussing the idea of the Rubenesque figure. I was interested to hear that Orrock feels it is based on the antique “Crouching Venus” figure. Wherever it comes from I think I have it!

Fascinating online lecture for the National Gallery looking in detail at the role of the demonic in the works of Rubens. Art historian, Timothy Revell, lead us though a detailed argument around the influence of Frans Floris’s “Fall of the Rebel Angels” of 1554 which was in the cathedral in Antwerp and which Rubens would have known well on the composition of the latter artist. He also outlined the influence of Michelangelo and Durer on the work of both artists and how Floris in particular, showed a blending of Italian and Northern styles. He led us through Rubens’ “Last Judgement” of 1618, “St Michael Throwing out Lucifer and the Rebel Angels” of about 1622 and his “The Virgin as the Woman of the Apocalypse” from 1623-4, comparing the imagery to the Floris. He spent some time discussing a Bumble Bee in the latter picture and what it’s symbolism and links to Urban VIII might be. This talk had originally been advertised as “A Halloween Journey Thought the National Gallery Collectio...

Enlightening online lecture from the Wallace Collection looking at the collecting of Flemish painting in France on the 18th century and the influence of that on French art. Christopher Vogtherr from the Prussian Palaces and Gardens in Berlin explained how Flemish art started to enter the French royal collection mainly via the portrait artists they employed such as Rubens and Frans Porbus the Younger culminating in the commissioning of the great Marie de Medici cycle from Rubens. A greater variety of work entered the collection under Louis XIV mainly via still-lives and battle pictures. However on his death this increased and a series of other major collections started to emerge which features Flemish art on an equal footing with Italian. Though these collections Vogtherr talked about Roger de Piles principles of hanging art choosing work through the power of the painting not the subjects or schools and the development of the idea of the three schools of art, Italian, Netherlandish...

Fascinating online lecture from the Wallace Collection looking at how Gainsborough was influenced by and compared to Rubens. John Chu from the National Trust took paintings called “The Watering Place” by both artists in the National Gallery to compare their styles and to then to discuss whether Gainsborough had seen the Rubens and indeed whether he had used elements of it in his own work. He then discussed the role of landscape in Gainsborough’s career and proposed, that like Rubens, it might have been more of a leisure activity for his and a way of relaxing while still producing art. It may have also been a way of commenting on the issues of the day such as The Enclosures, as well.

Interesting online lecture from the Wallace Collection looking at Ruben’s women both his wives and his patrons. Nils Buettner, State Academy of Arts Stuttgart and Cordula Van Wyne, University of York had a dynamic discussion on the topic. I would say the talk was more about how Ruben’s portrayed women rather than his relationship with him but it was still useful. They began by looking at the ideal female form at the time and how he portrayed that both in nudes and in the clothed figures. They discussed the role of studying classical statues in this. They then looked at Rubens’ two marriages both to much younger women which was usual for the time. They pointed out that he was as much marrying the families as the women. I liked the approach of taking portraits of them both to explain their roles and lives. Finally they discussed his two important female patrons the Infanta Isabella and Marie de Medici. They talked about the role of powerful ruling women at the time and how their c...

Fascinating online lecture from the Wallace Collection speculating on why Rubens did sketches out of doors at various points in his career. An Van Camp from the Ashmolean Museum gave us a brief overview of his career and when the sketches fist started to appear. The early works from around 1615 seem to have recorded images which were later reused in paintings. They also seem to have been kept in the studio and reused in later pictures so were they just drawn a tools for the studio? When he moved to Het Steen in 1635 he seems to have started drawing for pleasure and moved to working on large sheets of rough paper. He also seems to have annotated some with nature and optic observations. She also talked about the role of his watercolour sketches which may have been more compositional works rather than recording specific details and also about research into his handwriting in the annotation and how if is different in different medium and also in later life.  

