Cathy's Art Diary

Thoughtful online lecture from the National Gallery looking at the power of ruins in art. Christina Bradstreet took us though pictures from the gallery’s collection that represented the three moods she thought ruins can portray, happy, carefree and calm; brooding melancholy and frightening. Fortunately, most of the pictures we looked at fell into the first category which led to a light afternoon. I was interested in some Dutch Gold Age pictures she showed us which looked like simple landscapes but included references to the Dutch wars of the 17th century so had messages about peace and resistance.   These included a Cuyp without any cows! I was introduced to lots of works I didn’t know including this nightmarish picture by Francois de Nomé “Fantastic Ruins with St Augustine and The Child” from 1623 with statues falling off buildings and a mix of real and imagined ruins with two small figures showing the sheer scale of this ancient world.

Thought provoking exhibition at Tate Britain which looks at how artists have been inspired by ruins both real and imagined seeing them as either nostalgic or a warning of the future. I particularly loved the second and third rooms which just seemed to be full of some of my favourite artists and places as well as having some wonderful new discoveries. The pieces chosen were clever such as picking a number of unfinished Turner sketches which were in themselves also in themselves like ruins. There were some lovely group hangings such as five pictures of Llanthony Priory from different dates and a Piper and a Coltman next to each other both showing a Romanesque arch. There were also interesting ideas about how people have viewed ruins such as the lovely picture of early 19th century people going round a ruin at night lit by flares. Another room looked at how depicting ruins after a war can help people understand or come to terms with the destruction giving a modern twist