Detailed and fascinating online lecture from the Wallace Collection looking at a painting from 1628 “The Art Gallery of Cornelius der Geest” by Willem Van Haecht. Ben Van Beneden, Director of Rubenshius where the picture is on display, took us through the genre of gallery or cabinet paintings before taking us through this work in detailed. He started by identifying paintings and sculptures in the picture then moved on to the people. I loved the detail of this and the detective work involved. He then looked at how the images of many of the people in the work were based on portraits by Rubens and Van Dyck and argued that the work could almost be considered a collaboration between them with the aim of recording their social and intellectual group. He likened this to the Stoic philosophy they admired and the idea that it shows the ingenuity of art and the art of looking.  

Excellent two-day online conference from the Wallace Collection to mark the reuniting of their “Rainbow Landscape” with “Het Steen” from the National Gallery in an exhibition for the first time since they were together in Rubens’s family. Day one looked at Rubens’s creative process and how detailed technical analysis of the work can illuminate this. There were talks on how Rubens had a habit of expanding works as he worked on them with each iteration of the work being a complete composition. We looked in particular at these two particular landscapes and how they seem to have grown in parallel with each other, each starting a small landscapes but then expanding with new panels in two more phases. Day two we looked at what inspired Rubens and I learned about the notion of otium, the art of active leisure including painting and contemplating landscapes. We also looked at Rubens use of mythological figures to show fecundity and fruitfulness in landscapes. Most fascinating was an analy...

Intriguing online lecture from the National Gallery comparing Rubens’ and Van Dyck’s images of Samson and Delilah. Carlo Casato talked us through both pictures, the Rubens from the National Gallery and the Van Dyck from Vienna. He talked us through the Bible story in some detail. He explained that the Rubens picture was painted for Nicolaas II Rockox and how it is shown in a painting of his house from around 1630 so we know how it was hung. He also talked us through the references to classical sculptures that Rubens had seen in Rome. He then compared the two works explaining how Rubens depicted the moment when Samson’s hair is cut whereas Van Dyck picks the moment after this when Samson’s strength has gone and how this is shown in the pictures.

Excellent three day online course from Art History in Focus looking at the history of Flemish art via pictures in the Wallace Collection. Lead by Sian Walters via Zoom this course, of two hours each morning over three days, had a good mix of lectures and interactive sessions. She used Zoom well to give variety and her style meant you did have a sense of doing this with a group of people not just in a room on your own at your laptop. Day one we looked at the early artists, mainly Van Eyck, Van der Weyden and Memling. She admitted early on that the Wallace Collection did not have a good representation of these artists, just one Memling, but she used other pictures to tell the story in a clearway. I must admit these are some of my favourite so it was nice to take some time over them. Day two was Rubens starting by focusing on the galleries wonderful Rainbow Landscape, a section of which is shown here, then looking at his life and career and finally going through other pictures and ...

Series of excellent videos from Visit Flanders guiding you through various exhibitions and displays of Flemish art all filmed post lockdown. Each presenter has a slightly different style and all the videos come with subtitles which is particularly helpful for the two which are not in English. I love they cover which a wide period from Van Eyck to Ensor in the late 19 th century and you do start to spot similar themes and styles thought Flemish art. You have to draw parallels between Ensor’s “Entry of Christ into Brussels” and scenes like Bruegel’s Nativity. I wonder if there will be more in the series. Episode1 : Van Eyck I have reviewed this already as it is a film of the Van Eyck exhibition in Ghent. Episode2 : Bruegel This is set in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels and focuses on their collection of works by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Michel Draguet, the director fo the museum, takes us on a whistle stop tour of the pictures pausing to discuss...

Interesting exhibition at the National Gallery which is the result of a project to get primary school children looking at and responding to a picture. This year’s picture was “A Roman Triumph” by Rubens, a picture which is full of action and a wonderful variety of people and animals. Each school responded in a different one made instruments out of clay, another made a rag rug based on the rug the elephant wore and another recreated the procession with puppets. My favourite two were a school who made ceramic elephant footprints and Clapham Manor School which painted classical style building on recycled cardboard. I always find this annual show makes you go back to the original picture and look at it more closely after you have seen in through other people’s eyes. Closes on 24 September 2017  

Interesting display and new gallery at the National Gallery showcasing their collection of work by Rubens and Rembrandt, two of the great masters of the 17th century. While the Michelangelo and Sebastiano exhibition is on upstairs the gallery has had to have a move around and has taken the opportunity to show the work they have by these two artists together in a refurbished gallery downstairs Gallery B. It feels a slightly odd space for this work as it’s a white box with quite a low ceiling however, although this is not ideal for these works, it does give an opportunity to see them hung fairly low and to get a close look at the detail. Some of the grander works, such as the Ruben’s Samson and Delilah, lose their iconic feeling and you look at their more carefully and with a fresh eye. I enjoyed the chance to look the Rembrandt portraits in the eye and to get up close to study the detail in the brush strokes. I love the way the closer you get the surface of the work ta...

An interesting study morning at the National Gallery looking at their Ruben’s of Samson and Delilah in detail. The morning was led by Lucrezia Walker from the gallery and she began by looking at where Ruben’s was in this point of his career. We talked about how he worked at court as a boy and must had observed life there, how he worked in Spain for Philip III and at works he did on his return to Antwerp.   We then looked at who commissioned and owned the picture and where is hang. In the next section we looked in detail at the picture and talked about the story it tells, including a dramatic reading of it from the Bible by the tutor. We talked about the symbolism and whether this reflects loyalty to the state. Finally we spent some time in front of the picture discussing its’s composition and which bits we felt worked and didn’t work.  

Disappointing exhibition at the Royal Academy looking at how later artists have been inspired by Rubens. I say disappointing because a lot of the publicity has implied that this a big Ruben’s show but they isn’t actually a huge amount of his work in the show. It’s far more about his legacy which is really interesting but the narrative of the show doesn’t flow very well. After a couple of rooms I worked out you needed to find the Rubens in the room then work out from it to what came after. Often the Rubens is not the first thing you see in a room and it takes some hunting and pushing against the flow. I also found some of the room introduction boards were in odd places and didn’t lead you into the narrative. For example in the first room you read the board and naturally turn to your right where you find a Constable. Until you’ve looked at the Rubens you are not sure why you are looking at a Constable! There were some fascinating works and things to learn. I loved the d...

Super study morning at the National Gallery focusing on Ruben’s “Peace and War” from the collection led by Rebecca Lyons. We began by looking at where Ruben’s was in his career at this point and how he came to be in England on a diplomatic mission which led to the painting of this work as part of a plea to Charles I to end his war with Spain in the Netherlands.   We then sat in front of the picture and dissected its iconography and tried to imagine looking at it with a contemporary eye of the time. We now just see the children in the foreground as part of the mix of people but at the time it would have been very obvious that these were contemporary children incongruously appearing in a mythological scene.   Finally we discussed the context of the picture, who the children were, whether it has expanded in size and why and what happened to the picture when it was sold from the Royal Collection on Charles execution. All in all a fascinating morning and a ...

The second session of this six week course at the National Gallery focusing on the art of the 17th century. This week looked at Rubens, Van Dyck and the Flemish Baroque. The first lecture by the course leader, Lucrezia Walker, looked at the work of the two artists and how it developed over this period looking in some detail at their major works. It was fun to take a look at Rubens’ Marie de Medici cycle as they have always fascinated in the Louvre as they appear quite silly to the modern eye.   The second session introduced us to Ulyana Gumeniuk a former BP Portrait Award winner and fellow of Trinity College. She has done much work copying, although she described it as transcribing, the Old Masters in galleries from which she investigates what were the artists first brush strokes and how did the picture build up. From that experience she then creates her own works. I found this session fascinating and I could see that she was working in a Baroque style but I must admit...

Two painting exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh bringing together Rubens “The Feast of Herod” with Ribera’s “Drunken Silenus”. In the mid-seventeenth century the two paintings were the highlights of the huge collection amassed by Gaspare Roomer, a wealthy Flemish merchant and financier resident in Naples. A nice opportunity to see these two pictures together and muse on what the original owner’s eye saw in them.